The real estate agent was holding a document Dad had filed at the county recorder’s office the morning after the Whitakers refused to pay him. It was a mechanic’s lien for the $5,300 they still owed, plus costs, attached directly to their lake house. Standing beside Dad was his longtime friend Ed Kowal, a retired attorney wearing a fishing hat and holding the original paperwork. The agent looked toward the Whitakers. “Is this true? Because I can’t close a sale with a lien on the title.”

The first prospective buyers stopped halfway up the walkway. Mr. Whitaker came charging down the porch steps, red-faced, demanding to know what kind of stunt Dad was trying to pull. Dad never raised his voice. He opened a manila envelope, removed one sheet of paper, and held it where everyone could see. At the bottom was Mr. Whitaker’s own signature. Suddenly, he stopped shouting. The paper was a completion certificate confirming that Dad’s work had been finished to their satisfaction—and that exactly $5,300 remained unpaid.

Click continue reading below