Mother listened carefully before presenting Derek with a six-point proposal.

First, she would withdraw the default notice once he fulfilled her conditions. Second, he had to display a written apology for sixty days, without using the word “if.” Third, he had to honor every printed Sunday coupon, even expired ones, for an entire year. Mother would reimburse him up to $500 monthly for the cost.

Fourth, he would introduce a Wednesday seniors’ lunch featuring soup and half a sandwich for nine dollars. In exchange, Mother would reduce his monthly rent by $400. Fifth, he had to restore the original third stool to the counter.

The sixth condition was simple: he had to read the lease.

Derek looked confused. He had expected eviction, not reduced rent.

Mother explained that terminating the lease would leave the building empty, cost her thousands in lost rent, destroy his investment, and deprive dozens of people of their Wednesday gathering place.

“Nobody wins,” she said. “I’m not a woman who likes arithmetic that comes out to nobody.”

Derek began crying. Mother gently reminded him that the sixth condition was the only difficult one.