Senses 03 - Love Comes Home (DA) (MM) (6 page)

“Only brightness,” he croaked, and Patrick held Davey once again.

Greg relayed the message to the doctor.

“Okay. We’ve seen this before. His vision stabilizes for a month or two and then deteriorates again. We’ve known this day was coming. I was just hoping he’d have more time.”

“We all were. Is there any reason to take him to the hospital?”

“You can. I’ll meet you there if you like. They’ll probably admit him, and we’ll order the tests, but I can do the same thing on Monday and he’ll be home with you for the rest of the weekend. I’ll support whatever you decide.” Jerry waited. “On second thought, bring him into the office at nine tomorrow morning. Sunday or not, I’ll meet you there.”

“Thank you.” Greg wasn’t interested in having Davey in the hospital—keeping things as normal as possible was probably better. “We’ll see you then.” Greg hung up and looked around the room, trying to catch his breath. He wondered what he was going to do. What Davey was going to do. Yes, they’d both known this day was coming, but he’d wanted Davey to have as normal a life as possible. He still wanted that, but putting things off now wouldn’t help anyone. They’d lived on hope and prayers for months, and now both had run out. “Davey,” Greg said gently. “We’re going to go home now.”

Davey nodded but didn’t move away from Patrick.

“I’ll get his stuff,” Hanna said and hurried away.

“It’s really going to be okay. The doctor is going to see you tomorrow morning, and we’ll figure out what to do from there.” He took Davey’s hand and Davey moved away from Patrick. Greg put his arm around his son’s shoulders and held him close. He kept wondering how it must feel for him to no longer be able to see. Part of Davey’s world had just flicked off like a switch. Hanna returned with Davey’s suitcase, and Greg took it from her.

“Please let us know what you find out,” Ken said, standing next to Patrick, who nodded.

“Of course,” Greg said. “I’m sorry about all this,” he whispered, not sure what else to say.

“Nothing to be sorry for,” Ken said.

They were clearly upset and concerned. Greg moved toward the door, guiding Davey, who felt his way in front of him. “It’s all right. I have you,” Greg crooned gently. “Take a single step down. There are three more ahead of you.” He guided Davey down the stairs and along the walk out to the car. Tom followed behind them and got into the driver’s seat.

Greg climbed into the backseat with Davey, and they rode in near silence toward home. “I really appreciate this, Tom,” Greg said.

Tom reached back with one hand and gently touched Greg’s leg. “It’s perfectly fine. I understand.”

Tom didn’t sound the same, and Greg figured after this kind of end to their date…. Tom didn’t speak much on the drive. He pulled into the driveway and hurried around to help them out of the backseat.

“Thank you for everything,” Greg said formally. From Tom’s silence and discomfort, Greg didn’t think he would be hearing from him again. They might have gotten along well, but this didn’t bode well for any future relationship.

“Do you need some help?”

“No. We’ll be fine. I’m going to get him inside and up to bed. I have an idea that tomorrow is going to be very hectic.”

“We’ll talk soon, then,” Tom said.

“Sure,” Greg answered and then turned, guiding Davey toward the house. He heard Tom pull away, his headlights panning across the yard. He barely had the time or energy to think that was probably the last time he’d ever see him.

Greg got them inside and helped Davey up the stairs to his room. Everything took longer, and once he had Davey in his pajamas, he got his teeth brushed and then in bed. He sat with Davey and talked to him softly until he fell asleep. Then Greg went to his own room and got ready for bed. Not that he expected to be able to sleep very much. He was worried about Davey, even though he already knew the answers. All the possibilities ran through his head over and over. In the early morning hours, when he was still staring at the ceiling, he began to wonder about Tom and realized he was going to miss him. Greg had really liked him, but guys willing to step into a family like his were hard to come by, let alone guys who were willing to be a part of a family with a blind child. No matter what Tom might have said, that was a lot to expect, and Greg had heard enough in Tom’s voice. The date had gone well and they’d hit it off, but the end of the evening had most likely signaled the end of that possible relationship.

F
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than a week, Tom wondered if things were all right with Greg and Davey. He’d tried calling, but didn’t get an answer. He knew he should probably have left a message, but if they were busy, he didn’t want to butt in. He also figured if Greg was too busy and didn’t want to speak to him right now, he wasn’t going to intrude. So as he pulled up to Ken and Patrick’s, he hoped to get the skinny on what was happening.

Tom headed up the walk and rang the doorbell. He’d said he’d probably drop by, but they hadn’t set a definite time. The door opened.

“Come on in,” Ken said, motioning him inside. Tom stepped into the living room and saw Howard and Gordy sitting on Ken’s sofa, with Patrick in one of the chairs. They all stood, and he shook hands with each of them. “You remember Howard and Gordy from the party.”

“Of course,” Tom said, taking the offered chair. “I was wondering if you knew how Davey was doing.”

Ken looked surprised. “You haven’t heard?”

Tom shook his head. “I tried calling but got no answer, and I didn’t want to intrude. I suspect things are tough right now.”

“His sight is largely gone and there isn’t anything that can be done,” Ken said. “He can see some light sometimes, but basically he’s blind now.”

“They’ve been by to talk to me once, and I think they’re both trying to figure out how to get on with life. But that takes time, which they haven’t had yet. Greg is talking about getting Davey a dog like Token, but I doubt they’ll consider him at this stage. He needs to figure out how to do basic things without his sight before they’ll place him with a service dog. But it’s great to see the support Greg is giving Davey.” Howard reached down and lightly touched his dog’s head before standing up. “We should probably go so you can talk.”

“Please don’t go on my account.” Tom cleared his throat. “This was a rather fortunate turn of events, because part of what I wanted to talk to Ken and Patrick about was how to get in touch with you.”

“Me?” he asked, lowering himself back down.

“Yeah. I was listening to the radio a few days ago, and I heard a story that made me think of you and Davey. I’ve done some research and I need some advice.”

“What was the story about?”

“Beep baseball,” Tom said. “Baseball for the blind. Greg said Davey used to play ball and that he was good at it, but couldn’t play anymore because of his sight. I looked it up and read about it. The ball makes a beeping sound, and so do the bases. Instead of catching the ball and throwing it, the runner is safe if they make it to first base before the fielders pick up the ball. It really sounded interesting, and I was wondering if you could help.”

“Because I’m blind?” Howard asked.

“Well, yeah,” Tom said. “It sounded interesting, and baseball is something Davey did before he began losing his sight. I know adjusting is going to be hard, so I thought this might give him back something he used to do. It could also help him adjust to being blind. He’ll have to learn to follow sounds rather than using his eyes. This could give him a way to help learn that. I checked and there’s nothing like this in the area, so I was thinking of trying to put something together, but I can’t do it alone. There’s also no use trying if people aren’t interested.”

“What do you need me to do? Help raise money or something?”

“We don’t need money. I can get that from my family’s foundation. But you must have contacts in the area—organizations that work with the blind, support groups? I need to get the word out for blind players and sighted helpers. I can put some feelers out to other organizations to see if we can get help from people who have already set this up elsewhere.”

“You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?” Howard asked.

“Yes. I can’t get over the sight of Davey holding his father. He must have been thinking his life was over, but it isn’t. It doesn’t have to be. But it will take someone or something to show him he can do some of the things he did before.”

“Okay,” Howard said. “I’ll contact the groups I’m aware of and see if they’ll help discern if there’s any interest.”

“So how does this work?” Gordy asked. “I mean, Howard can’t throw or catch to save his life.”

“The pitchers are sighted and on the hitter’s team. Certain functions are done by the sighted, like helping batters to the plate. The rules are adjusted, and there are only three bases, first, third, and home. The balls beep, and the bases are upright and buzz. The sounds are different. The equipment can be ordered online. It’s costly, but that isn’t an issue. I can get what we need as far as equipment. What I can’t get are people who might be interested in playing.”

“You’ll also need a place to play,” Gordy said.

Tom nodded. “That shouldn’t be a problem. The county has parks with open space. It doesn’t seem to need an actual baseball diamond because the bases are different. All we really need is an open space that’s level and free of holes and hazards. I’m sure we can get the county to pony up something.”

“They can be pretty stubborn,” Ken said.

“Yeah, but are they going to go on record as being against the blind?” Tom smiled. “Not likely. And even if they do, I can bring pressure like they’ve never seen.” Tom was fairly sure of that.

“Okay. I think you’ve won all of us over. Now you’ve got the hard part to do: convincing Greg and Davey.”

“What’s to convince?” Tom asked, looking at everyone.

It was Howard who answered. “I can tell you from experience that the most protective parent on the planet is the one with a blind child. Mine were protective for years. I didn’t find any freedom in my own life until I went to college, and even then my folks tried to figure out how they could go with me. No, getting past Greg is going to be like getting into Fort Knox. Besides, Davey might not be interested in playing. I was born blind, so I never had to adjust to losing my sight. Davey is making that adjustment and that is going to be huge for him.”

“Oh,” Tom said. “I was so excited about the idea I hadn’t thought of that.”

“We’re not saying you shouldn’t approach them,” Gordy said, and when Tom looked at Patrick, he was smiling and nodding. “I think it’s a great idea, and I’ll help coach or whatever you need me to do.” Gordy took Howard’s hand. “I think it would be good for this one to learn to play as well.”

“You do?” Howard asked skeptically and sounding a little put
out.

“Exercise in a controlled environment, where you can do the things you were never able to as a kid, would be good. We listen to baseball in the car all the time because I enjoy it. Now you’d have the chance to play yourself.” Gordy nudged Howard’s shoulder, then leaned in and whispered something in Howard’s ear. Howard nudged Gordy back.

“Okay. I’ll help too,” Howard agreed.

“We wanna help,” Hanna added, standing in the doorway with Sophia.

“Excellent,” Tom said. “Then we have a plan. We’ll get the word out and arrange for permission. The equipment can be ordered online, and I’ll arrange that as soon as I can.”

They talked of general topics for a while, and then Tom got up to leave. He received a hug from everyone, especially Patrick, and then left the house. He drove back toward Marquette and without much thought, turned down Greg’s street. The garage door was closed and he didn’t see a car out front, but he pulled into the drive anyway, then marched up to the front door and rang the bell.

“I’ll get it,” he heard Davey say, and then he waited. The door didn’t open, and Tom became concerned. He tried the knob and pushed the door open, peering inside. Davey stood in the middle of the living room, stock-still. “Dad!” he yelled. A door closed and Greg hurried into the room, fastening his belt. “I don’t know where I am.”

“It’s okay,” Greg said and helped Davey to the sofa.

“Sorry,” Tom said once Greg had Davey settled.

“It’s okay,” Greg said.

“I tried calling a few times, but I knew you were busy and I didn’t want to bother you,” Tom explained, swallowing hard. Greg looked haggard, like he hadn’t slept since Tom had seen him last, and Davey was a nervous wreck. “How are you getting on, Davey?”

He shrugged. “I can’t see anything and I keep getting lost.” He gripped the edge of the sofa cushion in his fist. “I can’t do anything, and every time I move, I can’t remember where I am or how to get where I want to go. I hate it.” He pounded the sofa cushion and stomped his feet.

Greg immediately sat next to him and tried to provide comfort, but it wasn’t working. Tom looked around the room and then motioned to Greg, who got up and walked over to where he stood. “I don’t know much about these kinds of things, but have you paced off the room with him?”