As I pulled up at the motel, I didn’t notice that the U-Haul was too tall for the carport, and I hit it. Worried that the cops were going to be summoned to take an accident report, I offered to pay for the damage on the spot. The guy said five hundred bucks, which maybe was a fair price or maybe not, but I paid it anyway, even though it was a terrible time to be handing out money I would need for living expenses—the cost of carelessness, but also the cost of not wanting to run the risk of talking to a police officer.