Mike was a wreck. His clothes, bleached white in spots where the solution had touched them, smelled of the strong solution. His arms dripped water, and he had wedged a wet cotton pad between his left eye and his glasses. The other eye, when Amelia looked at it carefully, appeared to be more clouded than she remembered. Amelia did not call the doctor’s office but hurried Mike to the car.

“Everything’s a blur,” he said as they drove to Asheville. He was trembling. “I can’t make out individual trees. They’re all lumped together, a blur of trees. Oh, my God, I’m going blind, Amelia. What am I going to do? Why didn’t I listen to you? Oh, God, don’t let me go blind.” He clutched her arm and began to sob.

“Take a deep breath, Mike. It’s going to be all right. Let go of my arm. I’m driving. You won’t go blind. My doctor is excellent. You’ll be fine. Take a deep breath. Sit back. Try to relax. Keep that wet cloth over your eyes. It’s going to be all right.”

“How can it be all right? I’m going blind. I can’t see a thing with my left eye.”

“Your left eye has a wet patch over it.”

“And now I’m losing my mind. I didn’t remember putting that on there. Ah, yes, now I remember. The light hurt. You told me to keep it wet. Was that the right thing to do, do you think? Should we stop at a drugstore and get some kind of eye drops? The pharmacist would know what to do, wouldn’t he?”

“Mike. We’re almost at the doctor’s office. That’s the best place for you to be. They’ll know exactly what to do.”

“But they might not take me right away. I might have to sit for hours.” Mike hugged himself, rocked, and moaned.

“You’re working yourself into a frenzy. Now, just calm down. See, we’re here.” Amelia pulled into the parking lot of her doctor’s office. “Okay, now, take a deep breath.”

Mike did as instructed.

“Good! You ready? Let’s go in.”

A nurse hustled Mike into an examining room. A few minutes later, the doctor walked in. “Let’s see what we have here,” he said.

“Am I going to go blind, doctor?” Mike spoke in a whisper.

“Let me have a look.”