The Vance Clinic front desk opened at nine, and at two minutes past I was standing at the glass partition.

The waiting room smelled of cold floor wax and lemon sanitizer.

A receptionist named Brenda Brooks sat behind the counter.

She had two blue lanyards around her neck, one for her badge and one for her office keys.

She was talking quickly into a headset, explaining deductible limits to a patient on the phone.

I stood close to the glass and waited while she typed in a long string of numbers.

A nurse walked past the doorway carrying a stack of foam cups.