The Gift

Gah! I instantly blossom into a red heat and am thankful Ben is blind. Turning back to Bed I say, “So…”

“Told you I’d see you soon,” he says. “Well, figuratively speaking that is.”

“You knew you’d be coming back?”

“That’s what my meeting was about. The PET scan and admitting me. But I already knew it was coming.”

“You’ve been having problems?” I ask.

“Yeah, my vision’s been blurry,” he says deadpan.

“Um, but you’re blind…”

“Really? Damn, no wonder…”

I giggle and say, “Ha-ha. Having fun at my expense, I’m okay with that.”

Ben raises the head of his bed to a sitting position and opens his eyes and looks directly at me. Those icy blue eyes seem to look straight into my eyes to my very soul.

“You have pretty eyes,” I say blushing again. Ben can’t see but I wonder if he can feel the heat coming off me from all the blushing.

“Thank you, so do you,” he replies cocking his head slightly while still looking, well, pointedly into mine.

“And how do you know?” I say with a smile.

“I do. They are a blue green, not quite hazel though. No brown tinge,” he says and puts a hand to his head to cover his eyes.

“You okay?” I ask concerned.

“Yeah,” he says. “Just a little headache. Happens sometimes.” Throwing back the covers, he puts his feet over the side and says, “I need to do something besides lay here. Let’s go swing now that your IV is gone.”

“How’d you know that?” I ask.

“You were kinda quiet when you came in. No squeaky wheels. It was either that or they got you a stealth pump. I couldn’t see the hospital spending billions on a stealth IV pump.”

“Or see anything else, right?” I say and he groans.

“Blind jokes, really?”

Huh? “But…”

He puts out his hand and misses my shoulder by an inch. I was going to reach for it when he says, “No,” and them moved it over to my shoulder. “I was kidding,” he assures me as his thumb moves over my collarbone. “Ah, right side line,” he says not feeling anything on my left.

“My last one was. I have the scar to prove it.”

His thumb moves slightly underneath my collarbone to the tiny incision scar where the line was. “Right there,” he says rubbing the scar gently.

“How did you know where it was?”

He smiles at me and says, “I could give you some great story that sounds true, but I won’t. Educated guess and a sensitive touch.”

“But through my shirt?”

He lifts his hand and says, “Give me your hand.”

I put my right hand in his and he closes my fingers, leaving the index finger out. Then with his finger on top of mine, but a little further out, he slowly reaches for my shoulder again until his finger touches me lightly. He adjusts, feeling for my collarbone, then down and to the right a little until he’s on top of it again. Then he moves his finger back and puts mine against me and says, “Feel.”

I do and can barely feel the little bump of scan tissue under my shirt.

Breaking my fascination with his sensitive touch he asks, “Would you find finding my shoes? It will make the process quicker than if I do it. Or if you need come comedic relief, you can sit there and watch the blind boy search for them.”

“Well, since you can make blind jokes and I can’t, maybe you should LOOK for them.”

“Nice. Now you’re catching on. So… shoes?”

I look around and see them near the bed and reach out for them. Picking them up, I turn back and pause. He comes to my rescue and answers the question I was going to ask. “Don’t have to see to know where my feet are. Plus, I think Velcro was made for blind people. Not that I can’t tie my shoes. Could see before, remember?”

I sigh, feeling stupid. “Sorry,” he tells me. “I’m used to people treating me like I can’t do anything for myself. I forget that you get that too and it probably gets you just as upset. It’s just me being overly sensitive. I don’t like being here, not that you probably do either.”

“You’re forgiven, now stop talking and put your shoes on so we can go,” I tell him.

He puts on his shoes and stands. Walking to the sink, he turns on the water and runs his fingers through his hair. “Look okay?”

“Sure,” I say. “If anyone has an issue, I’ll just tell them you’re blind and insisted on doing your own hair.”

He frowns and I giggle. “Would you really do that?”

“Darn skippy,” I answer.

“Wonder who they’ll pity more, the blind kid or the blue haired anime girl.”

“Ouch. I thought you liked the hair.”

“I do, I do. Dhow how did Anna fare?”

“I’ll tell you once we’re downstairs,” I say pulling him by the hand towards the door.

“Wait,” he says pulling me to a stop. “My glasses.”

I look around and see them on the nightstand and pull him over there, then put the glasses on his face. “Hey, maybe I can get used to this blind thing and having someone like you helping me.”

I pull him out of the room grinning, and down the hall to the nurses’ station. Waiving at a nurse, she comes over and asks, “What can I do for you two?”

“We’re going down to the playground. He’s from room 205. I’m in 308, but they probably don’t know where I am. Would you let someone know in case they have to find me?”

“Sure hon. You two have fun but don’t overdo it.”

“Okay,” we answer in unison. I grab Ben’s hand again and we go to the elevators and wait.