Samuel walked me to the office door, then stopped beside the filing cabinet.

“One more point.

If the claimant never verifies her identity, the petition cannot proceed on the present record.

But the court may still have administrative work to finish.”

“So we wait for the next notice.”

“We do the ordinary work and wait for the notice.”

I left the blue folder with him and took my signed acknowledgment home in a plain envelope.

There was no victory in carrying it, but for the first time in weeks I did not have to wonder whether I had overlooked a page.