Chapter 7 - Healing and Hopes
Two days later, Sophie’s fever finally broke. Rachel called me from their apartment to give me the update, her voice sounding lighter than it had in months.
"Her temperature is 98.4, Helen," Rachel said, a breathless laugh escaping her lips. "She ate a whole bowl of chicken noodle soup, and she’s currently watching cartoons. She actually asked me if she could go back to school on Monday."
"That’s wonderful news, Rachel," I said, sitting at my desk. "But how are you holding up?"
"I’ve been resting. The check from the Care Fund cleared, and I was able to pay the landlord early. He looked surprised," she admitted. "But Helen... I'm terrified about next week. Mr. Grant hasn't called me back, and I know what that means. I'm effectively terminated."
"Rachel, listen to me very carefully," I said, picking up the business card Arthur Pendelton had left on my desk. "Do you know Pendelton’s Pharmacy on Main Street?"
"Of course. Everyone does."
"Arthur Pendelton came to see me yesterday. He is looking for a full-time head clerk. The hours are steady, the pay is significantly better than what you were making, and it includes health insurance. He wants you to come in for an interview today at three o'clock."
There was complete silence on the line. For a second, I thought the call had dropped.
"Rachel? Are you there?"
A choked sound came through the phone. Rachel was crying again, but this time, it wasn't the heavy, suffocating crying of despair. It was the sound of a woman who had been swimming against a rip current for years and had finally felt her feet touch solid sand.
"He... he wants to interview me?" she whispered. "But he doesn't even know me."
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"He knows your situation, and he knows you care about your daughter," I told her. "In Arthur's book, that makes you highly qualified. Go to the interview, Rachel. Wear your best clothes, hold your head high, and remember that you deserve this."
"Thank you, Helen," she sobbed. "Thank you so much."
