Chapter 64 - What Martin Asked For
Martin Ruiz did not want to meet at the center.
He made that clear through his attorney.
He did not want a tour.
He did not want to see photographs of my family.
He wanted a conversation about the records that still described him as responsible for losses he disputed.
We met in an office neither of us owned.
Rebecca sat beside me.
Martin’s attorney sat beside him.
He was older than the employee photograph in the file.
Of course he was.
Everyone continued aging inside the consequences of decisions I had stopped thinking about.
“I’ve read the review materials available to me,” I began.
Martin looked at the folder.
“So have I.”
“I should have asked more questions before approving what was proposed.”
“Yes.”
I let the answer stand.
He took a sheet from his folder.
“This went to a company that was going to hire me.”
A reference response.
Carefully phrased.
Damaging enough.
The information had been based on conclusions now under serious challenge.
“My daughter was starting secondary school,” he said. “We’d found a place near the new job. She’d already picked her room.”
I looked at the page.
“What happened?”
“The offer was withdrawn.”
He put the paper down.
“I’m not telling you because I want you to feel bad.”
I raised my eyes.
“I want the people reviewing this to understand that the record didn’t stay in a cabinet.”
“I understand.”
He shook his head.
“You’re beginning to.”
Rebecca asked what outcome he wanted addressed through the ongoing process.
Martin was prepared.
Correction of inaccurate records.
Contact with recipients who could be identified.
An accurate account of the company’s decisions.
His financial claims would be handled between the attorneys.
He did not ask me for a job.
I was grateful he had not.
It would have been such an easy thing to offer and mistake for repair.
Near the end, I asked whether there was anything he wanted me to answer directly.
He studied me.
“Did you ever read my letter?”
I knew which letter he meant.
It was in the file.
Three pages.
Dates.
Explanations.
A request to be heard.
“Not then,” I said.
His jaw tightened.
“Have you read it now?”
“Yes.”
He nodded once.
Then he put his papers away.
The meeting ended without a handshake.
Outside, I stood beside the car while Rebecca finished a call.
My phone contained a message from Nico.
A photograph of his model.
It stands without holding it now.
I looked at the picture for a long time.
May you like
Then I answered him.
Show me when I get home.
