He placed one hand over hers.
“I think that’s the repayment.”
Elena’s throat tightened.
She looked away.
“You’re getting sentimental.”
“I’m married now.”
“Ruined my personality.”
Lucy climbed into the pickup.
“Can we drive it?”
“No,” both adults answered.
Lucy slumped dramatically.
“This family has no freedom.”
Elena laughed.
Later that afternoon, Elena received a call from Sterling Meridian headquarters.
She almost ignored it.
She was supposed to be taking the weekend off.
Then she saw the caller.
Daniel Mercer.
Her chief operating officer.
She answered.
“This better involve a building being on fire.”
“Not exactly.”
“What happened?”
There was a pause.
Then Daniel said:
“Main Street Pharmacy.”
Elena sat straighter.
“What about it?”
“A customer complaint.”
Her expression changed.
Three years earlier those words would have triggered anger.
Now they triggered questions.
“What kind?”
“Insurance denial.”
“Accessibility?”
“No.”
“Payment?”
“Yes.”
Elena looked toward Ethan, who was tightening something beneath the pickup.
“Details.”
Daniel explained.
An elderly woman named Margaret Willis had arrived that morning to collect heart medication.
Her insurance had suddenly rejected it.
The new pharmacist had spent twenty-five minutes on the phone with the insurer.
The rejection was a coding error.
The medication was eventually covered.
Margaret paid twenty-one dollars.
Elena frowned.
“That sounds like what should happen.”
“It is.”
“Then why are you calling?”
“Because Margaret filed a complaint.”
Elena almost smiled.
“About what?”
“The pharmacist wouldn’t let her leave until she drank some water because she looked dizzy.”
Elena laughed.
Daniel continued:
“She says he was bossy.”
“Was he?”
“Security footage suggests yes.”
“Was she medically unsafe?”
“The pharmacist documented low blood pressure and offered emergency services.”
“She refused.”
“He called her daughter with permission.”
Elena looked toward the pharmacy receipt hanging inside the truck.
“So what’s the complaint resolution?”
“We apologized for making her feel pressured.”
“We also told her pharmacist acted appropriately.”
“She says she’s coming back Monday.”
“To complain again?”
“To bring him pie.”
Elena closed her eyes.
“Daniel.”
“Yes?”
“You called me during my weekend for this?”
“I thought you’d want to know.”
She smiled.
“I did.”
She ended the call.
Ethan slid out from beneath the truck.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You have corporate face.”
“What does corporate face look like?”
“Like someone just lost money.”
“No one lost money.”
She told him.
Ethan listened.
Then smiled.
“So the pharmacy worked.”
“Yes.”
“That’s good.”
“Yes.”
For a moment Elena simply looked at him.
Three years earlier she would have needed the dramatic ending.
Gary fired.
Executives disciplined.
Policies changed.
Public statement.