Lorraine waited.
Priya rubbed both hands over her face.
“Everything was already behind.”
“The renovation crew changed the room assignments again.”
“I thought I could fix reception after the rush.”
“Then the first client complained.”
“Then the second.”
“I saw everyone looking at me.”
She swallowed.
“I made it your fault because admitting it was mine felt worse.”
Lorraine’s eyes filled.
Not enough for tears to fall.
Enough that she removed her glasses and cleaned them even though they were not dirty.
Priya looked at her.
“I’m sorry.”
Lorraine said nothing.
Priya continued.
“The age comment…”
She closed her eyes.
“That was wrong.”
Lorraine put her glasses back on.
“You questioned whether I could still do my job before you questioned your own process.”
“Yes.”
“You did it in front of clients.”
“Yes.”
“You could have pulled me aside.”
“I know.”
“I've worked here fourteen years.”
“I know.”
“You know my work.”
“I do.”
“Then why was I so easy to believe the worst about?”
Priya had no answer.
Dr. Whitcomb looked down.
Because he was not innocent either.
When he first entered reception and heard Priya say Lorraine had made repeated mistakes, he had believed Priya.
Not because evidence supported it.
Because Priya was the clinic manager.
Authority had arrived prepackaged as credibility.
Lorraine noticed.
She looked at him.
“You believed her too.”
Dr. Whitcomb met her eyes.
“Yes.”
“I did.”
“So did I.”
Said another woman from the waiting room.
It was Ben Carter’s wife, Evelyn, who had arrived with their terrier.
“When she said the front desk got confused, I thought you had messed up.”
The man with the cat carrier nodded.
“Me too.”
Lorraine looked around.
That was the part that hurt most.
She said:
“Do you know what happened when Priya mentioned my age?”
Nobody answered.
“For a moment, I wondered if maybe she was right.”
Priya looked at her.
Lorraine continued.
“I know those rooms.”
“I know those clients.”
“I know this system.”
“But when everyone looked at me like I was losing track of things…”
She swallowed.
“I thought maybe I was.”
Her voice broke slightly.
“I wondered if I had missed something obvious.”
Priya stood.
“Lorraine…”
“And I carried that thought.”
Lorraine said.
“For ten minutes.”
“Like maybe this was the morning everybody realized I couldn't do my job anymore.”
Priya’s face collapsed.
“I am sorry.”
Dr. Whitcomb stepped forward.
“Lorraine.”
She looked at him.
“I’m sorry too.”
“I believed Priya before I heard you.”
“I should have asked for the information first.”
Lorraine nodded.
Not acceptance.
Acknowledgment.
Talia said:
“So did I.”
Lorraine turned.
Talia looked embarrassed.
“I knew the room list had changed.”
“But when the complaints started, part of me still wondered whether maybe you had missed the computer update.”
“I judged you before I knew everything.”
Lorraine looked around the room.
Then said:
“You never should have made me defend myself like this.”
Dr. Whitcomb nodded.