Ronald Robert has spent much of the last few years gambling and playing soccer in Chicago. He has been largely unemployed during that period. About two years ago, however, he got his act together and managed to get a job as a waiter at a French restaurant that paid $34,000 a year. He also decided to apply to law school. Much to his surprise, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law accepted him in the entering class for the fall of 2019.

When Nancy, Ronald's grandmother, heard of this development, she was both overjoyed and surprised. Nancy called up Ronald and said, "Grandson, I cannot believe that you abandoned your loafing around and decided to straighten yourself out. I thought you were really unmotivated. If you make it through the first semester of law school with decent grades, I will pay the tuition for the rest of your three years at Northwestern."

Ronald responded, "Hey, Grandma. That sounds like a great deal. I will come over to your house and mow your lawn if you can put that all in writing." Ronald did mow the lawn and Grandma Nancy agreed that she would put the promise in writing but she subsequently forgot to do so. In any event, Ronald was really elated. He called up his Grandma Nancy over the phone and said the following: "Given all that you have done for me, I promise to buy you that $3,000 really rare silver watch from Argentina that you have always wanted."

Just before law school started in August 2019, Ronald quit his job as a waiter to focus fulltime on his studies at Northwestern.

After the first semester of law school, Ronald did pretty well. He got B+ in every first year course, except contracts, where he got an A. Towards the end of the semester, he got his tuition bill for the Spring Semester at Northwestern. It was $42,000.

Ronald immediately mailed his first semester grades and the Northwestern tuition bill to his grandmother Nancy. But his grandmother has faced some setbacks. Earlier in December 2019, there was a significant snow storm in the Chicago area that really hurt Grandma Nancy's bakery business. She wrote Ronald and told him that she would no longer be able to pay for the full tuition at Northwestern, but she would be willing to give him up to $5,000 that year to help him defray costs for the first year of law school. But she also added: "I have not yet gotten the watch you promised me. Once you send me the watch, I will send you the $5,000. As you know, it would be hard for me to find that watch online, and so I am hoping that you will pull through."

Ronald has decided that he was too vested in law school to drop out, and felt that he had to figure out another way to finance his legal education. So he wrote back and told his aunt that he would accept any amount she would be willing to give him, and that he would simply borrow the balance from a local bank. But he also let her know that he would not be able to give her the watch since the jewelry broker he had consulted said the watch was no longer available.

Ronald has consulted you as a lawyer, and wants your legal advice. Please write the memo discussing all legal options available to him.