Page 37 of Waves of Time

“I understand,” Frank said.

“Next time,” Hilary whispered her heart rate spiking.

“I won’t hold you to that,” Frank assured her. “But know that you’re always welcome.”

That night, Hilary got into Frank’s Ferrari, buckled her seatbelt, and allowed herself to be driven home through the glorious night. Throughout, she kept her eyes half-closed, too frightened that the bright lights against the night sky would activate her weird vision problems. Frank remained quiet and kept the radio up, but the silence between them was comfortable, assuring. Hilary had a sense that something real was happening between them. She couldn’t say why.

Out front of her Victorian home, Frank kissed Hilary again, then whispered, “I can’t wait to see you again.” Hilary floated from the Ferrari, up the front steps of her porch, then into her home, the windows of which were lit up, indicating Aria was home. Oh, her heart was full.

But as soon as she shut the door between herself and the outside world, Aria hurried into the foyer and demanded, “Why haven’t you been answering your phone!”

Hilary blinked at her daughter, at a loss. “I’m sorry, honey. I had it on silent during my date.”

Aria’s hands were in fists. “Thaddeus told me he had to drive you. That there was something wrong with your car?”

Hilary set her jaw. The daydreamy nature of the past few hours fell away and dropped her into the horrific reality of her current life.

“But there wasn’t anything wrong with your car. Was there, Mom?” Aria demanded, her voice rising. “You couldn’t drive it last night, either. Could you?”

Hilary dropped her gaze, which swam, even now, with strange lights. The pain that had come on so quickly earlier began to creep back in, as though it had been dormant, just waiting for her to return home.

“Mom, whatever it is, we can figure it out,” Aria whispered, her voice cracking.

Hilary glared at Aria. “I don’t think we can figure something this big out. I mean…” She shook her head as she began to weep yet again. “If there’s something really wrong, if I lose my vision, then what? My career is gone. My life, as I know it, is over.”

Aria rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Hilary, clearly at a loss. “Your eyes, Mom? It’s your eyes?”

Hilary nodded into her daughter’s shoulder as Aria, too, began to cry. She then led Aria to the living room, where they turned the television on silent so that Hilary could explain what she knew about her current condition: that for the past few weeks, she’d experienced these flashing white lights. Now, there was tremendous pain that let her debilitated.

“I wanted to ignore it,” she whispered. “I just wanted it to go away on its own. But it’s still here. And I’m terrified.”

Aria sniffed several times, trying to compose herself. “Tomorrow, first thing, we’re going to call the eye doctor and get you in this week. Okay?”

Hilary’s throat was very tight.How could she explain to Aria that she didn’t want to hear the worst news of her life?

“We’re going back to San Francisco this week,” Hilary said, her voice breaking, as though that was a reason that they couldn’t make it to the eye doctor in downtown Nantucket.

“No excuses,” Aria said, acting like the mother rather than the daughter. “We’re going to get this figured out. And we’re going to do it as soon as possible— before we leave for San Francisco. Okay?”

Hilary nodded, then turned to gaze out the window, where stars were flung across the night sky. “It seems impossible that I might not be able to see the stars someday. Or your face…” Hilary’s voice wavered.

“Let’s not think about that right now,” Aria said. “Let’s take everything as it comes. It’s all we can do.”

Hilary knew her daughter was right.

ChapterFourteen

Aria awoke the next morning next to her mother in bed. Slowly, careful not to wake her, she shifted around to look at Hilary, to watch as her eyes moved gently beneath her eyelids. Last night, crying, they’d both collapsed in Hilary’s bed, with Aria promising herself, over and over again, that they’d go to the doctor first-thing. Aria still hadn’t googled Hilary’s symptoms, as she knew better than to use google to frighten herself even more.

Aria tip-toed out of bed to use the bathroom and check her phone. Impossibly, it was ten-thirty in the morning; they’d both slept far past their ordinary wake-up time. Aria was supposed to work at Robby’s Crab Cabin for lunch and had to be there by eleven-thirty at the latest. She groaned and jumped in the shower, scrubbing the horrible night from her face and her body. When she stepped into the hallway, wrapped in a towel, she heard her mother’s voice coming from the bedroom.

“That’s right. Thank you so much. I’ll see you then.”

Aria hurried down the hallway, watching as her mother tossed her phone to the edge of her bed and fell back against the pillows. “Did you already call the doctor?” Aria demanded.

Hilary nodded, unable to meet Aria’s gaze.

“When is it? I’ll come with you!” Aria couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.

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