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Page 31 of Small Sacrifices

When Reid tunes back in, Governor Mackenzie is winding down his apology. "I'm only human. I'm not a walking lie detector. If they did indeed lie to me, then that's horrible. But I did my due diligence."

The parent's facial expressions range from furious to stony.

Reid does his best to avoid eye contact.

As preoccupied as he is, it becomes difficult to listen to what Mackenzie says.

All of it rings hollow. Reid doesn't write it down.

Seeing those empty phrases would distract him too much.

Instead, he takes notes on the questions that are being asked.

Why didn't the governor immediately commit resources to help?

Why hasn't he made a public statement about Agrifarm yet?

Does the governor think that Agrifarm's campaign contributions may have biased him in their favor?

What is the governor doing about the officials who refused to listen when children started getting sick?

By the end of the mediation, Reid feels dirty.

Some parents seem mollified, but it's clear that most of them aren't happy. The woman who asked how the governor didn’t know has had her lips pursed nonstop for the last twenty minutes.

She's squinting—and looking anywhere but at the governor.

At some point, her eyes land on Reid. He can't look away fast enough.

When the governor asks if there are any more questions, Reid can't help but feel like he's mocking the parents.

He hasn't even answered half of the questions they did ask.

How can he sound so cheerful? Reid would be miserable.

Reid is miserable. The satisfied smile on Mr. Wright's face makes it even worse.

Twitter-Dad shakes his head, but that's not a "No" and more of an "I can't believe this.

" Which—same. The entire thing feels surreal.

All around Reid, chair legs are scraping across the floor as the parents hurry to stand to shake the governor's hand and as the PPOs hurry to get close, just in case one of them gives into the temptation to punch him in the face.

Reid waits out the noise before he stands up. Sadly, this is only followed by more waiting. He'd prefer to look up Ms. Greene's social media to find a hint why she's not here. But while it would be an efficient use of his time, it wouldn't look very respectful.

Back in the car, Reid nearly trips over his own feet as he hurriedly checks for updates from Ms. Greene. But there's nothing. No recent posts, no sign of her. It sends a chill down Reid's back.

Everett is already waiting in the car, and he doesn't look happy about it. Still, his face is smooth and expressionless by the time Reid is sitting down.

"How'd it go?" he asks.

His father chuckles. "Well, I think. Obviously, they're never going to be happy with my answers. But I think I've made them understand."

Made them understand? And here Reid thought that the entire aim of the exercise had been for him to listen.

When Everett blinks, his eyes stay closed just a tad too long. "Great!" he says. His smile makes Reid's stomach twist. Is that derision? It doesn't look like Everett is actually happy.

"So now we're gonna visit the kid in the hospital?" Everett asks. "What was his name—Robbie?"

"Robin," Reid corrects without thinking.

Immediately, all eyes are on him. He takes a deep breath and explains: "His mother doesn't want strangers to call him Robbie. His name is Robin."

Everett's smile melts into something more genuine. "Bleeding heart."

Reid clenches his jaw. How is he supposed to respond to that? Aren't they supposed to be strangers?

"She was quite angry at me when I first called him Robbie.

I really wouldn't recommend it." He takes another deep breath.

May as well all get it over with at once.

"But there might be a problem. Ms. Greene wasn't here.

She said she'd come, and then we were going to meet her at the hospital after. Has she contacted you?"

That last bit is aimed at Mr. Wright, who almost looks angry that he's being spoken to.

"Why would she contact me?"

It's very tempting to point out that Mr. Wright has been handling all personal contact with the parents since Friday. But Reid has some sense of self-preservation. Instead, he just explains that she hasn't tried to get in contact with him either. "I'm worried that something may have happened."

Mr. Wright rolls his eyes. "It probably just started too early. Sick children are exhausting, if my wife is to be believed"

Right. Reid keeps forgetting that the man is a father. It's strange to see him express empathy. But it's probably for the best. Mr. Wright has his opinion, and he's made it clear. As long as Reid has pointed out that there may be a problem, he's done his job.

The drive to the hospital is short, but it's long enough that the silence grows uncomfortable for Reid.

He just sits there, twists his ring, and does his best not to think about the fact that this hospital visit is going to make it impossible for him to eat lunch on time.

How are they even going to eat lunch? Do they just order from room service?

Is he supposed to get his own food and then later hand in the receipt? He really should have asked about this.

For a wild moment, Reid thinks the driver is going to enter the emergency bay. But there's a small passageway beyond it. It leads to what looks like a small employee parking space. Reid has to smile when he sees that several bays have been crossed out in sidewalk chalk.

Someone is waiting for them by the side entrance.

Mr. Holland jogs to meet him as the other cars join them in the parking lot.

Reid tells himself that the only reason he watches him through the window is curiosity.

It has nothing at all to do with the fact that he can feel Everett's eyes on his face.

Either way, that's how he observes the irritation wash over the man. Even from several car lengths away, he could swear that he can see him utter the words: "Are you serious?" That can't be good.

When Officer Holland is back in his seat, Reid's assessment of the situation is proven accurate. "Okay, so that was a nurse. He says that Ms. Greene probably doesn't want to see us today."

A deep furrow forms between Mackenzie's eyebrows. "Probably? What's that supposed to mean?"

"He said he wasn't at liberty to say," Mr. Holland elaborates. "But something happened. He doesn't know Ms. Greene's precise wishes. But he was sent out on her behalf. Apparently, they're pretty sure she wants us gone."

Oh no. Reid intertwines his fingers in his lap to keep himself from twisting them. That can't be good. That—it has to mean that something happened to Robin, right?

"And she couldn't tell us that herself?" the governor asks. "From all I've heard, the woman owns a cell phone."

"Maybe something happened," Everett says. Going by his eyebrows, he isn't thrilled with this situation either. But why? Who is he angry with—Ms. Greene or his father? Reid can hazard a guess.

Governor Mackenzie sighs. "It's not that serious. But even if the boy is throwing temper tantrums right now, it would only be polite to cancel. Sick children are exhausting, but she's still an adult."

Reid presses his tongue against his front teeth and says nothing.

Everett rolls his eyes. "You're probably not her top priority right now."

Against his will, Reid feels his lips twitch.

Mr. Wright scoffs. "Be that as it may, she has to know how valuable his time is. This is incredibly impolite."

It might be impolite, but it could also be an emergency. It's pretty incomprehensible to Reid that they're not taking this into consideration. Everett looks quite pinched as well.

Officer Holland clears his throat. "The nurse was pretty firm. I don't think we'll lay eyes on Ms. Greene today."

"But she's here, right?" Mr. Wright asks.

"It appears so."

"Well, then." Mr. Wright nods in Reid's direction. "We'll leave someone to catch her when she leaves. Our time is better spent elsewhere."

Reid likes that emphasis about as much as he likes Mr. Wright as a person. Never mind the fact that this feels dangerously close to stalking. He's not comfortable with that.

"We haven't tried calling her yet. Maybe—"

"You can call her while you're waiting."

Shit. "And how will I get back?"

The look that Mr. Wright shoots his way is scathing. "Ever heard of taxis?"