It was Tuesday morning, and Amy woke up and hated the thought of going to Aunt Wilma for spring break. But she reluctantly caved into her mother’s demand, knowing that her entire spring break would be spent alone at home.
She went inside her bathroom and got out of her pajamas. Her eyes widened in disgust when she spotted some more spider veins on both of her legs. She wanted to scream when she glanced down at her arms and saw some small brown liver spots.
Amy got in the shower and turned on the hot water. “I don’t want to live the rest of my life as an old lady!” she mumbled while the hot water rained over her body.
It was nine-thirty that morning, and Amy wore another pair of Kate’s blue jeans and a tee-shirt.
She pouted on the couch in the living room while she waited for Rick and Kate to finish getting ready.
Kate walked into the living room with some cash in her hand. “Aunt Wilma can take you shopping for some clothes to wear this week,” Kate said while she handed Amy one hundred dollars.
“Where will she take me shopping? Old-Mart?” Amy said under her breath.
“I heard that!” Kate said while she glared at Amy.
The front doorbell rang.
Amy’s eyes lit up, knowing that Laurie was at her front door. She rushed over to the front door and opened it. Amy looked sad when she only saw Randall standing outside on the front stoop. “Where’s Laurie?” she asked while she looked around the outside for her best friend.
Randall looked a little ashamed. “She said she couldn’t make it. Claimed she woke up with a terrible headache,” he said and looked embarrassed for lying for his sister.
Amy was disappointed.
“If you don’t mind, I’ll ride along,” Randall offered.
“I’m sorry Laurie can’t make it, but we would love to have you ride along Randall,” Kate said behind Amy.
Amy discreetly rolled her eyes with the thought of Randall tagging along.
Amy stepped aside and let Randall inside her home.
It was later that morning, and Rick drove the mini-van with Kate in the passenger seat. Amy, with her overnight bag, and Randall sat in the back seat.
Amy still looked defiant on spending her spring break with Aunt Wilma. “I don't consider sitting around drinking Geritol cocktails fun,” she said in one last protest.
“Aunt Wilma’s excited about spending time with you, so it’s final,” Kate replied while she turned around with a stern look. She was getting more and more irritated with Amy’s attitude and knew she made the right call by calling Aunt Wilma.
Rick drove the mini-van past the “Welcome to Sun City” sign.
A little while later, Rick drove his mini-van down Cactus Lane.
He pulled into Wilma’s driveway and parked next to her Ford Escort.
They all got out of the mini-van and walked to Wilma’s front door.
Rick rang the doorbell, and a few seconds later, the front door opened, and Wilma appeared with a huge smile. “Hello everybody!” she said with a gleam in her eye happy on having company again. “I’m Wilma Moore,” she said while she stuck her hand out to Amy not recognizing her.
“Aunt Wilma, this is Amy,” Rick said while he placed a hand on Amy’s shoulder.
“What?” Wilma replied a little baffled while she looked at Amy and saw she was an old lady. Wilma chuckled. “I get it. It's a costume for a play. Amy's playing a grandmother and this young man will act as her grandson,” Wilma said while she ran her fingers through Amy’s white hair then tugged on some of her wrinkles on her face. “Excellent makeup job. You look like one of my friends,” she added.
Rick and Kate looked serious while Amy wanted to cry.
“We’ll explain inside,” Kate told Wilma.
“Okay, Wilma replied and looked curious as to what was going on with Amy.
“Hello, I’m Randall McBride,” he before he stepped inside Wilma’s house.
“Hello Randall,” Wilma replied, then closed her front door.
Rick, Kate, Amy, and Randall followed Wilma into her living room.
“Please have a seat,” Wilma told everybody while she sat down in a chair.
Kate, Amy, Rick, and Randall sat down on the couch.
“What’s going on? I take it she’s not in a play,” Wilma asked and looked worried since she could sense there was something wrong.
“It's for real Aunt Wilma. She woke up Sunday morning like this,” Rick told her.
Wilma looked baffled. “I don’t get it,” she said.
“Our doctor thinks it might be some premature aging disorder called Werner Syndrome,” Kate said.
“Oh, no! Can it be reversed?” Wilma asked while she felt so sorry for Amy.
“We don’t know yet. If it doesn't reverse, the doctor wants to send her to a specialist over in LA,” Rick said.
“So we thought Amy could stay here this week until the test results are completed,” Kate said.
“I thought you said she had a friend staying also?” Wilma asked while she looked at Randall.
“My sister Laurie woke up sick this morning,” Randall lied and hated doing that but had to save face for his sister.
“I'm sure everything will be back to normal before you know it,” Wilma told Amy in a comforting tone.
“Are you sure this won't inconvenience you?” Kate asked.
“Oh, no. I'll enjoy the company since it gets lonely around here,” Wilma replied with a warm smile.
“I made a pot of coffee, would you like a cup?” Wilma offered.
“Thanks, Aunt Wilma, but we need to get back home. I need to return to the office to get some hours in this week,” Rick said while he stood up.
Kate stood up, then Randall stood up.
Kate and Rick walked over, and they each kissed Amy on her forehead.
“I gave her some money if you could take her shopping for some clothes,” Kate asked Wilma.
“It would be my pleasure,” Wilma replied while she stood up.
“I'll call to check up to you,” Kate told Amy then kissed her on her forehead.
Randall kissed Amy on her cheek. “Call me if you need anything,” he said.
Rick walked over and gave Amy a hug and kiss on her forehead.
Amy watched while Wilma escorted Rick, Wilma, and Randall to the front door.
After they said their good-byes, the front door closed and Amy was now alone with Wilma.
“Would you like some coffee?” Wilma asked Amy while she walked into the living room.
“Coffee would be nice,” Amy replied while she stood up.
Amy followed Wilma out of the living room, and they headed into the kitchen.
Wilma walked Amy over to the small table in the kitchen, then she went over to the counter and poured some coffee into two cups.
“We won’t sit here all week and mull over your condition. We’ll try and have some fun to get your mind off of things,” Wilma said while she placed the two coffee cups on the table. She sat down and poured some creamer into her coffee and added a packet of Sweet and Low.
“I’m sure whatever you have will soon go away,” Wilma said while she sipped her coffee.
Amy sipped her black coffee and hoped Wilma was right and decided to quit feeling sorry for herself and have a little fun.
“I have a hair appointment in an hour, you’re welcome to tag along,” Wilma offered.
“Okay,” Amy replied, then sipped her coffee.
“Then we’ll go to the mall tomorrow morning and get you some new clothes,” Wilma added.
“Thank you, Aunt Wilma,” Amy replied.
“Just call me Wilma.”
Amy nodded agreeing then she drank some of her coffee.
“If you want, I can see if Bobby can squeeze you in after me,” Wilma asked.
Amy ran her hands through her hair. “No, thank you, I’ll leave it straight for when I return to normal,” she said with a light smile.
“That’s the spirit. Positive thinking can perform miracles,” Wilma replied then drank some of her coffee.
For the next hour, Amy remained withdrawn, and Wilma had a hard time getting her to talk.
It was a quiet drive while Amy rode with Wilma to her hairdresser’s shop.
Bobby, a young gay hairdresser, waved at Wilma the second he saw her enter the shop.
Wilma waved back while she and Amy sat down in the small waiting area.
After five minutes of waiting, Bobby walked over into the waiting area.
“Are we ready, Wilma?” Bobby asked in his sweet voice; then, he saw Amy. “Hi, I’m Bobby,” he said while he held out his hand to Amy.
“Ah, I’m Amy,” she replied and hand.
“You didn’t tell me you were bringing a friend, Wilma.
“She just arrived in town this morning,” Wilma said.
“So, Amy, where are you from?” Bobby asked her.
“Ah,” Amy said then her mind went blank, as she forgot her name and where she lived for a few seconds.
“Amy’s from Pittsburgh,” Wilma chimed in to save Amy.
“Well, Amy, welcome to Sun City. Come, Wilma, let's make you gorgeous for all those available bachelors,” Bobby said then he turned around and walked to the salon area.
Wilma got up and followed Bobby to his chair.
Amy sat there and looked bored stiff.
The door to the salon opened, and Amy’s eyes widened in shock when she saw Suzie Comer, the 17-year-old beautiful blonde and fellow high school classmate enter the salon.
Amy wanted to run when Suzie walked into the waiting and sat down two seats over. She quickly picked up a fashion magazine off the table next to her chair and held it up to hid her face from Suzie.
But Suzie wasn’t interested in Amy, as she avoided eye contact with old ladies and buried her face another fashion magazine.
“Are you ready, Suzie?” Mandy, a female hairdresser, said when she walked into the waiting area.
Suzie got up and walked over to Mandy.
“What are we doing today?” Mandy asked.
“Just a little trim and coloring. I have a hot date tomorrow with a hottie,” Suzie told Mandy while they walked into the salon area.
Amy’s eyes lit up and got curious. “Hot date? With a hottie?” Amy said quietly to herself, and then her stomach got nervous, thinking it was Paul. Amy farted. She got embarrassed but was relieved when he realized nobody hears her.
During the next thirty minutes, Amy sat worried to death while she watched Mandy working on Suzie’s hair.
“I’m done,” said Wilma when she walked into the waiting area.
While Amy got up from her seat, she was so tempted to walk over to Suzie and ask her about her hot date. But she didn’t want to reveal who she was so she followed Wilma and left the salon.
It was a quiet drive back to Wilma’s home since Amy couldn’t get Suzie’s hot date out of her mind.
After they got home, the rest of the evening was uneventful.
Amy and Wilma watched Oprah with on the TV.
After Oprah, Wilma ordered pizza for dinner.
After dinner, Wilma and Amy watched some sitcoms on the TV.
It was ten that night, and Amy’s eyes couldn’t stay open, and she decided to go to bed. This was unusual for Amy since she always went to sleep around one in the morning during breaks from school.
An hour later, Amy was in bed in one of Wilma’s extra bedrooms. She tossed, turned, and sweated while she slept. She started having a dream.
In Amy’s dream, she was eighty years old and wore a simple plain dress, white cotton gloves, and had a gaudy brown hat. She walked ever so slowly down a sidewalk and headed to a church in another town.
Amy painfully walked up to the concrete steps that led to the front doors of the church.
She stopped at the top of the steps and paused for a few seconds to catch her breath.
She felt better and walked through the front doors of the church.
Amy walked inside the church where the men wore suits, and the women wore dresses.
Amy sat down at the end of the last row pews and looked a little confused. She looked around the church then saw a young man, in a tuxedo, standing at the podium near a preacher. “It’s a wedding,” Amy said to herself.
Then the organist started playing the Bridal March Song.
Everybody stood up and looked to the rear of the church.
Amy’s eyes widened in shock the second she saw Suzie Comer in a wedding dress being walked down the aisle by an older man.
Amy looked back at the groom, and her eyes widened more when she realized Paul was the groom.
“No, this can’t happen!’ she cried out.
“Shhh!” numerous people around Amy called out.
Amy started having a panic attack while she watched Suzie walked down the aisle and then stood next to Paul.
Amy moved from her pew and started rushing down the aisle to stop the wedding.
She rushed down the aisle, and Paul and Suzie moved a little farther away.
Amy rushed faster down the aisle, and Paul and Suzie moved a little farther away.
Amy picked up her pace down the aisle, and Paul and Suzie moved farther away.
“I now pronounce you man and wife,” the preacher said to Paul and Suzie.
“I’m supposed to marry him!” Amy yelled out while he watched Paul and Suzie kiss.
Back to reality, Amy woke up from her dream and shot up in bed. “I’m supposed to marry him!” she yelled out.
Her bedroom door opened and Wilma rushed inside wearing her nightgown.
“Are you okay?” Wilma asked while she rushed over to Amy’s bed.
Amy looked around a little dazed and confused. It took her a few seconds to realize she was in Wilma’s house. “I’m fine. I just had a bad dream,” Amy said.
“I had thousands and thousands of those in my lifetime,” Wilma said then she kissed Amy on her forehead.
Wilma headed out of the bedroom.
Amy lay back down and closed her eyes and silently prayed that Paul wouldn’t marry Suzie.
She was fast asleep in minutes.