Our Hill of Stars

11 Planetarium

A S H L Y N

Sadie wielded her curling iron like a weapon. She brandished it at me. Though it was unplugged, I still worried she would burn me.

"Let me do your hair!" She yelled. She playfully reached for a few strands of my hair.

"No! Go away, monster!" I still giggled even as she tried to poke me with the curling iron. "I wear ponytails with him all the time. I don't think I need to mess with perfection."

"This is not sitting out in a field like some sort of 1930s railway tramp. This is a proper date, Ashlyn. Come on, you dressed up at Ebony and Ivory, why not tonight? Just because it's a museum date, doesn't mean it's not a classy affair."

She reached for a clump of my hair again, but I swatted her away. I tried to skirt around her to get out of the bathroom, but Sadie was like the Iron Curtain. All she was missing was the barbed wire.

"Come on. Let me curl that mop up."

"Mop." I took a strand of hair and pulled it in front of my eyes to inspect it. "My hair is not a mop! Besides, Eli's not going to care what my hair looks like." Right? No, of course, he wouldn't. He wasn't hung up on looks.

Sadie rolled her eyes. "Then do it for me. This is our first double date since Brandon. Remember those double dates? Shotgunning beers on the beach? We never needed to look fancy for that. But this? This is a proper adult double date. Besides, it'll be fun to play dress up. Be pretty for me." She made a kissy face at me.

I liked low key, but Sadie was right, it would be fun to get a little fancy. I shook my head and rolled my eyes.

"Ok, my hair can be your canvas, but I'm doing my own makeup."

Sadie gripped her curling iron to her chest. "Oh hooray! I'm going to make you a star!"

I heard Grandma Lucy cough and wheeze from the garden. Terror seized my heart and I felt my own throat constrict at the sound. There was no time for hair now. Moving on instinct and adrenaline, I pushed by the Iron Curtain. I thundered down the stairs, feeling like I was stuck in quicksand, not making it anywhere. Time slowed, but my mind moved in double time. I flung the backdoor open, feeling like I could rip it from its hinges as I did so. Grandma Lucy was on her knees in the garden. Muriel was bent beside her, rubbing her back, trying to get her arms raised. The damn oxygen tank was nowhere to be seen.

"What happened?" I hurried over.

Grandma Lucy's face was red and she held a fist to her mouth, coughing violently into it. Spittle covered her chin and the veins in her neck bulged.

Muriel looked ashen, but she kept her voice calm. She kept repeating "breathe" to Grandma Lucy. I was glad she kept calm while I tried so hard not to freak out. I supposed she fought the good fight of not freaking out too.

"I'm fine," Grandma Lucy said. Her words came out in a strangled gurgle.

"Sadie!" I called. "Call the doctor!"

Grandma Lucy tried to shove me, but she was too weak to even move me an inch. "I. Am. Fine."

"Take a deep breath, Luce," Muriel said.

Sadie came trundling out of the house, carrying Grandma Lucy's oxygen tank. The stupid tank had probably been next to her recliner, like an ugly piece of furniture. I chose to ignore it, now I watched, horrified, as Muriel helped Sadie strap it to Grandma Lucy's face. I held back tears. After a few moments of tension, Grandma Lucy's breathing returned to normal. The rest of us all sighed in relief.

"Bunch of hens," Grandma Lucy laughed into her mask. She sounded like Darth Vader's mother.

"Our concern is stifling, I know," Muriel said. She helped Grandma Lucy to her feet, supporting her as she led her to her garden seat.