Claire was so upset, she lost it. Somebody had gone to the CEO of his company with absurd accusations against her telling him she was some communist agitator after a meeting in which she had to speak out defending a coworker who was about to be fired because of budget restrictions. He was a father of three little small children and needed the job badly.
Somebody went with the story to her superior but portraying her as an instigator against the bosses’ authority. The CEO was furious. He summoned her and yelled at her, so Claire thought he would fire her too.
She remained calm, and when the man stopped yelling, she asked:
-So do I have to come to work tomorrow, or am I fired?
-I didn’t say that! he continued raising his voice even more. You manipulate everything! Go back to your desk and don’t make me call you again, you ungrateful little insurgent!
It was already time to go home. Claire was trembling like a leaf in autumn. She was barely able to drive home, and when she arrived, she was crying bitterly.
Nobody knew at work except her best friend Mira, but she was in a deep depression because of the extreme stress she was experiencing there. Tony, her husband, was worried and had suggested that she quit, but she loved her job and thought that things would eventually go better.
Tony wasn’t home. Claire tried to calm herself, but nothing helped. Finally, she swallowed lots of pills. Then she began to think clearly. What have I done?.
When she started to feel dizzy, she called a cab and went to the hospital.
She had low blood pressure, and they had to perform gastric lavage with charcoal.
-Should we call someone? asked the doctor
She didn’t want to scare Tony but knew that he would not forgive her if she didn’t tell him what was going on. She gave them his cell phone, making them promise that they will say to him she was OK.
Tony arrived in ten minutes. He embraced her and asked her what happened. The doctor told him she was almost ready to go home and did a good thing asking for help so soon.
-But why don’t you asked for my help before you took the pills, honey? I’m a call away from you. I would drop whatever to be with you in a moment. Don’t you trust me?
-I didn’t want to scare you.
-You don’t scare me. A call from the ER scares me. Let’s go home. Tell me all about what happened today if you want to talk. Or stay silent by my side if that makes you feel better. The main thing is your health. We are strong when we are together.
Tony kissed Claire.
-Call me first, honey, call me first. I’m not going to let those people at your office hurt you again.
Claire leaned her head in her husband’s shoulder and felt brave again. She had made her mind: quit her job, look for another. She wanted to be happy with Tony and enjoy her life.
Photo by Elton Yung on Unsplash