Into the Aether_Part One(32)

“Right. I forgot about that,” Linda said quietly.

“Forgot about what?” Lara asked.

“Don’t worry, have a seat. We’ll get going soon,” Linda said, slinging her slipping purse back around her shoulder, and walked up to the desk. “How much do I owe?”

Lara took a seat in the waiting room, and watched as Jeff produced a piece of paper and started explaining something quietly to Linda. He pointed down the page, apparently showing her an itemized list. He finally pulled the cap off of the pen and circled something on the page. Linda placed her elbow on the admissions desk and started massaging her forehead.

“Can I pay that in installments?” Linda asked. He nodded and pointed to a large sign that read ‘Accepted Forms of Payment: MasterCard, Visa, or Check. No Cash on Premises’.

Linda reached into her purse and pulled out her check book, filling out three separate checks and handed them over to him. He smiled, stood up, and grabbed a slip of paper from the printer. Folding it neatly, Linda placed it in her purse and got up.

“Time to go, Lara,” Linda said in a flat tone.

“What was up with our insurance?” Lara asked.

“Nothing to worry about.” Linda forced a smile, but her eyes were dark. “We should get back to the store. Greg is watching it.”

“Greg is watching the store? What if someone needs a fitting?”

“I told him he was not allowed to do that.”

Lara tried to imagine Greg giving a fitting to some buxom woman. She could just picture him, eyes wide, hands trembling, and then passing out. She started giggling at this. Linda looked at her daughter with an amused expression.

In the parking lot, Lara opened the passenger door to their pre-owned Ford, quickly sat down, and fastened her seatbelt. Ever since she was a child, Lara made a game of trying to have her door closed and her seatbelt fastened before her mother had closed her door. Even now, she felt a small victory.

Linda backed the car up and they made their way toward Darcy Street. Pulling out onto the road, they started in the direction of Linda’s store.

“Greg wasn’t supposed to tell you about my visit to the hospital,” Lara said.

“Why not?” Linda asked. Lara looked silently out the window. “It was a good thing he did, or else you’d be stuck with the bill.”

“Mom, what’s up with our insurance?”

Linda’s face puckered. “I don’t want to talk about that, Lara,” she said. Lara huffed loudly, crossing her arms. “Oh, don’t act like that,” Linda said briskly.

“Like what?”

“Like a child.”

“I’m acting like a child?” Lara pointed a finger to her chest. “At least I didn’t let the insurance get suspended.”

Linda glowered at her daughter and said, “Tell me, just how did you end up in the hospital anyway?”

“Greg drove me.”

“Don’t be smart.”

“It’s the truth.”

“Why were you in the hospital?”

“I hurt myself at school.”

“Doing what?”

“Dodgeball.”

“You’re a horrible liar.” Linda gripped the steering wheel tightly, the whites of her knuckles protruding. “I already know.”

“And what do you know?” Lara asked, her heart pounding.

“Everything.”

“Greg told you?”

“Every, last, detail.” Linda replied, hoping Lara would fall for her bluff.

Lara looked down again, absently rubbing her midsection. “I was so scared, Mom,” she said, tears starting to well in her eyes. “When I was in that nightmare and that… monster had me pinned to the wall, I thought I really was going to die.”

“Monster?” Linda nearly swerved off the road. “There are monsters in there that can hurt you? David never talked about that.”

Lara looked at her mother. “David? You mean Dad?” Lara asked. “Why would Dad know about...” Lara’s face twisted as shock and disbelief, followed by anger, flowed through her. “Dad was like me?”

Linda’s shoulders sagged as they pulled up to a stoplight. She stared down the street.

“Look at me,” Lara said.

Linda looked at her daughter, tears streaming down her face. “No. I won’t talk about him.” The stoplight turned green and Linda accelerated quickly.

“That’s what we do in this family, isn’t it? Have a problem? Just don’t talk about it,” Lara said, slicing her hand through the air in front of her. “Daughter can go into other people’s dreams? Don’t talk about it. Dad can do the same thing? Don’t talk about it. Business failing? Don’t talk about it. For all I know, your store is going to close next month, and the month after that? We’ll probably lose our house.”

Linda sobbed openly. She pulled off to the side of the road and turned toward Lara. “I put everything, everything into that business! I ran it as best as I could.”

“You ran it into the ground. Maybe I should have told the doctor you had beaten me. At least then they would have placed me with a real mother.”

Even in her rage, Lara knew she had crossed a line. Linda stopped sobbing and wiped the tears from her eyes. She took several deep breaths and faced forward in her seat.