The phone call was not a vindication. It was not a victory. It was a professional person observing a gap that I had filled, and taking the trouble to call me directly about it.
That meant something. I let it mean something without turning it into more than it was.
Victor’s Request and a Difficult Boundary
The call from my father came twelve days after the quarterly review.
I had expected some version of it. Not in the sense of hope or satisfaction — I had specifically told myself not to manufacture either of those — but in the sense that the review fallout and the service exception notice and the Alder account representing thirty percent of revenue pointed in a predictable direction.
Victor called on a Wednesday evening. The formal voice again, which he maintains in moments of discomfort the way some people maintain a fixed expression.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said. “The Alder situation has created some challenges.”
I said I was sorry to hear that.
“Diane sent over a service review demand,” he said. “They want a remediation plan within thirty days.”
I said that sounded like a reasonable timeline.
“The thing is,” he said, and then a pause that I had learned, over forty-two years, meant he was working up to asking for something he expected to be difficult. “Luke is still learning the account. He’s good — he’s getting there — but the specific history with Diane’s team, the way you had it, that takes time.”
I waited.
“I’m wondering if there’d be a way,” he said, “for you to come back in some capacity. Not necessarily full-time. More of a consulting arrangement. Help us get the Alder account stable while Luke gets up to speed.”