The Matchmaker's Gift(41)
Dr. Cooper beamed. “Yes! Isn’t that amazing? I can’t tell you how many times I heard the story when I was growing up. Your grandmother was only a girl when they met, and my grandfather was studying to be an optometrist.”
“There was something in my grandmother’s journal … your grandmother didn’t make hats, did she?”
“She was a hat trimmer! Yes! Before she got married. My mother always said she had a great sense of style.” Dr. Cooper gestured to her sneakers and the rumpled white doctor’s coat she wore over mismatched clothes. “Unfortunately, I did not inherit it.”
Abby fidgeted in the chair. She was beginning to feel lightheaded now. “Do you remember anything else your grandfather said? About my grandmother, I mean?”
“I was only sixteen when he died, but I know she made quite an impression on him. He told us the same story every year, always on his anniversary. If it weren’t for that stubborn little nudge, Sara Glikman, I never would have met your grandmother.”
“He called her a nudge, huh? He was right about that.” Abby thought about all the times Grandma Sara had pushed her to learn or try something new. If it weren’t for her grandmother, she wouldn’t know how to roller skate, how to sew on a button, or how to tweeze her own eyebrows. She never would have known that eggs, lox, and onions was the most delicious combination ever concocted. She wouldn’t have applied to Columbia Law School, and she probably wouldn’t have gotten such a good deal on her apartment. A fresh surge of sorrow wound its way through her. What would her grandmother say to her now? Abby stared up at the ceiling for a moment before her eyes wandered down to the clock on the wall. It was already twenty minutes after eight. She swallowed the lump in the back of her throat. “Would you mind if we got started with my exam? I don’t want to be too late for work.”
“Of course. I got carried away—sorry. If you lean your head forward, you can rest your chin right there.” Abby looked through the phoropter and read from the eye chart while Dr. Cooper adjusted the dials. “Is it better like this … or this?” she asked. “A or B? Better or worse?”
Next, they moved on to a smaller device that measured the inner pressure of her eye. “This helps us to check for glaucoma,” the doctor said.
“That can cause blindness, right?” Abby asked.
“It can, but we have a lot of treatments these days.”
“I wonder if that’s what my client has,” Abby said. “The one I mentioned on the phone. I brought her some papers a few days ago, but she didn’t want to—or couldn’t—read them herself. I had to read them to her out loud. At first, I thought she was just tired, but then she couldn’t even see the signature line.”
“Did you ask her about it?”
“I didn’t, no. We got interrupted, and it didn’t seem appropriate. Can I ask—I know you’ve never met this woman and I have hardly any information, but do you have any idea why that could happen?”
Dr. Cooper shook her head and frowned. “It’s impossible to know without examining her. There are way too many possibilities—glaucoma, like you said, macular degeneration, cataracts. I’d be happy to see her if she wants to make an appointment.”
“Thanks. I shouldn’t even be asking. My boss would have a fit if she knew I was discussing a client. And I’m not sure the client would appreciate it either. Giving unsolicited medical advice isn’t part of my job description.”
“I don’t know about that,” Dr. Cooper said. “Your grandmother gave me unsolicited advice all the time. Maybe it runs in the family.”
Abby almost laughed. “Are you saying I’m a nudge, too?”
“I don’t know you well enough to decide, but I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing. It sounds like you really care about this woman.”
“I do. I mean, I only just met her, but I want to help her if I can. This will sound strange, but her husband walked in when we were reviewing the papers, and I got this … overwhelming feeling that they shouldn’t split up.”
The corners of Dr. Cooper’s lips quivered slightly, but she didn’t say a word.
Abby continued. “I know her husband doesn’t want the divorce—she’s been extremely clear about that. She doesn’t seem happy about it either, but she’s determined to end the marriage anyway. Still … when I saw the two of them together, it was so obvious. You couldn’t look at them and not see how madly in love they were with each other.” Abby considered describing the sun through the window and the halo of light. But she had already said too much, and she didn’t want the ophthalmologist to think she was crazy.
After a moment of quiet, Abby apologized. “I’m sorry, Dr. Cooper. You must have other patients waiting. I’ve taken up way too much of your time.”
“Call me Jessica,” Dr. Cooper whispered. “And please, please, don’t apologize. I can’t tell you how touched I am by what you’ve told me. You sound so much like your grandmother, Abby. It’s … uncanny.” Jessica’s eyes clouded over with tears.
Her display of emotion caught Abby off guard. “Dr. Cooper—Jessica. When you called me, you said something about me being ready to talk. Was it about the fact that our grandparents knew each other, or is there something else you thought I wanted to talk about?”