Page 14

“Rachel!” The bathroom was vacant, the bedrooms barren. Where had the sheets gone?

Clarissa stood in the kitchen, her heart hammering. Movement out the back window caught her eye. A sheet billowed in the breeze.

She tried the back door. It was unlocked. Rachel was standing outside with a basket at her feet, draping sheets over the line, smoothing and securing them with wooden pins.

“Hiya, Claire, how was work?” she asked.

Clarissa sank onto the back steps, leaning her head against the doorjamb, taking in several deep breaths.

“School was fi—work? Did you ask me about work?” Clarissa’s eyes widened.

“At Donna’s Diner, haven’t you been working there the last ten years?”

“Yeah, I have been. And you remembered that. Oh, aunty.” Leaping from the steps, she pulled Rachel into a hug.

“You okay, baby?” Rachel petted her hair.

“I’m perfect, just perfect. Why don’t I change and we can go for a walk?”

“I’d like that. I feel like I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Same.” She gave her another squeeze, then sprinted back inside.

She traded her uniform for jeans and her old Batman hoodie. It was a men’s 2X that went down to her knees. She’d had it since she was thirteen. It was worn and perfectly cozy. After pulling her hair into a ponytail, she grabbed her sneakers and went out to meet Rachel.

They spent an hour meandering through the back roads around their home. Walking hand in hand, they talked like they hadn’t in years. Clarissa yammered about town gossip and all the people Rachel used to know, giving her an update on everything she’d missed.

Days like this were the best and the worst. Clarissa got to spend time with her aunt again, and everything felt like it used to. It felt safe and comfortable, the worries about getting Rachel proper care and meeting bills on time all shoved to the back burner, if only for a moment.

On the other hand, spending time with Rachel the way she used to be made it that much worse when she reverted and her illness took her. The stab of that pain was like reliving the diagnosis all over.

Clarissa’s spine went rigid, thinking about it. Today was a harsh reminder she needed to get Rachel in for more testing.

At first, she’d believed the diagnosis. Why wouldn’t she? Rachel had the classic symptoms of early-onset dementia. But when Sylvia’s father-in-law had been diagnosed three years ago, her suspicion was piqued. Of course, illnesses would look different in different patients, but they shouldn’t look that different.

Sure, Rachel got confused, forgot what she was doing, and was easily agitated when confronted with this fact, but the illness hadn’t touched her physically. Once more, her lucid days were a little too lucid. Something wasn’t right.

After doing her own research, Clarissa had confronted the doctors about it. They’d been evasive and couldn’t answer any of her questions.

Something was wrong with Rachel, but she had no idea what. She needed more testing; only problem was, she was still trying to pay off the bills from the last round of tests. How was she going to afford more medical bills and a home nurse?

Deciding not to ruin the good afternoon with Rachel, Clarissa pushed it from her mind, for now. They strolled down the dirt lanes, zigzagging across their neighborhood as the sun started to set. When Clarissa’s stomach growled, they turned around.

Back in their tiny kitchen, she found Rachel hadn’t eaten the leftover spaghetti for lunch, so she split the leftovers, automatically giving Rachel the larger portion.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Rachel frowned at the plates.

Clarissa blanched. She always made Rachel’s plate fuller, typically going to bed hungry herself. Rachel wasn’t normally cognizant enough to notice.

“I had something bad for lunch,” she said. “I think that’s why it’s making so much noise. I don’t want to upset it again.”

Rachel pursed her lips. “Take some Pepto, maybe it’ll settle down enough for you to have a full dinner.”

“Good idea.” While the plates rotated in the microwave, she swallowed a spoonful of the pink liquid for show.

Frowning at the empty leftover containers, Rachel peeked inside the empty cupboards, then at Clarissa. She took in a shaking breath.

“You aren’t going to classes at the community college anymore, are you?”