“Yes.”
“She didn’t mention it to me.”
“No.”
Patricia said: “The note doesn’t establish a legal obligation in the technical sense. But it reflects a clear statement of intent by the decedent, and it can be considered as part of negotiating a voluntary agreement between the beneficiaries.”
We looked at each other across the table, Daniel and I.
I said: “I want the twenty-two thousand addressed in the estate distribution. Not as a courtroom order — I’m not looking to litigate this. As an agreed item in the estate settlement, documented and signed, that the advance I made for the roof is repaid from the net proceeds before the remainder is divided equally.”
Daniel’s jaw moved. He was working through some calculation I couldn’t see.
“The remaining seventy-four thousand minus the twenty-two—” he started.
“The remaining fifty-two thousand is not a claim,” I said. “I’m not asking you to pay me for caretaking. I’m asking for the documented advance to be acknowledged and the estate to be divided fairly.”
He looked at Patricia.
She said: “A voluntary agreement to that effect, reviewed by counsel and signed by both parties, would be a legitimate way to resolve the roof advance. It’s not an unusual provision in family estate settlements.”
Daniel sat back in his chair. He ran his hand through his hair, which was more gray than I remembered it being. He looked, for a moment, like he was doing something other than strategizing. He looked tired.
“I know what you gave,” he said. Not to Patricia. To me.