— Marcel, after the break, you’re going to the hospital.
The worker looked at him, perplexed.
— What do you mean, I’m leaving? We still have a slab to pour.
— We’re sinking it without you today.
— But the workday…
— She still gets paid.
Marcel immediately shook his head.
— Mr. Daniel, I don’t want pity.
The boss looked at him seriously.
— I’m not offering you any pity. You’ve worked here for almost eight years. Do you know how many times you’ve been absent?
Marcel thought about it.
— I don’t know… very rarely.
— Twice. I know because I checked before coming here.
Marcel remained silent.
Daniel lowered his eyes to the bread left on the napkin.
« My father was a bricklayer, » he said after a few moments. « When I was a child, he would come home exactly as you are now. Clothes full of cement, chapped hands, and a forgotten piece of bread in his pocket. »
Marcel listened without saying anything.
My mother would ask him why he hadn’t eaten. He always said he wasn’t hungry. It was only later that I understood the truth. Sometimes he would save food for us.
Daniel looked towards the unfinished building.
The company bore his name. He was the one who signed the contracts, negotiated the projects, and collected the profits.
But the men in front of him were those who erected the buildings.
Men who came to work after sleepless nights, with loans, sick children, and problems that no one asked them to have.
« I think I’ve forgotten where I come from, » he said softly.
Marcel tried to smile.
— It happens.
Daniel put his jacket over his arm.
— Go see your daughter.
— And tomorrow?
— Tomorrow, you’ll stay with your family.
— But the salary…
He will be paid. You come back when the child is better.
Marcel rubbed his dusty palms together, visibly troubled.
— I don’t know how to thank you.
— Pretend you didn’t see me eating that cheap pâté.
Marcel laughed for the first time that day.
The decision
Daniel took a few steps, then stopped.
— And something else.
He turned to the team leader.
— Starting Monday, I want a hot meal for everyone on the construction site. Every day. At the company’s expense.
A few workers looked at each other, convinced they hadn’t heard correctly.
Marcel raised his slice of bread.
— Because of my lunch?
Daniel smiled.
— Because I realized that I was looking too much at the buildings and too little at the men who build them.
That afternoon, Marcel arrived at the hospital.
When he entered the room, his little girl was in bed, and his wife was next to her.
– Dad !
The child stretched his arms out towards him.
Marcel hugged her and, for the first time in hours, he felt he could breathe.
Fortunately, the doctors were right. After a few days of treatment, the little girl’s condition improved and she was able to go home.
Marcel then returned to work.
The following Monday
See more on the next page