The Family Meeting Ended With My Price Written Down

I did not go alone.

"It's a business meeting," I told Omar. "She can call it whatever helps her show up."

We met at the rink on a closed morning. Bernice had pushed two party tables together. Her sister June sat at one end, twisting the strap of her purse.

"I'm here because I heard you were taking Bernice's livelihood," June said.

"You can stay and hear the records," I told her.

Omar asked Bernice's lawyer before sharing anything. Bernice agreed to have June remain.

Curtis arrived ten minutes late and dropped his keys on the table.

I noticed he had taken the motors off the pallet and put them back on their shelves. Nell's inventory showed all six now.

That was one thing settled.

Bernice opened with a number.

"One hundred eighty thousand. Cash."

"The appraisal says one hundred twelve," I said.

"I built this place."

"You did. That's why its name has value."

She had expected me to deny her work. When I didn't, she had to find another place to stand.

"Your debt shouldn't count as cash."

Omar slid over a simple sheet.

Purchase price: $112,000.

Credit for secured principal: $60,000.

Cash due from buyer at closing: $52,000.

"That's the proposal," he said. "A negotiated credit against what she is already owed."

June leaned forward.

"I thought the roof money was a gift."

Bernice reached for her water.

Omar waited while her lawyer passed June copies of the signed note and payment record.

June turned the pages slowly.

"You paid her for thirty months?"

"I helped her," Bernice said.

"Bernice."

That was all June said, but Bernice stopped talking.

Curtis tapped the table.

"What about my twenty-four thousand?"

"Your canceled purchase agreement will address that," his aunt's lawyer said. "Yvette isn't holding your deposit."

I felt my shoulders drop a little.

For once, someone else had said the plain thing before I had to.

The lawyers worked through the proposed terms. Bernice would cancel Curtis's $38,000 deal and refund his $24,000 deposit from her sale proceeds at closing.

Curtis would return the $4,800 taken as rent reserve to the rink's operating account. He would sign away any claim under the separate motor bill of sale.

Bernice would pay $6,400 in agreed legal and accounting costs from her proceeds. Omar offered that fixed amount so we could finish without fighting over each future hour.

After those two closing deductions, Bernice would receive $21,600 from the $52,000 cash portion, before her own lawyer's bill and any taxes.

Nell's final closing schedule would account for ordinary business bills and the protected cash already held. The rink would keep enough working money to open normally. Anything left after those agreed reserves would be Bernice's, with every dollar shown.

"Ten thousand in working cash is included in this price," Nell said. "After the listed bills are paid. That is a closing condition."

Curtis asked if his refund could come out of that money first.

"No," Bernice's lawyer said. "Your deposit was paid to Bernice personally. Her refund comes from her proceeds."

I watched him cross out a number on his pad. Even now, he had been counting the same dollars twice.

Nobody was hiding a second purchase price in the snack bar drawer.

"And what do I get?" Bernice asked.

Her lawyer looked at the numbers.

"Your guaranteed roof debt is satisfied. The case settles. You receive the balance due to you."

"I mean here. At the rink."

I put both hands flat on the table.

"You won't manage it. You won't approve the schedule or hold keys."

"I could help with parties."

"If I need help, I'll hire it."

She stared at my hands. I wondered if she remembered how often they had reached into machines she was afraid to touch.

"Leon wouldn't recognize you."

I had feared that sentence for years.

When it finally came, I found I could answer it.

"He knew I could fix things. He also knew when I was tired."

June put her purse on the table.

"Leave him out of the contract, Bernice."

At lunch, we took a break. I sat alone in the rental area and ate crackers from my bag.

Tasha came in to collect her schedule.

"Do I need to start looking?" she asked.

"The order protects payroll. If this sale closes, I want you here. I can't promise a closing that hasn't happened."

She nodded.

"That's more straight talk than we've had lately."

By four, the lawyers had a signed purchase agreement with financing and lease conditions, a closing date, and a list of required deliveries. They also signed settlement terms to take effect when the sale funded.

Bernice wanted one extra page attached. Her lawyer passed it to Omar, who passed it to me.

The heading said Founder Courtesy Agreement.

The first line gave Bernice a permanent office key and approval over every future manager.