Page 15 of Small Sacrifices

"The governor doesn't make empty promises. Right now, he's working on solutions that he can present to you." He takes a deep breath to stop himself from asking her for patience or, worse, understanding. Defending Governor Mackenzie won't go over well in this scenario. No matter how much Reid itches to do it.

"Is there anything you can tell me? Can you give me any answers? Because our health insurance is garbage, and every day that Robbie has to spend in the hospital is one day closer to wiping out our savings. Do you have anything to say about that? Any solution?"

She gets loud towards the end, so loud that Reid winces and turns down the volume on his earbuds. His face is burning with shame when he says, "I'm very sorry to say that I don't. But we are working on—"

"Working on it is not enough!" Ms. Greene is shouting now, and Reid has to dial down the volume further. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Marisol wince in sympathy. "These arechildren.They need healthcare, and they need itnow!"

Reid feels his fingernails dig into his palm. This wasn't covered in his dialogue tree. A serious oversight. Technically, having access to healthcare and feeling secure about it are two different things. He should have anticipated that.

"If I understand correctly, CalEPA is responsible for making those funds available and—" he begins his explanation, but Ms. Greene doesn't let him finish.

"Call me back when there's actually something being done to help us," she says and hangs up.

The silence is so sudden that it rings in Reid's ears. He blinks. Well, that took a turn. For a moment, the conversation had seemed to be going well. She was opening up, and she didn't dismiss his questions outright. But this is the problem with not having concrete information—he can't give people what they need to know. That's all they want from him right now, and he's unable to provide it.

Still, that doesn't mean that he can't reach the goal that was set for him. A bitter taste spreads on his tongue when he remembers Everett's words earlier, and the call with his parents yesterday. Sure, this is difficult. But that doesn't mean it's too much. Reid will just have to approach it strategically, and prove to himself, as well as everyone else, that he's capable of this.

Much to his dismay, he can't ask Governor Mackenzie what the plan is. And Mr. Wright wouldn't appreciate Reid coming back so soon with more questions. What that leaves him with is finding someone who knows what the CalEPA task force is up to, since it seems the task force isn't communicating with the parents either.

Oh, joy.

Chapter 7: Still not enough

The next day, Reid quickly realizes that he's woefully unprepared to persuade any of the parents to agree to anything without concrete information. Even his initial calls, meant to gauge which parents might speak with the governor, prove to be challenging.

He should have expected this. Considering everything that's happened, he wouldn't trust vague promises either. The parents have every right to be skeptical after having been misled by politicians for weeks. At least there's a task force on the ground now, assessing the situation. That's something, right? It would be even better if Reid knew more about their work beyond the optimistic and frustratingly vague news updates. If the task force's assurances turn out to be misguided, it could end badly.

If Reid wants to do his job well—and he needs to make progress soon, with under three days remaining—he needs moreinformation. He briefly considers asking Mr. Wright, but from what he's seen, Mr. Wright would be annoyed by the request. Besides, Reid doubts he can trust what Mr. Wright says.

No. He has to go straight to the source. Mr. Elijah Swayne, in one of the single offices nearby, is the person liaising with the people at CalEPA. Reid didn't even have to ask anyone about that. Marisol just told him. She also told him that Mr. Swayne is generally sensible and communicates well, but he hates internal emails. Which, in Reid's book, is a strike against him. Because it means he'll have to talk to him face-to-face.

But thankfully, most of the questions he'll be asking him came directly from the parents. Technically, Reid isn't the one who wants to know—although he definitely does. He's very interested. He's just not primarily asking on his own behalf. That's an important distinction that makes it easier for him to get over himself.

Unfortunately, Reid's plan to simply walk into Mr. Swayne's office is complicated when he finds the door open and hears two voices inside. He hesitates. If the door were closed, he'd come back later. But it's open. What does that mean? Should he just leave or knock?

His indecision is resolved when he takes a step to the side and locks eyes with Everett Mackenzie. Reid is momentarily stunned. That’s the last person he expected to see, and now he's even more uncertain about how to proceed. Why on earth is he here? Everett, instead of offering any explanation, crosses his arms.

"Either get in or go away," he says in a tone that implies he'd prefer the latter. "But don't hover. Please."

It sounds wrong, coming out of his mouth.Please.But he did give Reid two options here, and if he thought Reid was just going to leave with his tail tucked between his legs, then he's mistaken.Reid has work to do, and he'll be damned if he's going to let Everett keep him from it.

Mr. Swayne is a portly man of about fifty. His hair is shorn close to the sides of his head, giving him a militaristic look. But his eyes are kind and curious when he aims them at Reid across the room. Reid hopes that's a good sign. "Please excuse the disturbance, Mr. Swayne. Could I have a moment of your time?"

Everett snorts, which Reid kind of expected. What he didn't expect, however, was that Mr. Swayne would chuck a stress ball at his head. Everett is still sputtering when Mr. Swayne says, "Ignore him. And sit. Please. What can I do for you?"

Sitting means being right next to Everett, who’s perching on the corner of the desk. But Reid does as he's told. The man reminds him of an advisor in college. He doesn't have to be this solicitous, so Reid figures it's best to just play along.

"I'm tasked with persuading the parents to cooperate in resolving the Lacrimosa issue." It's remarkable that it only took a few days for the wordspoisoningandpesticidesto disappear from superficial discussions of what happened. Almost disquieting, even if it's working in their favor.

"But I don't have the information necessary to make a convincing case. I was wondering if you had access to an action plan that I can share with them? If we want them to agree to a public meeting, we need to give them something more than just assurances that the governor is working on it."

Everett opens his mouth to say something, but Mr. Swayne pokes a finger into his side. "Shut up, Ev. There are people here who need to get their work done. You can get back to interrogating me later."

Then, he looks at Reid. "I wish I could give you something concrete, but that doesn't exist yet. Things are very chaotic on the ground, not least because Agrifarm and the current mayor could be cooperating better. A lot of documents are still missing.But what I can tell you is that today, they're taking samples of the soil and every new piece of equipment in that schoolyard to verify the tests that theTimeshas gotten done."

Mr. Swayne taps his fingers on his desk absentmindedly. "There are people going around conducting interviews to make sure there isn't anything else that the sick children had in common in the relevant time frame. And there's now a fund set up so that every child who played in that schoolyard since it was reopened can get a free check-up with their pediatrician."

Everett snorts again, and Reid can't help but agree. "Just a check-up? What about medical treatment for those already experiencing health problems?"

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