CHAPTER 144: January

POV: Selene Castellano

Dr Ruth arrived early.

Selene caught sight of her through the office window, standing out in the hallway, staring at Maya's artwork on the walls with a curious expression, like someone trying to figure out a puzzle before being given any clues.

She went out to meet her.

“Thank you for coming,” Selene said.

“Kevin Walsh is very persuasive,” Dr. Ruth said.

“He is.”

According to Dr. Ruth, he had a strong desire to be present and make a meaningful contribution, stating “I wanted to be here, I want to be useful if I can.”

They went in together.

The oversight committee was seven people.

The meeting was attended by several key individuals, including Dr Ruth, Kevin Walsh, and Susan Park, as well as David Torres. Also present was Grace Kim, a housing policy researcher who had been involved with the foundation since the first symposium. Additionally, Patricia Ruiz, a retired city councilwoman, was in attendance, having been personally invited by Kevin. Rounding out the group was James, who was representing the foundation's board, albeit without voting rights.

Amara facilitated.

Selene sat against the wall.

She’d decided that deliberately. This committee existed to hold the foundation accountable and she wasn’t going to sit at the table while it did that. She was going to sit where she could see everything and say nothing unless asked.

Avalon had understood when she explained it.

He wasn’t there at all.

Also deliberate.

The first hour was structure.

Amara walked them through the committee’s mandate, its powers, its reporting requirements. Kevin asked hard questions about enforcement mechanisms. Patricia Ruiz asked harder ones about independence from foundation leadership.

Amara answered everything directly.

Selene had noticed that Grace Kim was a woman of few words, but her writing spoke volumes, and Selene had learned to pay close attention to her, as it seemed that Grace's silence was often a sign of her intense focus and thoughtful consideration.

It wasn't until the second hour that Dr Ruth finally spoke up for the first time.

"I'm trying to get a sense of what this remediation fund is really about," she explained. "I don't just want to look at the numbers, I want to understand the idea behind it. What does remediation mean to the people on this committee? How do you see it playing out in real life, when is it actually working the way it's supposed to?"

Kevin said it seems his grandfather, Kevin Walsh, was fortunate enough to be able to afford living in the Mission back in 1983.

“We can’t do that,” Susan Park said.

"So, what's the next best option then?" Kevin asked, looking for an alternative.

Grace Kim lifted her gaze from the papers in front of her, her eyes focusing on something else for the first time in a while.

"It's all about being proactive, not reactive," she explained. "Since we can't erase the damage that's already been done, we should focus on stopping it from happening again in the future. We need to invest in the things that will allow people to stay in their homes and communities, rather than just providing temporary solutions. It's about creating stability, not just offering services to patch up the problems."

The room fell silent, the kind of silence that happens when something resonates deeply with everyone.

Dr. Adeyemi wrote it down.

“Stability not services,” she said. 

“Services treat symptoms,” Grace said. “ Stability addresses conditions.”

Selene wrote it down too.

Against the wall, her notebook on her knee, she wrote: Stability not services and underlined it twice.

This was what the foundation had been missing.

It wasn't about what it did, but how it expressed itself, and the way it grasped its own purpose. The language it used was key, and how it understood its own identity was what really mattered.

From the very start, she had been advocating for the gap to be closed.

Grace Kim had finally put into words what closing the gap really meant, and it was a moment of clarity that would change everything.

The meeting ran three hours.

When it ended Kevin stayed behind.

He sat across from Selene, the room slowly emptying out as people left, and then he said, "Dr Ruth."

“Yes,” Selene said.

“She’s right for this,” he said. “ She doesn’t perform caring. She just cares.”

“I know,” Selene said.

"Grace Kim too," he said, his voice filled with a sense of determination. "She's really going to push hard, you can count on that."

"Good," Selene said with a nod. "That's exactly why she's here."

Kevin looked at the empty table.

Kevin said, "There's a lot of discussion going on about it, and to be honest, not all of it is easy to hear. Some folks think it doesn't go far enough, while others believe it's too little, too late. Then there are those who see it as just a publicity stunt." He took a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing, "But the fact is, people are talking, and they're being honest about it. That's a big step forward from where we were before, when nobody was really willing to have these tough conversations. At least now, we're having an open and honest dialogue, and that's something to build on."

“Is it enough?” Selene asked.

Kevin shook his head, "No, but it's a beginning." He got to his feet, his eyes locked on the others. "Don't let it get to you, keep moving forward - just because things got tough doesn't mean you should slow down."

He left.

She called Avalon on the way home.

“How was it?, he asked.

"According to Grace, stability is more important than services," she explained. "This is exactly what has been lacking, and it's what the remediation fund should focus on."

“Tell me what that means,” he said.

She told him.

He gave her his full attention.

When she finished he said: “She’s right.”

“I know.”

“Do you want me to call James.”

"I had already sent him a text," she explained, "and also reached out to Amara. They were planning to get together on Thursday to work on rebuilding the framework for remediation, focusing on the key areas that needed improvement."

A pause.

“You’re okay,” he said, not as a question.

“Yes,” she said.

“The baby is okay?”

"The baby's doing great," she replied. "I've got a check-up scheduled for next week, so we'll know more then."

“I’m coming.”

“I know you are,” she said.

She stood still for a moment outside the office of the foundation, before turning to head towards her car.

Looked up at the building.

Back in 2009, I was thinking about Nene and how she was looking through historical records all by herself.

Thought about fourteen years of carrying something without knowing how to set it down properly.

Her phone buzzed.

Maya.

Kofi’s mother wants to video call you. Something about the baby. She knitted something apparently. Fair warning she’s going to cry.

Selene smiled at her phone and typed back as she walked to her car.

Tell her yes. Tonight.