Seeing Forever (6 page)

“Hi, Luc … and this must be the dog your sister was
talking about.”

“This is Willow.”

He stepped aside to let the nurse in and she patted
Willow on the head.

“And you must be
Katey
,”
she said.

“That’s right.”

“Hi, I’m Jeanie,” she said, extending her hand.

“Luc, I got your Braille watch so I’ll show you how
to use it. And also I have some books in Braille so we can work on you learning
how to read them, so you don’t have to just sit and listen to music every day.”

“Why don’t I take Willow out for a bathroom break
while you visit with Jeanie?” said
Katey
.

“That sounds perfect,” said Jeanie. “I’ll only be
here for a short time today and then he’s all yours again.”

Katey
led
Willow through to the back of the house where she opened the patio door and
took him out into the backyard. While he ran about she sat on a patio chair and
looked around. It was nicely landscaped and she wondered if Luc had done this
all by himself. The flowers were in full bloom and she suddenly felt sad that
he wasn’t able to see their beauty.

Willow ran over to her and then sat by her feet.

“You like your new home?” She patted him on the
head. The flowerbeds did need some weeding and she wondered if Luc would like
her to tackle that one day. She’d never had a garden of her own but it was
something she was looking forward to one day when she had enough money to buy a
house.

She raised her face up to the sun, remembering that
Luc had commented on its warmth and brightness on him. This was so relaxing,
sitting here with Willow at her feet. It was so nice to be away from her step-mother,
enjoying some peace and quiet.

“
Katey
,
you still out here?”

Luc’s voice jarred her and she sat up, not realizing
that she’d fallen asleep. At first she’d wondered where she was and if she was
in bed dreaming.

“
Katey
.”

Not
dreaming,
and she
hadn’t responded to Luc’s question.

“Yes, I’m sorry. I sat down and must have dozed
off.”

“No problem, I just wondered where you were.
Jeanie’s gone if you want to come back inside.”

“Sure.”

Katey
stood and headed into through the kitchen with Willow in tow. Luc was standing
by the counter, trying to get some bread out of a container and not having much
luck.

“If I’m starving you must be too,” he said.

“I am.”

“Cheese and ham sandwiches okay
with you?”

“
Perfect,
and I hope you
won’t get offended if I help.”

“Don’t mind at all.”

Katey
opened the fridge and found the packages of ham and cheese along with a jar of
mayonnaise.

“How did things go with Jeanie?”

“Okay, and now at least I can tell the time. You
don’t realize how you miss little things like knowing whether
it’s
morning or afternoon until you can’t see a clock or a
watch.”

“I know there are lots of things I probably take for
granted,” said
Katey
. She spread some mayo on each
slice of bread and then topped it with cheese and ham. “Did you do all the
landscaping out back?” she asked.

“Yep.
Last
time when I was home from duty I got bored and went to town on it.”

“It’s beautiful. You mind if one day while I’m here
I pull some weeds for you?”

“Not at all.
Even when I had my sight that was my least favorite thing to do.”

“And are you going to be okay on your own tonight
with Willow?”

“My sister said she’d sleep over. I hate asking her
because she has her own family to take care of, but she insists.”

“I bet she wouldn’t offer if she didn’t really want
to.”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“Would you do
me
a favor
and stay over tomorrow night, so she can have a break?” He raised his hands.
“Hey, I promise you, it’s completely innocent.”

His request had thrown her, and not because she was
thinking that he was intending to seduce her or anything.

“Yes, I guess I could do that.”

Chapter
Six

What had he been thinking?
 
Asking
Katey
to stay over.
She’d left about four hours ago and now he and Josie sat
eating supper, but he still couldn’t get it out of his mind.

“What’s
Katey
like?”

Josie’s question had jarred him and he wondered if
she could read his thoughts.

“She seems nice. I think she was shy at first but
now she seems more relaxed around me.”

“
Good,
and it’s someone
else who can spend time with you, and teach you useful things.”

“I guess.”

Like how to eat. He sensed some pasta sauce had
fallen off the spoon as he’d raised it to his mouth.

“I can stay over tomorrow night too, well, any night
until you get the hang of looking after your dog.”

“No, that’s fine because I asked
Katey
and she said yes.”

Josie kicked his shin. “Hey, I hope that was my
accident, because it hurt like hell,” he said, rubbing his leg.

“I take it that
Katey’s
brought out the male in you.”

“No idea what you’re talking
about.”

She gave him another kick but this time it wasn’t so
hard.

“I thought she could show me what needs to be done
with Willow at night. I mean, when I’m on my own and he needs to go outside.
Even service dogs need to do that.”

Willow barked and Luc smiled.
 
That was the second thing that had made him
smile today. Maybe
Katey
and Willow were going to be
good for him.

“That’s your story and you’re sticking with it, I
suppose,” said Josie.

“I am.”

“You know, Luc, just because you’ve lost your sight
doesn’t mean you have to become a monk and never date again.”

“And just because I’ve asked a member of the opposite
sex to stay, you’ve steered the conversation onto that topic.”

“Just saying.”

“And I’m just saying we have a professional
relationship. Let’s change the subject…how about some dessert? I thought I
smelled apple pie.”

****

Katey
clicked on the Internet icon on her laptop computer. She wanted to find as much
as she could about working with the blind. She’d tried to convince herself it
was job-related, but the truth was she was curious about just one person, and
that was Luc. She wanted to know as much as she could about helping him because,
yes, she’d admit it, she was attracted to him. Now she found herself wanting to
learn about some of the challenges of being in a relationship with someone
who’d lost their sight.

Relationship––what
star am I floating on?

“
Katey
, dinner’s ready.”

It was her father’s voice and luckily he was home
because she couldn’t stand sitting eating with just Ruth at the table. It had
been the reason she’d retreated to her bedroom as soon as she’d arrived home.

She closed down the lid on the laptop and made her
way downstairs where Ruth and her father were just about ready to eat.

“How did your first day of work go?” asked her dad.

“Pretty good,” said
Katey
,
taking one of the chicken breasts off the platter. “Luc seems like a nice guy
and Willow, that’s the dog, is already great with him.”

“Maybe you’ll be able to find a proper job sooner
than you thought,” said Ruth.

Her dad gave his wife one of his looks, hoping to
defuse the tension that usually built between
Katey
and her step-mother. Sadly, it never seemed to work.

“I think working with service dogs is a wonderful
idea, and if you want to make a career out of it, then you have our support.”
He put his hand on
Katey’s
arm while looking at Ruth.
She hoped his wife noted the emphasis he’d placed on the word
our
.

“And before I forget, I’ll be staying over at Luc’s
tomorrow night. He’s got his sister with him now but I think he’s nervous about
letting the dog out during the night.”

“That’s understandable,” said her dad. “Is he good-looking,
by any chance?”

“Dad,” said
Katey
,
slapping his arm.

“About time you found yourself a nice young man….not
that I’m trying to get rid of you,” said her dad.

“I know.”

“At least you wouldn’t have to worry about your
weight,” said Ruth. “I mean he wouldn’t know you were gaining a pound now and
then.”

Both
Katey
and her dad
looked at Ruth at the same time.

“
Katey’s
big-boned like
me,” he said.

She patted her father’s arm again. That was a sweet
thing to say and to hear him come to her rescue like that was priceless. How
he’d ever gotten together with Ruth was beyond her. Yes, she did, he’d been
lonely after her mother died and Ruth had circled him like a vulture.
A bird of prey, with a sharp tongue and beak.

She almost laughed watching Ruth tuck into her
chicken and thinking of her as a scavenger bird.
Katey
took an extra scoop of mashed potato and placed it on her plate, hoping it was
sending Ruth the message that she didn’t care about fitting into size five
clothing because she was happy as she was. And at least tomorrow, she could eat
in peace at Luc’s house without any snide remarks about her plus-size figure.

****

Luc’s list of things he regretted not being able to
do anymore, had grown by one today.

He could no longer look out of the window to watch
for someone’s arrival.
 
Not just anyone’s,
but
Katey’s
. He felt the edge of the talking clock
that Josie had brought him yesterday, and pressed the button.
 
The mechanical voice told him that it was
almost eleven. She’d be here any time now.

He’d tried to be casual and not give too much away
when he’d gotten up that morning. Since the accident he hadn’t really given a
shit about much, not least his appearance, but this morning, he’d had his
sister check his hair, making sure every strand was in place. She’d checked his
teeth, ensuring that nothing was wedged between them, and that both his jeans
and t-shirt were stain-free.

“I’m so happy for you, little brother,
welcome
back to the world. And like I said, don’t be a
monk.”

Those had been Josie’s parting words when she’d left
an hour ago.

He’d given himself away, and now like a child
waiting for Christmas to roll around so he could open gifts, he sat and
anticipated
Katey’s
arrival.

Luc sensed that Willow was on full alert too, and
then he heard a car pulling into the driveway. Luc stood and felt for the dog’s
harness as the doorbell rang.

“Willow, lead,” he said. He hoped that Willow
already knew where to go when the bell sounded. They made their way out of the
room. Luc was amazed at the skill the dog had to guide him around any obstacle
as he led him forward.

The dog stopped and Luc reached out and felt around
for the door handle.

“Good boy,” said Luc as he made contact with it. He
pulled it open, hoping he was right, and it was in fact,
Katey
.

“Hi, Luc, and good morning, Willow.”

Four simple words and she’d made his heartbeat edge
up to a dangerous level.
“Hi,
Katey
.”
He reached out hoping she’d take his
hand.
Please take it. Make my day.
She
did and now he could hear his heartbeat in his ears too. A warm feeling rushed
over him, almost sending him into a panic.

He pulled her inside and the temptation to kiss her
was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. But what if he missed her mouth
completely and looked like an idiot? Worse still, if he found her mouth and she
slapped his face?

“How’s everything today?” she asked.

Wonderful
now that you’re here.

“It’s good. Willow led me to the door without any
problem.
Even alerted me that you’d arrived.”

“Did you, Willow? That’s what I want to hear.”