The settlement was signed on January 10th. To pay it, my parents sold the house they had owned since 1992. They moved to a two-bedroom rental condo. Madison received nothing from Aunt Helen’s estate because the settlement had clarified the full scope of the prior trust matter, and the estate attorney had adjusted accordingly. I received the complete forty-five thousand dollars from Aunt Helen’s bequest.
The first check arrived by courier on January 15th at ten forty-five in the morning. One hundred thousand dollars. Memo line: Settlement payment one of two. Jaime was standing next to me when I opened it and I held it for a moment before either of us said anything.
At the bank that afternoon the teller smiled and said congratulations on your inheritance.
I didn’t correct her.
We drove home and I opened my laptop and logged into my student loan account. Current balance, fifty-two thousand one hundred eighty-four dollars and thirty-seven cents. I clicked make a payment. I typed in the full amount. The confirmation screen asked if I was sure.
Do it, Jaime said.
Payment successful. Your balance is now zero.
I sat with that number for a while. Ten years, one hundred twenty payments, eighty-six thousand four hundred d
