Rescue Nova

The Meeting

Emily was setting up the last details of the tea party that she was preparing for herself and Nova when Nova came into the playroom.

"Hi, Nova!" Emily said.

But Nova didn't answer. She didn't even look at Emily. She walked over to the farthest corner of the room and sat down with her back to the wall, staring at her hands in her lap.

Puzzled, Emily came over to her and sat in front of her. "What happened?"

"Mama and Mommy hate me."

"Why?"

"Because I did something really bad."

"What did you do?"

Nova shrugged. "But I know it was bad because they're so mad."

"Did you say you're sorry?"

"No."

"You should say you're sorry when you do something bad. Maybe that's why they're mad."

"I think if I try to talk to them, I'll make it worse."

Emily had no more words to help her friend, so she decided to try nonverbal support. She moved from sitting across from Nova to sitting beside her and took hold of one of Nova's hands.

•••••••••••••••

When Leila and Kimberly arrived at the public defenders' office for their ten o'clock meeting, Todd's secretary let him know they were there. Shortly after, they were given permission to go into his office. Todd rose from behind his desk as the two women entered.

"Leila, Kimberly," he greeted, "thank you for coming. Please, sit."

Todd sat back down as Kimberly and Leila sat in the two chairs on the other side of his desk.

"How are you two?"

"We've been better," Kimberly told him.

"I'm sure. I'll make this all as painless as possible. The first thing we need to talk about--"

"I'm sorry," Kimberly interrupted, "before we begin, there's something I can't stop thinking about. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Leila is in trouble for failing to get help for Mr. McGregor, right?"

"That's right."

"Well, what about Brittany, the aide that was on before Leila? She ignored the initial stroke that led to the one that killed him. Is anything happening to her?"

"No. What with her having only been employed as a home health aide for two weeks prior to this incident, the prosecutor didn't think he had much of a case with that."

"But she did the exact same thing that Leila did. She didn't get him help. Why is Leila in trouble if Brittany isn't?"

"Well, after only two weeks as a HHA, Brittany failed to recognize a couple of minor behavioral changes as signs of a silent stroke. Leila, on the other hand, who had years of experience, heard of those behavioral changes, yet failed to check in with the patient even once during her shift. Now, looking at this through the eyes of the district attorney's office, it's easy to see why they felt Leila would be easier to prosecute."

There wasn't much Kimberly could say to counter that. She hated to admit it, but she saw his point. Even though she still didn't feel like Leila belonged in prison, she saw why the prosecutor had decided to pursue charges against Leila and not the other aide.

"Are there any more questions before we move on?" Todd asked.

"No."

•••••••••••••••