The Watchmaker's Gift

VII

Anaya's room was still shrouded in darkness. It was eerily silent... except for the soft sounds of someone tapping away downstairs.

Mom. Already awake and active. Somehow, isn't she always?

It was hours before the alarm usually went off, but school was not where Anaya wanted to be. Today, she would be on a mission.

She followed the light to the ground floor and through the hallway. "Mom?"

"In here." Her mother called from the kitchen imbued in shades of honey and butterscotch. She sat hunched over the breakfast table littered with stacks of blue invoices and red payment receipts. Her fingers flew over a Casio calculator that was so well-worn, the numbers had been rubbed off. It actually printed out results on a roll of cream paper.

I remember them! When did we stop using print-outs? Everything is so electronic now... or will be.

Her mom's eyes were rimmed in red, some sad combination of exhaustion and crying. Her shoulders sagged as if she'd lost the strength to hold them up.

"I need to talk to you," Anaya said, struggling to keep an even tone. Her resolve nearly wavered after a quick look at the red Final Notice stamps glaring from white envelopes that covered the table. "If you're busy though, I can come back later."

"It's all right," her mom said, waving her over with a resigned, but grateful gesture. "I need a break before my eyes go crossed. I keep getting the exact same answer, regardless of how many ways I run the numbers." She gently swiped her work to one side and offered the empty chair next to her, patting it with her hand.

Anaya plopped on to the seat.

Poor Mom!

She clearly had no idea what was coming, but her curiosity had her hooked. She gave a brief nod of her head, a "come on, tell me already!" gesture that, once upon a time, would've made Anaya consider bailing.

But I've come too far - back through time, to be exact! - so there's no chickening out now.

Anaya took a deep breath and then launched right in, hoping her words would sound as logical out loud as they had in her head. "I know I haven't shown much interest, but I've been thinking a lot about what I should do with my life after high school."

If a person's chin could literally drop, her mother's would've hit the tabletop. Her tired eyes popped wide open.

"This is new. I thought... when did this happen?"

"We had a college fair yesterday. I wasn't planning on going, but I didn't really have anything better to do. That's when I realized... I don't have anything better to do. So I talked to someone there and... surprise! Now I want to check out some colleges."

Her mom's expression softened and the barest hints of tears moistened the corners of her eyes. Then a slight smile played on her lips as if she was trying to keep it in. "I wished I'd known. I can help you research some local schools if you want and..." Her gaze darted suddenly off to the side and her smile fell clean off her face.