Epiphany

"She eased my glasses from my face and rolled her chair back. As she did so I experienced an epiphany.

"An indeterminable sense of familiarity had been pestering me at odd times all afternoon. Six dioptres of myopia and a little astigmatism produced enough blur over the distance between us to snap it into focus. She was the subject of a painting Beth had loved. Camille Monet and a child, in a suburban garden near Paris. A reproduction had hung in her office. ... There was something about the white of the apron against the many blues of her dress as she sat for a moment with my glasses in her lap. A simple dress with generous sleeves and a voluminous skirt. It was Maxie sitting in that garden with the roses blooming behind her. She epitomised serenity, care and above all, kindness. I was the child in bliss at her feet."