Part Seven: What He Did Next
He called the hospital personally. Not to receive a status update — Marguerite had done that — but to speak to the attending physician directly and ensure that Sofia Martins was receiving appropriate care, and to identify himself and explain that the cost of care was not a factor, and to ask that she be informed, when she was alert enough to receive the information, that her position was secure and her daughter was safe.
The physician, who had the manner of someone accustomed to receiving all kinds of calls but not quite this kind, said he would ensure the message was delivered.
He called human resources. He spoke with the department head directly — a woman named Isabelle who ran a tight and professional operation and who listened to what he said with the careful attention of someone making sure they had understood correctly.
“Sofia Martins,” he said. “Cleaning staff, twenty-eighth floor. I want to confirm that her absence today is recorded as medical leave with full pay, that her position is protected, and that when she returns, the standard benefits available to all employees are reviewed with her to ensure she has access to everything available.”
A pause.
“Of course,” Isabelle said. “Is there anything—”
“I also want you to review our general support provisions for employees in circumstances like hers,” he said. “Single parent, I believe. I’d like to know what we offer and whether it’s sufficient.”
Another pause, slightly longer.
“I’ll have a report to you by end of week,” Isabelle said.
He thanked her and ended the call.
He looked at Lina, who had been watching this conversation from the chair across from his desk with the expression of a child following a conversation in a foreign language — catching some of it, missing some of it, waiting to understand what it meant.
“Your mother keeps her job,” he said. “And everything is being taken care of at the hospital.”
She sat with this.
“You did that because of me,” she said.
“I did that because it was right,” he said. “You just helped me understand what was right.”
