At Seth's last words, Celia went icy cold. She had a horrible foreboding of what was coming next. "Last week the doctors established that Juliet's baby was adversely affected by the drug.”
Seth's voice was close to breaking.”Sam's grandson is mentally defective and has limbs that won't function-a vegetable like all the others.”
Celia emitted a strangled cry of grief and anguish, then incredulity replaced it.”How could Sam have done it? At that time Montayne wasn't approved for use.”
"There were physicians' samples, as you know. Sam used them, telling no one except Juliet. I suppose he had so much faith in Montayne, he assumed there was no risk. There was some personal involvement too, and maybe pride. If you remember, Sam acquired Montayne himself from Gironde-Chimie.”
"Yes, I remember.”
Celia's thoughts were whirling-a melange of frustration, anger, bitterness and pity. Seth interrupted them. "I said we need you, Celia, and so we do. As you can imagine, Sam is torn with grief and guilt and, at the moment, isn't functioning. But that's only part of it. Everything here is a mess. We're like a damaged, rudderless ship, and we need you to assess the damage and take charge. For one thing, you're the only one with sufficient knowledge and experience. For another, all of us-including the board-respect your judgments, especially now. And, oh yes, you'd come back as executive vice president. I won't go into the financial arrangements, but they'd be generous.”
Executive vice president of Felding-Roth. Only one rung below the presidency, and higher than she would have been as vice president of sales, the promotion she had forfeited by resigning. There was a time, Celia thought, when the offer just made would have been a cause for rejoicing, a shining landmark in her life. How strange that suddenly it meant so little. "You may have guessed," Seth said, "that some others-a few members of the board-are with me, listening to this conversation. We’re waiting here, hoping your answer will be yes.”
Celia became aware of Andrew signalling to her from the bathroom. For the second time since the conversation began, she said into the telephone, "Wait, please.”
Andrew hung up the extension and came out. As before, with her phone mouthpiece covered, she asked him, "What do you think?" He told her, "You'll have to make the decision. But remember this: If you go back, it won't matter that you resigned and have been away. Some of the Montayne mess and responsibility will rub off on you.”
"I know.”
She considered.”But I was with the company a long time. They were good years, and now they need me. I'll only go back, though, if...”
She returned to the phone. "Seth, I've listened carefully to what you've said. I will accept, but under one condition.”
"Name it.”
"Montayne must be withdrawn from sale by Felding-Roth today, and a public statement made about its dangers. Not tomorrow, not next week, and no more waiting while the FDA makes up its mind. Today - " "Celia, that's impossible. I explained the warnings from our lawyers, the question of liability. We could be inviting millions of dollars' worth of lawsuit&---enough to break the company.”
"There'll be lawsuits anyway.”
"We know that. But we don't want to make the situation worse. Withdrawal is bound to happen soon. Meanwhile, with you here we could discuss it...”
"I don't want it discussed. I want it done. I want it on national TV and radio today and in every newspaper in the country within twenty-four hours. I'll be watching and listening. Otherwise, no deal.”
It was Seth's turn to say, "Just a moment.”
Celia could hear a muted discussion at the other end. There was some obvious dissension, then she heard Seth say, "She's adamant," and a moment later, "Of course she means it. And remember, we need her more than she needs us.”
The debate in New Jersey continued for a few minutes more, most of it inaudible to Celia. Finally, Seth returned to the phone. "Celia, your terms are met. What you insist on will be done at once- -within the hour. I guarantee it personally. Now... how soon can you be back?" She told him, "I'll get the first flight out of here. Expect me in the office tomorrow.”
They managed to get four coach seats on a United Airlines 747, leaving Honolulu at 4:50 P.m. The flight was a nonstop to Chicago, where they would change to another flight due in New York at 9 A.M. local time the following day. Celia intended to get what sleep she could en route, then go to Felding-Roth headquarters that same morning. Lisa and Bruce, who had planned to spend two more days in Hawaii, made the decision to return east with their parents. As Lisa put it, "We haven't seen you for so long, we want to be with you as much as we can. Also, if I'm by myself I know I'll be sad, and probably cry, thinking about those poor deformed babies.”
Over a hurried breakfast in Andrew's and Celia's suite, interrupted by several telephone calls relating to their departure, it was Andrew who had explained the tragic situation to the children. "I will talk about it," Celia had said, "but if you don't mind, not any more for a while. I guess you could say I'm shell-shocked at this moment.”
Even now, she wondered whether she had done the right thing by agreeing to go back, then reminded herself that her insistence on having Montayne withdrawn at once would save at least some babies and mothers from their otherwise terrible fate. That Felding-Roth's promise to Celia had been kept became evident shortly before they left the Kahala Hilton for Honolulu Airport. A radio music program was interrupted for a special news bulletin. It reported the withdrawal of Montayne from public sale because of "possible harmful effects which are being investigated," and added a warning that doctors should cease prescribing the drug and pregnant women should stop taking it. On a regular newscast, soon after, an amplified report had Montayne's withdrawal as the top item and, at the airport, an afternoon edition of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin carried an Associated Press news story on the subject on its front page. It seemed clear that a barrage of publicity had begun and was likely to continue. For the Jordan family it proved a very different day from the quiet one on a beach which they had planned the night before. The airplane was crowded, but their four-abreast seats in the aft section at least allowed some private conversation and after a while Celia told the others, "Thank you for being patient. Now you can ask questions if you wish.”
Bruce was first. "How could something like this happen, Mom, with a drug being okayed, then having so much bad effect?" She organized her thoughts before answering. "What you have to remember first," Celia said, "is that a drug, any drug, is an alien chemical in the human body. It's put there usually when a doctor prescribes it-with the aim of correcting something that's wrong in the body. But as well as doing good, it may also do harm. The harmful part is called a side effect, though there can be harmless side effects too.”
Andrew added, "There's also something known as 'risk versus benefit.' A physician has to judge whether the risk of using a particular drug is worth taking in order to get results that he and the patient want. Some drugs involve more risks than others. But even with simple aspirin there's a risk-a serious one at times, because aspirin can cause internal bleeding.”
"But surely," Lisa said, "drug companies test drugs before they're sold, and the FDA is supposed to find out about risks what they are and how bad.”
"Yes, all of that's true," Celia acknowledged.”But what often isn't understood is that there are limitations with testing, even nowadays. When a new drug is tested, it's used first on animals. Then if the animal data looks okay, it's tried on human volunteers. All of that takes several years. But at the end of human trials, when everything about the drug may appear to be fine, it has still been used by only a few hundred, or perhaps a thousand people.”