oor of the exam hall, her heart pou

in a row, they wo

icket, my ID," she said, h

d woman Sarah didn't reco

your name is flagged, we

ion coiling in her stomach. "I've done everything

tor said, her voice flat, off

ame vague reason they gave last

, the fluorescent lights of th

tle way behind her, their faces etched

, her hand cool

," Mary whispered, her voi

way, though not unkindly. "I need to und

hing, it was a promise she' d made to Mike

d always smiling, was a dull a

roud of her, if she cou

urity concerns" she had no memo

g looks, the way people in her old ne

g, suffocating anxiety before each exam, a feel

to pay for her therapy, for the repeated exam fees, for the cost

atever damning information i

insisted, turning back to the pro

y. "There's no mistake, Ms. Miller, no

felt the fight d

ulders

tmare she could