The Odor of Violet

by Ju Ephraime

  “And have poor Cook trek all the way over here, when I’m perfectly able to do it with no effort on my part? And besides, I want to.”

  “Okay. I’ll be waiting for my coffee then,” he told her. “Don’t be too long.”

  ***

  Damien sat back on the bed. Grabbing the pillow, he buried his face in it, inhaling deeply. Lifting his head from the pillow, he focused on the far corner of the room, and he could see the steel on the arms and wheels of his wheelchair. His heart began to race. He closed his eyes and looked. Yes! He was definitely able to see part of the chair. He began scanning the room, and with anything that had metal on it, he was able to see the metal, but still not the whole object. He was not discouraged. It meant his sight was coming back, but very slowly.

  He was still sitting on the edge of the bed when Lisa returned with the coffee. He knew he was grinning from ear to ear, but he couldn’t help it. He felt as if he had won the jackpot, and in a way he had. He could see Lisa’s height and the shape of her body, but not her face yet. He could walk straight up to her without fear of missing his mark. Oh boy!

  “You are back quickly. Did you run there and back?” he asked.

  “I did run on my way going, but I could not run while carrying the hot coffee, so I power walked back. Did something happen while I was gone?” she asked.

  “No, why?”

  “There is something different about you. I can’t put my finger on it, but there is definitely something different about you,” she insisted.

  “Could it be that I’m just happy to see you?” he replied, walking up to her, and giving her a quick kiss on the mouth.

  As he held her face in his hands, he tried to see if her could see her features being this close to her, but nothing had changed in that area.

  “You know, Damien, there is something different about you, for sure. I know what it is,” she said, putting her hand around his neck to bring his head back down to her.

  “Yeah. Could I not just be happy because you make me feel that way?” he asked, giving her a nip on her chin.

  “Stop it, Damien. Don’t try to distract me. There is something about your eyes. The way you look is more focused somehow. Before, your eyes would wander around, but now you look as if you can see. Has anything changed with your vision over the last couple of days?” she asked.

  “No, I can’t see you, Lisa, if that’s what you are asking. I’m trying to focus to see if it will help me. I want to be able to see you and not have you only a voice to me, but I’m still in the dark, so to speak. If it ever happens, you’ll be the first to know, no, the second. I’ll be the first, obviously,” he said, laughing.

  ***

  He appeared to be an upbeat mood, which was contagious. Hearing him laugh out loud was a joy to her ears. This was the first time she’d heard Damien laugh outright, and it was sexy as hell. She loved the crinkles that appeared around his gorgeous eyes when he laughed. She loved everything about this man, although she didn’t want to tell him until he admitted to feeling the same way about her. She was content to wait. To give him time to adjust to the idea of her being a permanent part of his life.

  “Okay, Damien, I’m going back to my room to get ready for the day. I’ll see you in a little bit,” she said.

  “I’ll make my way to my office. I’ll see you there,” he replied.

  ***

  As soon as he heard the lock slip into place after her, he turned on his heel and did a little dance. He really wanted to dance a jig. He was so elated. But he didn’t think he could manage it with his very limited sight. But nothing could dampen his mood. He felt alive for the first time in years. He had no idea how he was going to keep this from Jake. But until he had his sight back almost as it used to be, he would not go broadcasting to anyone he could see because he really could not.

  He picked up the house phone and called Lisa’s room. He needed a supply of condoms, and there was no way in hell he was asking Jake to pick them up for him. It would have to be Lisa. He’d meant to tell her when she’d brought the coffee, but she threw him off by questioning him about his sight. She was a very intelligent and perceptive woman. He would have to be extra careful if he did not want to let the cat out of the bag just yet.

  He allowed the phone to ring a couple more times before hanging up. He would try her again once he got dressed.

  He took a quick shower, trying to hurry before Jake came in to give him his daily shave. He had refused his help yesterday, so today he knew he looked like a cave man. Running his hand along his jawline, he had two days’ growth, so there was no putting it off.

  He was trying to decide on calling Jake or getting dressed when there was a knock at his door.

  “Who is it?” he asked, stepping into his dressing room and reaching for the outfit that was already laid out for him. He hurriedly put on his briefs before pulling on his jeans and walking towards the door.

  “Who is it?” he asked again.

  “It’s me.” He recognized Jake’s voice through the still closed door.

  “Since when have you taken to knocking? Aren’t you the one who always barges in here, whether I want you to or not?”

  “I did not want to scare you or have you snap my head off. Also, I didn’t want to see anything that would make me go hmmm.”

  “What are you going on about now, Jake? Did you come to give me a shave? I feel like a wild man from Mars.”

  “Yes. How do you know what a wild man from Mars looks like? You’ve been watching too much television.”

  “You know damn well I don’t watch television. Jake, are you trying to be funny because I’m not laughing.”

  “You are too sensitive, Damien. I was just kidding around, but I can see you are in one of your moods, and I have work to do. Did you say you want a shave today?”

  “Yes.”

  “Let’s get on with it then,” Jake told him as he walked into the bathroom and brought out the kit he used to shave Damien.

  ***

  Jake knew there was something going on between Damien and Lisa, but he was not one to pry. He knew Damien would tell him in his own time. He was just happy to see Damien taking a greater interest in life again. If he had Lisa to thank for that, then so be it. He just hoped she knew what she was getting into with Damien.

  Before his accident, Damien had been a player. He would be seeing two to three girls at a time until he met Shelly. Unfortunately, he picked the wrong woman to be serious about because she wasted no time in dumping him when he was at his most vulnerable. It had taken Damien a long time to get over her rejection, but he became very bitter as a result. It was only after Lisa was hired that Jake saw something of the old Damien peeking through. Just brief glimpses, but a change nonetheless, and for that, he’d be forever grateful to her. She didn’t treat Damien in any special way and behaved as if he were a full-seeing client. There was chemistry between them that was unmistakable. He could tell they were fighting it, but these things have a way of working out.

  When he was through shaving Damien, he took the kit into the bathroom to get it cleaned up before putting it away for the next day. Damien was a stickler for doing things right, especially putting things back in their places.

  “I’ll see you at breakfast. That is, if you are having any,” he told Damien as he let himself out of the room. The room needed to be aired out. He could smell Lisa’s perfume all over the place. He should tell her to cut down on it. It was beginning to get to him.

  Jake cut a straight path to his office where as always he became involved in entering the receipts of the previous days and transferring money into the daily household expense account. When the breakfast gong sounded, he was already on his way to the breakfast room. They all had breakfast in the large room off Damien’s office because it was easier for him to get in and out with his wheelchair. The room had been redesigned after his accident to accommodate his needs. It was a large airy room with lots of windows that faced the morning sun. It was equipped with
a large warming buffet so the breakfast remained hot for a couple of hours.

  He was surprised to see Damien in there ahead of him. This in itself was very unusual because Damien was not big on breakfast, but seeing the amount of food he had piled on his plate had Jake taking a second look to make certain he wasn’t seeing things.

  “What’s with all the food, Damien? Are you eating for three?” he asked.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” Damien answered with a laugh as he proceeded to dig into his food like a starving man.

  Before he could respond, the door opened and Lisa walked in. He knew it was her without turning to make certain. He only had to look at Damien to know. Had he not been looking at Damien, he would not have seen the change that came over him the minute Lisa entered the room. His nostril flared as he took a deep breath in, and then he shifted in his seat and immediately pushed his food away as he leaned back in his chair.

  “Finished already, Damien?” Jake couldn’t help teasing him.

  “Yes, I am. What’s it to you?” Damien asked, looking directly at him.

  He looked back at him and could have sworn Damien could see him. There was none of the blank stare in his eyes. He felt as if Damien was actually looking at him, but the next minute, he dismissed the thought when he saw Damien feeling around for his coffee cup. Before he could move to assist him, Lisa was there at Damien’s elbow.

  “Do you want me to freshen your coffee, Damien?” she asked.

  “No,” he answered, wheeling his chair away from the table toward the window where the sunlight was pouring into the room. “I’ll wait until you’ve had your breakfast and you can accompany me to my office. I have some errands I’d like you to run.”

  “I’m not very hungry, but I'll have some of Cook’s delicious French toast and a cup of coffee. I’ll be done in a few minutes, so I'll see you there.”

  “Take your time, Lisa, you don’t have to rush. I’ll wait,” he assured her.

  Jake felt as if he were invisible. He was about to comment on it when Lisa finally acknowledged him. “How are you doing on this beautiful morning, Jake?” she asked, turning to him with a smile.

  “Fine, I suppose.” He replied.

  Damien jumped in to say something to the effect that Jake was being his usual cheerful self and that she shouldn’t concern herself with him.

  “You heard the man, Lisa,” Jake said with a smile.

  “You two are like kids,” she said, laughing along with them.

  ***

  Lisa watched Damien as he wheeled himself out of the room. She still couldn't get over how effortlessly he handled this wheelchair, which seemed to weigh a ton. She watched until he disappeared around the corridor. As she returned her attention to the food in front of her, she was just in time to catch Jake watching her watch Damien.

  “You are fascinated by him, eh?” he asked.

  “As fascinated as I'd be with anyone who handles such odds so effortlessly,” she replied.

  “Who said it was effortlessly?” he asked. Damien had to deal with a lot of crap before he became the person you see before you today. It did not happen overnight. It was a tough struggle for him, but Damien is no quitter.”

  “I could tell. It is obvious from the little I know of him. I feel sad that he has not been able to return to his lab. Maybe one day he will,” she replied.

  “I pray for that day too, but your feelings for Damien goes beyond just caring for a client. You look at him with your heart in your face,” he told her.

  Lisa almost choked on the coffee. “I look at him with my heart in my face? What do you mean by that? I care for Damien as I would any of my clients or patients,” she informed him a bit defensively.

  “Liar. If you have to care for all your clients the way you care for Damien, then heavens preserve us from your loving administration,” he informed her sheepishly.

  “Jake, I don't know what you are carrying on about, but all of a sudden, I've lost my appetite. So I'll leave you to finish your breakfast and go take care of my client. I'll be in my office after I see to Damien's needs.”

  As she heard her own words, she could not control the blush that caused her face to heat up, but she had no intentions of retracting them. Let him think what he may.

  She turned to him as she was walking out, and he was right behind her, wearing his huge customary grin. “I like that you're taking your duties so seriously, Lisa. Trust me. I don't have a problem with the way you care for Damien. On the contrary, I welcome it. Come here.” He gave her a hug and a kiss on the top of her head. “You are good people. Go on now. I'll see you later.”

  ***

  By the time Lisa made it to Damien's office, she was breathing hard, she was almost at a run by the time she walked through the door. Damien was sitting with his back to his desk, facing the window in his office. The sunlight was steaming into the window, and the light picked up the highlights in his hair, causing it to appear lighter than usual. He seemed fascinated with the light coming from the window. She had never seen him pay any interest to the window in the past. Now he appeared quite taken with it. She went to him immediately, intending to give him a brief kiss, but he lifted her onto his legs and gave her a thorough kiss that left her holding on to him for dear life.

  “I need you to run an errand to the local drug store to get me a supply of condoms. We can't keep doing what I want to do to you right now without some protection. You don't want to have a baby now, do you?” he asked as he nuzzled her freshly washed hair.

  She wouldn’t mind having Damien's baby in the not-too-distance future, just not now.

  Sometimes having to behave like a responsible adult sucked. She'd much rather be irresponsible and hang the consequences. But that would be sheer madness.

  “Is that all you wanted from the drug store?” she asked.

  “That's all I can think of at the moment. If you see anything else, pick it up while you are there,” he told her.

  “I’m going to get my bag so I can get this done before I do some work on some of the accounts Jake has allowed me to try my hand at. I got nothing done yesterday, and I don't want today to be a repeat of the same. Then I'll feel as if I did not earn my salary.”

  “Do you need more to do to keep you busy?” he asked. “I told Jake not to overwhelm you. To give you a chance to get used to the way we do things around here. If you feel up to it, I'll ask him to turn the Donahue account over to you to manage. I used to handle that account before my accident, so I'm pretty familiar with it. I can help if you have any questions.”

  ***

  He went back to nuzzling her neck. Not satisfied with that, he closed his teeth gently on her ear lobe, his tongue savoring the delicate skin. “I'm insatiable for you, Lisa,” he told her. “I love the way you smell.”

  “I'll give you that, Damien; you are insatiable. I don't know if it's me or if you’ve been that way all along, but you have a huge appetite. I was barely able to walk this morning.”

  “I have a huge appetite? You make me sound like an elephant, and what do you know about it anyway?” he asked, favoring her with one of his rare laughs.

  “You have a very sexy laugh, Damien. Why don't you laugh more often?”

  “What was there to laugh about? After my accident and the changes I had to go through just to be comfortable, I thought all the joy had gone out of life. Until you,” he told her.

  I like her way too much, Damien realized. Then he smiled to himself. She was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and well he knew it. However, at some level, if he thought about it too much, it scared him. He knew what loving and putting all your faith in someone, only to be disappointed, was like.

  He reached into his wallet and pulled out some cash, handing it to Lisa. “Get what you need.”

  “I have some cash and my debit and credit cards,” she said.

  “I'd hate for you to use your money on getting me condoms, much as the idea has a kinky feel to it,” he told her.
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  “Take your mind out of the gutter, Damien.” She gave him a searing kiss with quite a bit of teeth on his mouth and smoothed the sting with her tongue before getting up from his lap. She turned to look at him and saw him adjusting himself. She should have known he had an erection; he appeared to be in a permanent state of arousal. Thinking of which, he hadn’t told her how many of those things he wanted.

  “How many should I buy?”

  “As many as you feel are enough, and double it,” he promptly replied, giving her a blistering look.

  That stopped her dead in her tracks. How could he give her a look like that if she could not see her? Damien had her all confused. She shook her head, laughing as she walked out the door.

  Lisa was glad to be out of the house for a bit. She needed to think about the situation between her and Damien. It was very intense. Everything about Damien was intense. He did nothing by half-measures. She admired him tremendously, but even more than admiration, she believed she was falling in love with him. She knew he did not feel the same way about her. It was probably all physical for him, but she would accept that for the time being. Hopefully he would come to care for her as she cared for him in time.

  It was a beautiful, clear day. The leaves were beginning to change into fall colors. She rolled down her window and put on her favorite CD as she cruised her way through the small town. The road was fairly empty with very little traffic, vehicular or pedestrian. In no time, she was pulling into the parking lot of the drugstore. She was going to pick up a few chocolate bars, one of her weaknesses, along with Damien's condoms. She still had not decided on the number to buy.

  Once inside the store, Lisa quickly found the shelf with the condoms. Thank God she did not have to ask for help in locating it. She bought two dozen. She was going to buy twelve, but she doubled it and made it two dozen as he'd instructed. She brought her chocolate and condoms to the register, paid the cashier in cash, and quickly made her way out of the store. She did not want to give the poor cashier the wrong impression about her.

  She took the long way back to the house, stretching out her brief outing, but sooner than she expected, she was back at the house. She took Damien's stash directly to his room. She was in luck; the housekeeper had not been into his room yet. She placed the condoms in the drawer she had seen him take the one he'd used from last night. And just for good measure, she stripped the sheets off the bed and threw them in the corner. She didn't want anyone to know Damien was sharing his bed with a woman because it would not be too difficult to put two and two together and come up with Lisa.