HOA Vice President Slid Me a Tow Slip—the Signature at the Bottom Was His Own Wet Ink

“You’re why the gate looks bad! Your sticker’s expired!”

Don Pritchard shouted it at me across the folding table, with half the neighborhood watching and the tow truck already idling at the curb. I’d been a rule-following homeowner for fourteen years—never a single citation—but Saturday morning at the pool gate, I was the public lesson.

He shoved the white slip at me. My name typed up top. Fine. I’d show him my registration, prove it was good until December.

Then my eyes caught the line below my name. The authorization line. The one that says who signed off on the tow.

Don’s own wet-ink signature sat there. His careful little flourish, the same one he puts on every board memo. Dated the night before.