A Fondness for Truth by Kim Hays

Author:Kim Hays
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781645060840
Publisher: Seventh Street Books
Published: 2024-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

18

Bern,

Tuesday, March 31

Being back at the office wasn’t as awkward as Nisha had feared. One semi-stranger flooded her with such syrupy sympathy that she almost choked on a response. But most colleagues greeted her with brief but kind words acknowledging Andi’s death and then turned to the happier subject of Saritha. A few of them insisted on being shown photographs, which she had ready on her phone—naturally.

Although she liked her boss, their relationship was professional rather than close, so his wholehearted sympathy for her scheduling problems surprised her. “I don’t want to lose you,” he told her across his desk, hands clasped on his blotter. “You’re an excellent liaison to the media, your press releases are sharp, and you’ve developed real expertise on several of our most important current issues, especially biodiversity and overconsumption’s influence on climate change. What I’d like is to have you here at least thirty hours a week.”

Nisha was flattered but also worried. Without Andi to look after Sari, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to work even the agreed-upon 50 percent: seven hours a day, three days a week. She’d been counting on at least occasional help from her mother and Sophie, but with her mother grounded—how long was that going to last?—and her sister-in-law avoiding her, her plans were looking very shaky. Why hadn’t she made the appointment at the daycare center before the one with her boss?

Praying that none of her fears showed on her face, she said, “I really appreciate your saying that, and I hope someday soon I’ll be able to work more hours, but right now—”

He broke in, smiling easily. “Right now, I understand that fifty percent is all you can handle. But when your childcare situation improves, let me know. You have a knack for explaining scientific issues clearly, and that’s truly valuable to us. Now, let’s go over the most urgent things for you to handle when you get back. I know you don’t start for two weeks, but you might want to glance at a couple of files. We’ll need press releases for . . .”

Listening to him, she smiled. It was going to be great to get back to work. She wanted to read about falling water levels and rising temperatures in Swiss lakes and rivers, worrisome as it was. She couldn’t wait to go back to writing about using garbage to generate energy.

At eleven forty, she went to find Rahel, her lawyer friend who specialized in environmental regulations. The two of them had seen each other several times for coffee and once for a quick dinner since she’d started her leave. Rahel had phoned as soon as she’d heard about Andi’s death, but this was the first time they’d met since the hit-and-run. As they walked to the restaurant where they were having lunch, Nisha thought, Six days. Andi has been dead for six days, and I’ve spent the morning smiling over photos of Sari on my phone and calmly planning my work schedule. She was caught between pride at her self-control and horror at her callousness.

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