Carlos looked confused.
“What about the bills?”
“I’ll handle them.”
“What about the children?”
“I’ll make sure they’re taken care of.”
“And my job?”
“You still have it.”
Carlos stared at her.
“You’d do all that?”
Laura smiled sadly.
“You once thought I would fire you because you were absent.”
Carlos looked down.
“I was wrong.”
“Yes.”
Laura took a breath.
“And I was wrong too.”
He looked up.
“I thought your absences were a lack of responsibility.”
She shook her head.
“They were proof of how much responsibility you were carrying.”
Carlos’s eyes filled with tears.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then he finally nodded.
“Okay.”
The doctor smiled.
“We’ll schedule the procedure.”
The following morning, Carlos was taken into surgery.
Laura stayed at the hospital.
She could have returned to her office.
She had meetings.
Contracts.
Deals.
People waiting for her decisions.
