Turning Point(12)
Tom Wylie was subdued all week after the Paris attacks. He was startled when the head of the hospital sent him an email the following week, requesting a meeting with him. Tom had met him, but had never been called to his office before. Tom wondered if some aspect of their rescue mission the night of the fire hadn’t been carried out to the hospital director’s satisfaction. It was the only reason he could think of for being called to his office, and he had a strong suspicion that he himself was in trouble. Or maybe the director had finally gotten word of Tom’s womanizing. Or maybe some nurse had objected to his flirting and had complained. It was harmless and indiscriminate, and just a game he played to lighten the life-and-death tension of his work. It was difficult to believe that the head of the hospital hadn’t heard of that before, and didn’t know it was without malice or serious intent. Maybe he was going to issue a gentle warning, or possibly a not-so-gentle one, and a slap on the wrist. They couldn’t stop him from sleeping with nurses in his spare time, but they could tell him to behave. No one had ever complained.
Tom walked into the hospital administrator’s office looking humble, which he figured was the best way to go. He was all bluster and bravado when chatting up a flock of women, but getting called into the boss’s office was no joke, and Tom looked solemn while he waited to be told what his crime had been, and what the punishment would be.
The director of the hospital rambled on for a few minutes and congratulated Tom again for his cool head and efficiency the night of the fire. Several of the people he’d helped had written letters of high praise for Tom’s extreme competence and compassion that night. They were all heartfelt, and although Tom brushed it off casually, he was very touched by people’s responses, and surprised to hear them.
He waited quietly for the director to get to the point. The director began speaking of the attacks on Paris, and then finally, twenty minutes after he had begun his deadly boring analysis of the political situation in Europe and the States, he told Tom that they had an extraordinary opportunity for him, and he hoped that Tom would be open to it. He said it had come in the form of an invitation, and Tom wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.
“An invitation to what?” Tom blurted out, unable to stand the mystery and the wait any longer. The suspense was killing him. What invitation?
“As you may know, the cities of Paris and San Francisco partnered about fifteen years ago, and became sister cities officially. And rather than wait for our fearless leaders to solve the problem of future attacks and how to prevent and deal with them, which may not be possible anyway, the Department of Emergency Management here and its French counterpart under the umbrella of the Ministry of the Interior are proposing to send over four of our best trauma doctors to share with them how we respond to mass casualty incidents here. They’re inviting four trauma doctors to France and will treat you royally for four weeks to have an information exchange. After a brief two-week hiatus, four of their emergency management doctors and officials would come here as the guests of our city, so we can show them the techniques we use. The only example of a large-scale public disaster we’ve had in San Francisco recently was the hotel fire, which was not an act of terrorism, but some of the same techniques were used to handle a large number of victims and coordinate several hospitals simultaneously.
“From all the reports I’ve seen, you did a heroic job of holding up our end that night, and I’d like to recommend you for this project, Tom. I think you’d be a great addition to the team from San Francisco, and there is always a lot to learn from pooling information. We’re not exempt from terrorist attacks here either, or from crazed gunmen taking over a public place. Also, the earthquake risk we have here forces us to face some of these issues in case of a natural disaster. I think our French counterparts have something to learn from us too. And four weeks in Paris sounds like a plum assignment to me. What do you think?” Tom was beaming as he listened, and the nature of the project began to sink in. The chance to meet French women again and spread his talents internationally sounded like a fantastic opportunity to him.
“I think I can handle it,” Tom said, smiling at him. “I think we’ll all learn a lot from each other,” particularly the French girls he was hoping to meet. The social aspects of the mission sounded even more exciting than the professional ones, now that he knew he wasn’t in trouble with the big boss.
“We expect you to represent us in a dignified manner,” the director said seriously, calling Tom to order, as though he could read his mind, so Tom wiped the lascivious smile off his face. “It’s quite an honor for the mayor to allow us to present a candidate for the assignment. From what I understand, four hospitals have been selected, and we’re very pleased to be one of them. A group of your peers seems to think you’d be the best man for the job. I understand that you have a cool head in a crisis, and with serious matters at hand, you’re a great leader and never let your partners down. You are an excellent physician and up to date on state-of-the-art techniques.” It was high praise from the administration and Tom beamed again.
“Thank you, sir. I won’t let you down,” he said.
“If I thought you would, I wouldn’t be asking you to go. They want to get this project going quickly, after the recent attacks. You’ll be leaving in two weeks, and staying in Paris for a month. Will that be a problem for you?” The director didn’t know what kind of personal involvements Tom had that could stand in the way, but Tom assured him there were none.