When they call my name, I stand up to find all eyes on us. And they’re not just interested anymore. No, they seem kind of…wary. Disapproving.
A curl of Rex’s upper lip makes them all turn away, go back to their own business. But I walk into the examination room feeling uneasy. Not because I give a rat’s behind what other people think…but because I don’t think Rex is cool with it. At all. He’s stoic as the woman examines my eyes, his big arms crossed. What is he thinking about?
“Have you heard of anisometropia?” asks the doctor, interrupting my worry. “You have different refractive power in each eye, Mrs. Bates.”
I ignore the fact that she referred to me as Mrs. “Is that…bad?”
“Well, it can cause poor depth perception.” Her gaze travels down to my bruised knees. “Cause trips and falls…”
“That’s me,” I breathe, reaching out to hold Rex’s hand. He takes it, bringing my palm to his mouth as the doctor watches. “Can you fix it?”
“Yes. Glasses, corrective lenses. We just need to give your eyes the same refractive power.” The doctor stands and picks up a device that looks like spectacles on steroids, twisting two small, black wheels. She walks back over and holds it in front of my eyes. “Look through here. This is how the world will appear through glasses.”
I take the device in my own hands and immediately turn to Rex, seeing him even more clearly than usual. Oh. Oh wow. When he sees what I’m doing, he coughs and glances away, then back at me. As if waiting for a verdict. “You’re even more handsome now.” I whisper the truth, my loins tightening and wetting the material of my panties. “I love the gray in your beard.”
He shifts in his boots, giving another cough. Trying to be casual, but I can see the relief and pleasure he’s trying to hide. “Good thing, cause I ain’t dyeing it.”
The doctor chuckles and takes back the device. “You’ll need to wear glasses or lenses at all times. Surgery is the only way to repair your eyes for good. Without them, you’re still at risk for falls.”
“Give her both,” Rex says, taking a credit card out of his wallet and handing it to the doctor. “Whatever keeps her from getting hurt.”
“Perfect. The glasses will be a short wait, but we can get your contact lenses ready to go now.” The doctor sends a smile over her shoulder as she walks toward the exam room door. “Let’s go look at some frames while my colleague gets your lenses from the stock room.”
“Great.” I slide off the chair into Rex’s waiting arms. “I never would have known. Not without you.”
He frames my jaw in one hand, lowering his head for a slow kiss. “Going to take care of you so damn good.”
“Going to take care of you, too.” I go up on my toes, gasping when his hands slide down and grip my bottom. “So good.”
The doctor sticks her head back in through the door, clearing her throat. “I’m, uh…ready for you up front, Mrs. Bates.”
“Oh. Okay.” Blushing to the roots of my hair, I unplaster myself from Rex’s body and we hold hands, walking out of the examination room together. The doctor is whispering to one of her associates when we approach, but stops talking when we arrive at the glass case. She has already laid out several pairs of glasses in a felt-lined box, square frames, more circular, different colors. But I know before trying on any of them, I want the pink frames. They’re perfect.
Rex laughs when I pick them up and I elbow him. Putting them on confirms what I already know. I’ve found my glasses.
I face Rex and cock my hip, catching my breath over the affection he’s showing me. “What do you think, Daddy?” It just slips out. Rex’s easy demeanor stiffens, his smile collapsing. And everyone in the store seems to hear, turning to look at us like bugs under a microscope. “I-I mean—”
“Daddy?” I cringe at the outrage in the doctor’s voice. “I thought she was your wife, sir. You’ve been…I saw you—”
“Forget the glasses. Just charge me for the goddamn contact lenses,” Rex snaps. “Hand them over so we can get out of here.”
“Gladly,” sneers the doctor, sailing toward the back of the store.
The silence that falls is deafening. All I can hear is my pulse pounding in my head. Not to mention, the crash and burn of my earlier optimism. “Please…” I murmur, moving closer to the safety of Rex.
But he steps back, thrusting his car keys in my hand. “Go wait in the truck.”
A piece of my heart chips off. “No.”
His jaw is poised to shatter. “Clara.”
It’s a standoff between us, but thankfully the doctor returns, holding out a plastic bag for me to take. Rex signs the receipt and gets his credit card back, allowing us to leave the store, which remains at a total standstill. Before we even climb into the truck, I know I was naïve to think we could work. This will never work. Rex might not treat me like I’m the weird girl in private, but in public he’s the same as everyone else. Making me feel odd. Different. He wants us to pretend we’re something else for other people’s sake—but after coming so close to what I’ve always needed, doing that will only hurt. I need Rex to be one hundred percent on board with our unique relationship…or…or what?