“That’s right, you shouldn’t.” Mom’s words were loud. She pulled Kelsey over, holding her head against her shoulder. “Poor baby. We’ll take care of all that soon,” she said. “Then you can just be a kid again.”
Being taken care of was good.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
THE SPECIAL HEARING of the Bartlesville school board was being held in the city council meeting room. Meredith arrived alone—dressed in black, a suit with a narrow knee-length skirt, and power red, her silk blouse—and took a seat on one of the wooden pews. Members of the board were filing in, sitting up on a dais in front, with the president standing behind the podium in the middle. She set her bag down on the floor, adjusted a couple of pins in her hair, and waited.
Mark came in, taking a seat in the front row. She’d never seen him in a suit and tie before. He looked impressive—and distant. Turning, he saw her a few rows behind him. Nodded. And turned back.
They hadn’t spoken since she’d walked out of his office the week before. Kelsey hadn’t been all that forthcoming, either. Because her father had warned her off or because the trouble was escalating, Meredith didn’t know.
More people filed in. Some looked at her. Many didn’t. A few greeted her effusively. No one sat with her.
She wished she hadn’t told Susan not to come. Her friend had rounds that evening, but she had offered to get someone to cover for her.
“Ladies and gentlemen, let’s get started, shall we?” Meredith’s heart grew tight in her chest, and her skin was covered with sweat. The walls of the small room closed in around her, imprisoning her like a criminal.
And someone slid in close beside her. And then, on the other side, someone else.
“Susan?” Thank God her friend hadn’t listened to her. And… “Mom?” She couldn’t believe it when the familiar face beamed back at her. Dressed in a forest-green suit with matching pumps, her mom looked every bit the Phillips Petroleum executive she’d once been.
Squeezing her hand, Evelyn Foster whispered, “You didn’t think we were going to let you do this alone, did you?”
She hadn’t been thinking all that well lately. With her chin high and tears brimming in her eyes, she listened as the proceedings against her began.
AT FIRST the testimonies were much the same as those in the newspaper, television and radio events. Barnett’s side. Her side. People represented both—some she knew, some she didn’t. If not for her mother and Susan holding her hands, she didn’t think she could have sat there, listening, feeling the emotions being sent in her direction. It was too much, too overwhelming.
Too draining and damaging. She wanted to go home, crawl into bed and stay there.
Barnett’s experts were there. She hadn’t seen them and supposed they must have come in late. They pretty much repeated what they’d said on Delilah White’s radio show. Almost as if they’d been coached. Not that she’d ever be able to prove as much.
Susan let go of her hand. She wasn’t surprised. She’d have let go, too. “I’d like to speak.” Susan’s words registered at the same time that her friend rose and went forward to the microphone that had been set up for the public—less so that those in the room could hear than to ensure that any comments would be on the official transcript of the meeting.
“My name is Susan Gardner,” she said, looking impressive in her sleek black pinstriped pantsuit, her hair and makeup as chic as always. “I’m a physician on staff at Jane Phillips Medical Center. My life’s work is in the science field. I’ve taken all the classes, participated in all th
e labs. I rely every day on what the test tubes and microscopes show us. I could prevent or cause deafness with one movement of my scalpel. I only act when I can clearly see the direction to take.”
Members of the board were nodding, eyes open, receptive.
“You’re going to be fine,” her mother whispered. Meredith nodded. Of course, “fine” didn’t mean you had a job.
“And what I can tell you, ladies and gentlemen of the board, is this. If I had to rely solely on my own cognitive skills, if any of my peers had to, we’d all be dead long before our time. Do you know what we, the physicians, the scientists, were talking about at lunch today? The presence of miracles in our work. The intangibles that we cannot predict, control, see, that save lives when we can’t. The miracles wouldn’t happen without our hands, our learning. But neither would they happen if that was all we had. Whether a heart beats or it doesn’t is not something we can necessarily predict. It’s not something we can control. We do what we can, we hope, we wait. And we cheer when the outcome is positive.”
A cough in the room sounded sharply, testimony to the silence that had fallen. “I’ve known Meredith Foster for more than fifteen years,” Susan said softly, leaning down to speak directly into the microphone. “And I’d trust her with my life. The woman is no different than any of us. And she uses nothing we don’t have. You hear about women’s intuition all the time. Well, men have it, too. They use it every time they listen to that little voice in their heads that warns them of danger or nags them to do something they’ve thought of putting off. Meredith’s gift to all of us is the fact that, even if most of us ignore that voice within us, she listens to hers. And most particularly with children, the voice is loud and clear. She’s more aware of others than we are because she cares enough to listen. Surely you won’t penalize a person for being less selfish than you are.”
It felt as if the whole room sighed when Susan sat down. Except for Meredith. She was biting her lower lip, holding back the tears.
She didn’t say anything. She couldn’t. But she would never forget what Susan had just done for her—or the message that she’d sent. No matter what happened, Meredith had just won.
AN HOUR AND A HALF into the hearing, Mark could sit still no longer. “I have something to say.”
The president of the school board recognized him. Called on him by name, a frown on his face. Mark still hadn’t given them an answer regarding the job offer. He hadn’t felt that any decision would be fair until after this hearing. He hadn’t known whether he’d speak or—if he did—what he’d say. And whether the board would still want him. He’d figured he’d save them the trouble of having to withdraw the offer by not accepting it.
Daniels, who’d seemed more impressed than disappointed by his non-answer, had granted him another week to make up his mind.
Avoiding even a glance at the bench where Meredith and Susan sat with a slender older woman who wore her graying hair in a bun, Mark stepped up to the microphone. He’d left Kelsey with a teenage sitter and was anxious to get back to her.
“Ladies and gentlemen.” He made eye contact with each one of them before continuing. “I have been Ms. Foster’s immediate supervisor for four years. I haven’t always agreed with her, nor do I believe in psychic phenomena. I’m not here to discuss esoterics, philosophy or science. I want to tell you about a teacher.”