Ophelia stoically turned away from her mother, reaching for the door.
“Wait,” her mother called, voice cracking in a way that splintered her heart just as effectively as it had when she was a child. “Don’t go. What am I supposed to do?”
She turned back, taking in her mother’s bloodshot, watery eyes and the way she was hugging her arms around her chest. Ophelia crossed the room in two steps and threw her arms around her, notching her chin against her shoulder and hugging her close as she began to fall apart.
“Live,” Ophelia whispered, rubbing circles into her mother’s back as she sobbed. “Like a normal person, Mom. Sell some of this junk, get a place you can afford. Use the money to go back to school and learn a skill you can use to get a job. Just live, like everyone else.”
“I can’t. I’m too old. It’s too hard!”
“You’re not,” Ophelia said, drawing back to hold her mother at arm’s length. “And you’re not helpless.”
“You’re being mean,” her mother said, sniffling. “You really are just like him.”
“Then maybe you should have chosen someone else to father your child,” Ophelia said heatedly. The anger fizzled as quickly as it had come on, and she sighed. Her hands dropped from her mother’s shoulders as she took a step back, hugging her elbows. “I’m leaving the city.”
“What?” Her mother wiped at her eyes, smearing her mascara in dark streaks across her cheeks. “You’re not serious.”
She offered a sad smile as she shook her head. “I’m really leaving. I think…” She looked past her mother toward the windows, where night was falling over the city in earnest. Neon lights flickered on as far as the eye could see. “I think it’s heldme back, staying here. I don’t want to live like that anymore, clinging to what’s familiar because it makes me feel safe. Safe is also stagnant, and I… I want more.”
“You think you’re better than me,” her mother said in a defeated tone.
“No. I don’t. I think we’re both struggling in the same ways, actually.”
Her mother looked taken aback by that, so startled that she didn’t take offense to Ophelia’s words as she normally did whenever she suggested that her mental health might not be ideal.
“I think we can both be better,” she continued. “I want that for you, Mom. That’s why I opened the trust.” She gestured toward the legal documents scattered over the floor. “If you don’t want to use it, then don’t. But I think it would be good for you if you can find it in yourself to be brave.”
“I’m not a coward,” her mother said heatedly.
Ophelia shrugged. “I want you to be happy. I always have. I just can’t be responsible for keeping you there anymore.”
Her mother’s mouth opened, but nothing came out.
“I love you, Mom,” she said softly.
She left her mother standing open-mouthed and speechless amid the strewn papers and headed out into the night to claim her own happiness for once.
Her next stop before the auction was the lab. She hadn’t been back since the day Sam had ambushed her, and the familiar sounds and smells washed over her as she unlocked the door: cleansers and the scent of fresh-cut flowers.
Brenda was standing around the bench with a few of the other scientists, laughing and clinking together beakers that they were using as glasses. Her gaze cut toward Ophelia as she approached, and her eyes widened.
“Ophelia!” she cried, throwing up both arms. “I thought you wouldn’t be back for another week! What are you doing here? Oh, never mind, you’re just in time!”
She hustled over and grabbed Ophelia by the wrist, dragging her to the table they’d gathered around. There was a vase of cut lilies at the center, the buds open and wilting as though they’d been sitting out for a few days.
“Tom, the lights!” she called, pointing at the switch.
Tom hit the lights, and the lilies glowed softly, illuminating Brenda’s face.
“We did it,” Brenda exclaimed. “Look, Effie!”
She shook Ophelia’s arm so hard her teeth rattled, bouncing up and down at her side.
“It’s been a week!A week! And they’re still glowing!”
She blinked, realizing she recognized the label taped to the side of the glass vase. “Are these…”
“Your sample!” Brenda confirmed, shaking her again. “You did it.” She threw back her head and laughed, swinging Ophelia around the room. “We’ve been approved for more funding and cleared to move on to the next stage of testing.”
