“Dr.

Bennett is expecting me at three,” I said.

I got to Oak Street Dental twenty minutes early.

The waiting room was quiet except for the hum of the aquarium filter in the corner and the steady tapping of the receptionist’s keyboard.

Dr.

Bennett came out of exam room two holding a clipboard.

She took off her reading glasses, set them on the granite counter, and pointed toward her office door.

“Come in, Natalie,” Dr.