He was unemployed. This was the only thing that he could think since the morning until night. Sometimes even in his dreams those thoughts came out. Unemployed. A boy, a wife and a big dog to sustain and he was unemployed.
That friday would be three weeks on that situation. He had some money yet and he could use it to pay his next month bills, but he knew that he couldn't stay in that situation for too long.
Living in São Paulo was expensive. The house rent was too high. A rent that a pediatrician could pay, but now he had no job.
"High costs" they said and he knew what that was suposed to mean. He was the pediatric's chief and this brings a huge responsability. Another doctor have done a mistake and that cost his job. The hospital came with that cost story, but he knew since the begining that his employee's mistake cost his job and remembering that made he angry.
They have given the news on a small room. The directors were nervous and Augusto didn't understand the reasons why. It was the oldest member who spoke with some hurry in his words. The man's voice was full of fear and Augusto hadn't have the time to argue. They wanted to put an end to the conversation as soon as possible. They let the papers on the table and ordered him to take to the HR. And like that in less than a minute he lost his job.
Samuel, his best friend, was outside the room when that happened. The friend's words came to his mind in this moment: "Damn, I tryed to came here first to let you know but I couldn't. I've heard one of these motherfuckers talking with each other. They said that they needed to do this today".
Augusto Vianna and Samuel Osller were best friends since they started in the Medical College. Since the beggining they practiced and studied together. Sam was so upset as Augusto with all that.
But now he had no job and the scariest thing was that he couldn't find another one. He had sent his CV to lots and lots of hospitals without return. Not even and e-mail. He tryied to call to those places but he was always poorly attended, like if the person on the other side was nervous and couldn't see the time to turn the phone off.
The only offer he received came one hour after he lost the job. The first time it came by e-mail. A job in a city named Rio Denso. Augusto never heard about that place, but found on wikipedia that it was a place in Santa Catarina. It was a small city with no more than 2000 population.
But he ignored that. The e-mail was too strange and he felt some discomfort the first time he read.
He kept trying looking for new jobs while more and more e-mails were sent to him. The same e-mails as the first time:
From: weneedadoctor@riodenso.com.br
To: augustovianna@gmail.com
"We have a place for you here. Be our pediatrician. Rio Denso needs you, Dr. Augusto Vianna."
His react was always the same. Select and delete. But then the WatsApp messages started. Always the same message. In the end of the day more than 500 were accumulated. He was nervous and feeling scared, fearing for safety. He went to the police but they never did something.
Days passed and messages continued to arrive. Augusto always did the same thing: he deleted them. Besides, he was still unemployed. No response and more than 50 resumes delivered.
He was leaving to send some more when the cell phone rang and he answered without even paying attention to the number. On the other side he heard the voice of a woman of apparent fifty years old:
"Good morning, Mr. Vianna." We need a pediatrician. Are you a pediatrician? Oh, I think you are. We need you. Come to Rio Denso. Come to Santa Catarina. You will have a beautiful house, Mr. Vianna. The view is breathtaking. Say yes. Come to us.
Augustus was furious and despite being polite, he cursed the woman on the other side of every possible name that came to mind. In the end he asked her not to return, and hung up.
But it didn't help. The calls took place in a cycle of 30 or 40 minutes. The numbers varied and Augusto no longer answered anyone he had not saved on his cell phone.
Elisa, his wife, always supported him when he left to find a job in the morning. She said that on that day he would be lucky and that she would be sending positive energies. But he knew he would come home with nothing. That the pile of sent and unanswered resumes would only grow.
It was Friday morning when he heard the knock on the door. The incessant Toc-toc. They knocked one, two, three ... when they were about to hit for the fourth time the doctor opened it.
Outside, a tall, brown-haired man stared at him with a white smile. Augusto stared at him for a moment, then finally said,
"What do you want?"
The man broke the smile and said:
"Well, Mr. Vianna. What else but to offer you a job? The only job you've been refusing for weeks. An offer, as I see it, irrefutable.
Augusto began to close the door upon realizing what the man was talking about, but the stranger took his left hand to it, holding and barring the doctor's movement:
"Do not do this, Doctor, or you'll never find a job again. Neither a doctor nor a packer. You will lose everything you have and you will have to live on the street with your family. It will take a moment that you may even think about killing your dog to feed them. And finally, they will end up dying with an empty stomach, if they do not try to devour each other first. Is this end you want for your son and your beautiful wife?"
That caught Augusto by surprise. The look on the strange man's face tightened, sending a warning echoing inside his head. He opened the door again as if to tell him to go on.
The stranger smiled and continued:
"Our only hospital on Rio Denso is first world standard. We need you because we know your reputation. When we heard that they had fired you, we contacted you immediately. Since you didn't answer our e-mails or our messages at WatsApp, much less answered our phone calls, I had to come in person. And I also had to move my chopsticks so that no other place would hire you. As you can see, I have this power.
Augusto stopped. He tried to move his lips and say something to the stranger, but the sound didn't come out and all he could think about was Elisa and Rob. In the safety of both. If that man really was responsible for not getting a job, those people were dangerous. The man continued:
"What we ask is that you move to Rio Denso in two weeks. You will be the hospital's chief and we will give you a wonderful house at the top of the hill. From up there you can see the whole town, Mr. Vianna. And there's enough space for you son and his dog to play. Also, I'm sure the landscape will inspire Elisa on writing her new novel. As I have said before, it is an offer, I think, irrefutable, Mr Vianna.
Augusto understood what the man meant. He wanted to make it clear that he knew his family. If he didn't accept the offer, he would not be left without a job. He might be without his son and his wife.
The stranger seemed to read the Augusto's mind. He reached out and handed he a card. He looked at the doctor with his little green eyes and said:
"You have three days to get us back. After that, there will be no more offers."
He turned and walked away.