The Story Before the Story About Max's Eye Exam

A Backstory

Flashback: Valerie's First Eye Visit

  When i was in first & second grades, i liked to sit at the back of the classroom.  But after Christmas in the second grade, i noticed that i could no longer see the chalkboard.
  My teacher noticed, too.  She sent a note home.  After school was out for the summer*, i saw a man who had been recommended as "the best eye doctor in Indianapolis."
*of course NOTHING, rain, snow, sleet, hail, storm, illness, or routine appointments was a good enough reason for my mom to keep me from perfect attendance
  But no one told me anything about what to expect, or even hardly talked to me while i was there.
  i was asked to read a chart of perfectly legible letters on the other side of the room.
  i panicked.  Now unlike some people,  i always panic inside; no one knows it.  But i was thinking,
i need glasses.  If i say i can read these letters, they won't let me have glasses.
  So i lied.
  And i got glasses.
  My mom wept when, a few weeks later, we left with my new glasses, as she heard me exclaiming over things like telephone wires that i'd "never seen" before.

Flashback: Valerie's Second Eye Visit

or maybe the 3rd.....
  At some  point, for some reason i never understood, my mom decided she hated "the best eye doctor in Indianapolis."
  She found me a new one, the one whose practice "Dr. Eyes," our current provider, eventually bought into.
  This second doctor tested my eyes. By this point, i felt no need to lie about what i saw; everyone knew i needed these glasses, right?
  Second Doctor was horrified.  "What sort of quack did you take this girl to????"
  Well. . . . .