I didn’t offer any spoken defense over the phone.

I didn’t mention the nine-hundred-forty-dollar monthly mortgage payments, the blue plastic Target binder, or the predated intake report from Christmas Eve.

“I’ll be at the front desk at ten minutes to nine,” I said.

“Please bring any personal records you’d like to submit into the formal record,” Brenda said.

“I have everything ready,” I said.

She paused on the line for three seconds before she spoke again.

“We’re required to review these filings under full compliance procedures, Clara,” she said.