Glasses

Linda cried when the pediatrician told them Tina would need glasses.

Bob frowned. It was hard to hear that their precious baby angel wasn't perfect, but at the same time, when they had first started noticing how Tina wouldn't make eye contact with them when they spoke to her, or how she often didn't notice when they moved one of her toys, he had feared it could be something much worse. They could handle glasses. Sure, it was a slight financial burden, and Tina would have to worry about them for the rest of her life, but in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't a huge deal.

"It's going to be okay, Lin," Bob told her, reaching over to hold her hand. In her other arm was Tina, tucked close to her body, blinking vacantly back at her parents. She was so little, she wasn't even a year old. Bob didn't know you could need glasses at that age.

"It's my fault, she got it from me," Linda said, pointing to her own glasses. Bob shook his head. He wasn't even thinking about that.

"It's not your fault."

"I was hoping she would have your eyes."

"She'll be fine, Lin."

His wife didn't look completely convinced, but she stopped her fretting for the time being. And luckily, once Tina got through her first visit to the ophthalmologist and it was time to pick out her glasses, Linda seemed to forget all about it.

"What about these ones, Bobby? Wouldn't she look cute in these?" Linda grabbed yet another pair and held them up to Tina's face. They had been in the optical shop for almost an hour and she was starting to fuss.

"Maybe we should stick to their children's selection, Lin," he suggested lightly.

Eventually they settled on a pair of simple but sturdy black frames. They looked a little big on her now, but the optician assured them that she would grow into them before they knew it.

Once the glasses were made, and Bob placed them carefully on her nose, Tina turned her head slowly back and forth, surveying the room. Her small eyes were suddenly huge, magnified behind her new lenses. She blinked a few times, looking confused, until she finally caught sight of her parents in front of her. Her eyes finally focused on them, and she broke into a huge smile, and Linda immediately smiled back and rushed over to pick her up. Seeing how happy both of them looked right then, Linda cooing over how precious she looked and Tina giggling, Bob let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He was right, she was going to be fine. They all would be.