Behind the napkins was a thick stack of mail held together with a wide rubber band.

I pulled out the stack and slid the rubber band off.

The top three envelopes had the yellow St.

Jude Clinic logo in the upper left corner.

Two of them were stamped Final Notice across the front in red ink.

I opened the first envelope.

Inside was an itemized bill for the out-of-network urgent care visit Richard had set up five weeks earlier.

The balance was zero because he’d paid in cash, but the bottom section listed a doctor’s referral for emergency imaging.