“I called an ambulance for a guest in distress.”

“That’s what I heard from a cook who used to work with you.”

I waited for the familiar hesitation.

“Can you come by tomorrow?

I’m not promising anything, but I don’t take hiring advice from people who punish staff for helping someone.”

When the call ended, I cried into Elena’s dish towel.

It was not a job offer yet.

It was a chance to be considered as myself rather than as the story Dennis had invented.