Chapter 10
Ingrid’s in bed when she sees Maggie’s text.
All afternoon, she and Kyle have been discussing Maggie’s request for a lifetime of free health insurance.
It was definitely a bold and unexpected ask.
If this were a regular job, she’d absolutely say no.
But nothing about this situation is normal.
And in the end, saying yes assuaged her guilt over asking Dr. Hayes not to turn over the medical records about her cancer signals to Dr. Samuels, citing privacy concerns.
Kyle had mumbled a few worries and qualms about her decision, but in the end let it go.
It is, after all, her choice. Now, staring at Maggie’s text, her stomach turns into a small, hard ball.
“Maybe it wasn’t enough,” Ingrid says to Kyle. “Maybe I should have added free vision, too! And a gym membership? Wellness spa?”
“Call her back and find out!” Kyle says.
Ingrid takes off her reading glasses and taps Call. Maggie answers on the second ring.
“Hey!” Ingrid says cheerfully. “What’s up? I just replied to your request about the insurance—”
“Yes! And I’m so grateful!” Maggie says. “It’s all beyond generous. I just…I wanted to chat about the…um…logistics of how this would work. I heard from Dr. Samuels that if I do this, I might age ten years.”
Ingrid swallows. It takes the most incredible self-control not to say anything.
“I just don’t know what I’d tell people when they notice.”
“You don’t have to tell them anything,” Ingrid says.
She gives the girl some honest advice. “One thing I’ve learned about getting older is you really don’t owe anyone an explanation.
It’s your life. You make the decisions that work for you.
And if this works for you, great. If it doesn’t, it’s fine and we’ll keep looking. ”
Maggie’s breathing hitches. “No, I…I definitely want the opportunity,” she says quickly.
“Besides, that whole ten years thing, I don’t know if it’ll for sure happen.”
“What if we do all this and it doesn’t work?”
Ingrid’s flattered by the girl’s concern. “You’re right. It’s a risk.”
“Why does it mean so much to you to go back ten years?” Maggie asks.
Ingrid feels the hairs on her neck stand.
Just tell Maggie the damn truth about the signals already.
The girl deserves to know. But her eyes catch the pictures of her children on her nightstand.
She sees Cassie’s sparkling eyes and Connor’s broad smile.
Neither of them is really an adult yet. They need her.
She can’t afford, for their sake, to tell Maggie.
“Because I have to fix something,” Ingrid says instead. “I didn’t spend enough time with my kids. With my family.”
It’s not a lie, she tells herself. She does want that.
“I totally understand that,” Maggie says. “It’s what I want, too. To have financial freedom so I can finally stop feeling terrible about my life. And I can stop avoiding my mother!”
They share a laugh.
“I can’t tell you how much better I feel, talking it out with you. I’ve just been sitting here by myself, wondering what it’s going to be like to be thirty-three in ten weeks!”
“First of all, you’re not going to be by yourself.
We’re in this together. And second of all, I think it’s going to offer you a new perspective.
” She thinks back to her own thirties. “You’ll have respect.
People will assume you know what you’re talking about.
When you speak, people will take an extra minute to listen because they will think you have experience.
At the same time, you’ll be young enough that the world will still see you for all your potential. ”
“When do they…stop seeing my potential?” Maggie asks.
Ingrid doesn’t want to scare the girl. At the same time, she can’t bring herself to lie. “Truthfully? Very soon after that. That’s the cruel reality as a woman. We only have a narrow window to make any change.”
Neither of them speaks for a while.
“And that’s why we’re doing something about it,” Ingrid says softly.
“Yes, we are,” Maggie says.
Ingrid relaxes. Good. She hesitates, then brings up something that had been circling in her mind. “I meant to ask—you said you were thinking of quitting your MFA…Why is that?”
Maggie lets out a deep sigh. “Well, to be honest, it’s because I don’t feel like I’m getting the kind of respect that you just described.
It’s not the work! I want to put in the work!
I want to be the best writer I can be! But I just need someone to show me how.
Someone who takes me seriously and treats me like an equal! ”
Ingrid smiles.
“Well, if that’s what you want, Maggie, I can give that to you.”
“That’s exactly what I need!”
“I’d be happy to teach you everything I know about story. Not to brag, but I think I know a bit more than your MFA instructor,” Ingrid says. “I’m serious. I don’t want to just trade blood with you. I want to gift you my wisdom.”
“Your wisdom for my youth…” Maggie whispers.
“Exactly.”
“I don’t even know what to say…” Maggie says.
“Well, you can start by saying you won’t quit on me as a student,” Ingrid jokes.
Long seconds pass, during which Ingrid holds her breath. She hopes the girl will say yes. She’s serious. She wants to give this to her, to be able to help a woman of color and teach her what she knows. And hopefully to have someone who actually appreciates it this time.
“I promise, I won’t quit on you.”