Halid read the decision to remove the old pergola on the noticeboard while carrying bags back from the market. His mother had planted flowers beneath it for years. She was now staying with his sister, recovering from a fall and rarely going out. At the bottom of the minutes, among the signatures of residents who had approved the work, was her name. The signature was neat, with its long final flourish.
That was impossible. Since her injury, his mother had been writing with her left hand and joking that every signature looked like a drawing of a broken fence. Halid photographed the board and called her. She said she had signed nothing. The pergola did not matter more to her than her neighbors' safety, but she would have liked someone to ask. She asked him not to start an argument on her behalf.
Zorica, who chaired the residents' committee, first showed him the bill for inspecting the damaged beams. Halid did not dispute the bill. He asked for the original minutes. When she brought them, he saw that the signatures had been printed along with the text. She had copied them from an old list approving entrance repairs. She explained that she knew most people would agree anyway, and the contractor could only come that weekend.
For ten years Zorica had collected money, called repair workers, and listened to complaints. Halid knew that. He himself had avoided meetings for months. That made it difficult to say he would show the paper to all the residents. He offered to arrange a new meeting and collect responses from those unable to attend. He refused to resolve the disagreement by having his mother approve the already printed decision afterward.
At the meeting, most of the discussion concerned who had been paying late for years. Only after an hour did they return to the pergola. One resident suggested removing the damaged beams while keeping the sound posts and the plants. The contractor sent a revised quote. The proposal passed, but with fewer votes than the first, invented version had received. Zorica remained chair, with two other people taking on some of the work.
Halid took the new minutes to his mother. She signed slowly with her left hand and added a question about the color of the future roof. At the next meeting her chair was empty again. This time Halid turned on his telephone so she could speak for herself. She first asked whether anyone had watered the flowers, then began discussing the agenda.