“That’s also more common than you might think.”
“It doesn’t matter. My mother and I have always gotten along fine without him.”
“I believe that.” Waldridge paused. “I’m not promising anything to anyone. Anyone who does is either a con artist or a fool. I’m neither. But I do think I offer the best hope you’ve had so far.” He paused. “If I were standing, I suppose this would be one of those moments where I lean back on my heels for emphasis.”
She found herself smiling. She hadn’t expected him to have a sense of humor. Most of the specialists who had examined her before had tended to have a God complex.
He turned more pages of the file. “You’re actually just the type of test subject we were looking for. Your corneas degenerated due to a disease you contracted in the womb. We’re experimenting with a technique to help corneas regenerate.”
“How?”
“It’s fairly simple. We combine stem cells with cells that we harvest from healthy parts of the subject’s own eyes. We implant them in the corneas and we have hopes that the corneas will regenerate themselves based on the genetic blueprint provided by your own cells.”
“Cool.”
He was silent for a long moment. “If you participate in our study, you would have to stay here at least two months. No air travel. The pressurized cabin is a variable we don’t want to contend with right now.”
She went still. “You’re talking like… you might actually let me in your program.”
He closed the file. “That depends on you, Kendra. Depends if you’d be willing to join us here for the next few months.”
She couldn’t breathe. She was suddenly dizzy with hope. She hadn’t expected this abrupt turnaround. “Does my mother know?”
“No. If you’re not interested, we’ll step outside, and I’ll incur her wrath by telling her again that the program is full. It’s entirely up to you. What do you say, Kendra Michaels? Would you like to join us?”
Kendra smiled shakily even as she felt her throat tighten, surprised into a sudden flood of emotion. “Yeah.” Her voice was unsteady. “Sure.”
“Good. Then I’ll go and discuss details of the procedure with your mother. It was nice to meet you, Kendra.” He stood up and leaned toward her. He said softly, “And here’s to not taking no for an answer.”
“EARTH TO KENDRA?” Olivia said quizzically. “Hello?”
Kendra snapped out of her daze. She and Olivia Moore were on their morning jog on the embarcadero in Marina Park, overlooking San Diego Bay. They had stopped to cool off when Kendra had checked out for a few moments.
“Sorry about that.” She grimaced. “I was just thinking about Dr. Waldridge again.”
“You haven’t thought of anything else since you came back to the condo last night,” Olivia said dryly. “And I might as well have been exercising with a sleepwalker this morning.”
“I know. I know. It’s just that the man I saw last night was so different than the man I remember.”
“Different how?”
“He was… unsettled. Evasive. I don’t know… The Waldridge I’ve always known has always been supremely confident and at the top of his game. Something was definitely wrong.”
“You said he was out here for some fund-raising. Maybe it hasn’t been going well.”
“No, it was more than that. I think he wanted to tell me something, but for some reason he changed his mind. He kept saying it was for my own good.”
“That’s strange. You know, I’ve been getting e-mails from him once or twice a year ever since you introduced me to him. Every time he runs across research that he thinks could one day be promising for me, he sends a link.” She shook her head. “I think he feels guilty that he couldn’t help me with my eyesight.”
Kendra gazed at her friend and didn’t state the obvious, that she felt guilty, too. She and Olivia had met as children at the Woodston School for the Blind in nearby Oceanside, and one of the great pains of Kendra’s life had been leaving her friend behind in the darkness. Olivia, who had lost her sight in a childhood auto accident, sustained optic nerve injuries beyond the reach of even Waldridge’s revolutionary techniques. He had graciously met with her and reviewed her medical case files and seemed genuinely regretful when he was unable to help her. Kendra wasn’t surprised that he’d kept in touch with her even though years had passed. Olivia was a very special person, and he must have recognized that fact. “Maybe not guilty as much as frustrated. He’s something of a genius, and he doesn’t like to admit defeat.”
“Believe me, I would have been ecstatic to be one of his successes.” The wind from the bay blew Olivia’s long brown hair up and around, gently caressing her beautiful, olive-toned face. Never once had she expressed a single iota of jealousy over Kendra’s amazing transformation, but she did harbor hopes of one day regaining the eyesight that had been taken from her.
“He really did want to help you,” Kendra said gently.
“I know. He’s a good man.” She smiled. “You know, the way you always talked about him, I’m surprised nothing ever happened between the two of you.”
Kendra’s eyes widened. “What? You mean in a romantic sense?”
“Why not?”
“There’s twenty years and eight thousand miles between us. I never thought about him that way.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Kendra found her tone getting defensive.
“The twenty years wouldn’t have bothered me,” Olivia said. “Mature men are more experienced, and that makes them sexier. The eight thousand miles are an obstacle that can melt away in a heartbeat. Did you ever hear about jet planes?”
“I’ve never described Waldridge as sexy to you.”
“I’ve heard you describe him as brilliant at least a hundred times. And refer to him as good-looking on at least half a dozen occasions. I know you, Kendra. The intelligence alone is a big draw for you. Put those two descriptions together, and you come up with sexy.”
“He is good-looking. It doesn’t mean I want to jump him. And it doesn’t take a schoolgirl crush to know that he’s a brilliant guy.”
“Of course. It’s just a vibe you put off.”
“No vibe. The man changed my life in a profound way, so naturally I’m going to feel a certain amount of…”
“Awe?”
Trust Olivia to zero in and strike home. How could Kendra help but feel a certain amount of hero worship toward Waldridge, who had not only given her a fantastic gift, but had been the only man in that first year to teach her, work with her, and chase away all the fear and uncertainty. Even Olivia would never realize what he had meant to her during that time. So don’t try to explain the unexplainable. “I was going to say gratitude.”
“Well, I’d sure feel awe.” Olivia felt the face of her Bradley touch-capable wristwatch. “We should start back. I have Reddit online chat in less than an hour.”
Olivia’s online Web destination, Outasite, featured articles, interviews, and product reviews, all geared to a vision-impaired audience who accessed the content via audio-reader software. Outasite had quickly become a very successful business for Olivia, and she spent many of her waking hours generating material for the site.
“Okay,” Kendra said. She looked down the sidewalk. “Clear!”
She had developed a verbal shorthand for guiding Olivia through a variety of terrain and conditions on their frequent runs together.
“Side!”
Olivia ran beside her as they continued their conversation.