Taped to the billing sheet was a red overdue sticker warning that the claim had been rejected because of an invalid insurance authorization.

Under the blue binder lay a sealed white cardboard folder stamped with the official blue seal of St.

Jude Community Hospital.

My thumb scraped the thick edge of the paper as I pulled the white folder out and set it under the lamp.

The date typed on the top intake line was October twelfth, thirty-five days earlier.

Glued right behind the emergency intake evaluation was a pink carbon copy of an Against Medical Advice refusal form.

The top paragraph listed Grace’s vital signs from October twelfth, noting persistent pain in the lower right abdomen and a suspected pelvic mass.