Chapter 6 - An Unexpected Ally
The next morning, the health office felt incredibly empty without Sophie. I kept looking at the cot, half-expecting to see her bright red cheeks and terrified eyes.
Around ten o'clock, the front desk paged me. "Helen, you have a visitor. A Mr. Arthur Pendelton."
The name didn't ring a bell immediately, but when I walked into the main lobby, I recognized him. Arthur Pendelton was the owner of Pendelton’s Pharmacy and Medical Supply, a local staple that had been on Main Street for forty years. He was an older gentleman with a thick crown of white hair and a kind face that always smelled faintly of peppermint lozenges.
"Arthur," I said, shaking his hand. "What brings you to the school? Don't tell me you're here for your flu shot already."
"No, no, Helen," Arthur chuckled, though his eyes remained serious. "I was having coffee with Principal Thomas this morning at the diner—he’s on my charity board, as you know. He told me about a situation that happened here yesterday. A little girl named Sophie?"
I sighed, leaning against the reception counter. "Ah. Yes. It was an incredibly heartbreaking situation, Arthur. Her mother is working herself to the bone, and the child is carrying the emotional weight of their financial security."
"Thomas told me about the boss at the laundry place," Arthur said, his jaw tightening slightly. "Disgraceful. Absolutely disgraceful. A woman shouldn't have to choose between keeping her child alive and keeping a roof over her head."
"It happens more often than you think," I told him.
"Well, it shouldn't happen here," Arthur said firmly. "Helen, my head clerk, Martha, is retiring at the end of the month. She’s been with me for twelve years, and I’ve been looking for someone to fill the position. It’s full-time. It pays four dollars more an hour than what the laundry facility pays. It includes healthcare benefits, and more importantly, it includes an understanding boss."
I stared at him, my heart leaping. "Arthur... are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"I’m saying I want to interview Rachel Miller," Arthur said, smiling gently. "If she’s half as hardworking as Thomas says she is, she’s exactly who I need. And if her daughter gets sick, she works in a pharmacy, for goodness' sake. We have the medicine right there, and I have plenty of staff to cover a shift."
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I felt a massive wave of relief wash over me. "Arthur, you have no idea what this would mean to them."
"I think I do," he said softly. "Give her my card, Helen. Tell her to come see me tomorrow afternoon. Let's see if we can't mend a few of these cracks."
