I asked the question I’d rehearsed all morning.

“If Walter hadn’t noticed me, what would have happened?”

The director took her time before answering.

“I can’t give you an outcome that never occurred, Mr.

Mendoza.

I can tell you that someone should have identified the error well before he did.”

For some reason, that was harder to hear than an excuse.

An excuse would have given me somebody to argue with.