by Tina Folsom
Her right eye showed no sign of the operation having taken. She squinted, but her vision didn’t improve. All she could see was a short person in a white coat. Only his voice let her guess his identity and age, somewhere north of forty.
“Dr. Zimmerman, I still can’t see anything from the other eye,” she complained, her voice laced with worry. Every night since she’d regained consciousness, the fear of never seeing again gripped her, sending her into one tailspin after the other.
Sophia wrapped the drawstring of her pajama pants around her finger, fashioning it into a knot, then released it with the next movement. How many knots she’d made in the last few weeks she didn’t know, but it had to be more than any sailor ever had. Keeping her hands busy with something—anything—helped her keep her sanity.
“Miss Baker, I know you’re impatient.” She felt the doctor’s soothing palm on her arm, squeezing in reassurance. “But these things take time. I’ve had cases like yours before, and in my experience the best thing to do is to follow through with the treatment, avoid any strain, and be patient. This can’t be hurried. If there’s no improvement within the next two months, we’ll inject your eyes with silicon oil. It’ll help stabilize your lenses and make sure the retinas remain attached.”
“And if it doesn’t work?” Sophia swallowed away the rising tears and attempted to mentally undo the knot in her stomach—without success.
“Then we’ll deal with it. You’ve only had two operations so far. There is a lot more we can do. One thing at a time. Promise me to be patient.”
At Dr. Zimmerman’s urging voice, she nodded slowly.
“And you should get somebody to help you out at home.”
“Easier said than done.” She lived alone in a huge house which was undergoing a major renovation. Taking it easy and getting help were virtually impossible.
“Why don’t you have a friend move in with you for a while?”
“I’ll figure something out,” Sophia answered. Asking for help wasn’t something she liked to do, not even if it was help from her friends. But that wasn’t the doctor’s problem, it was hers.
There was a sound at the door.
“Ah, I see you have a friend here to visit. I’ll prepare your discharge papers and have a follow-up appointment set up for you. We’ll get you out of here before tonight.” He took her hand and squeezed it in reassurance.
“Thank you, Dr. Zimmerman.”
As soon as the doctor left the room, another figure came into view. The shape was blurry and too far away to identify. “Francesca?”
“Hello, Sophia,” a male voice greeted her.
Sophia’s heart sank. “Michael.”
She didn’t have the strength to deal with him now. After he hadn’t immediately visited her when she was first admitted, she’d figured he was out of town again doing yet another disappearing act. Unfortunately she wasn’t that lucky. If he was here now, it could only mean one thing: he needed money.
“I came as soon as I heard.” Michael’s voice came closer as he spoke, and she saw his frame move until he stopped next to her bed.
“You didn’t have to bother,” she pressed out. It made her feel vulnerable and helpless that she was unable to read the expression on his face.
The mattress depressed next to her as he sat. Sophia didn’t appreciate the closeness. Michael was up to something, she could sense it. The air fairly prickled with tension.
“I’m not going to stand by and pretend we’re not family when you need me. You can count on me, you should know that.”
The words sounded sincere, but without seeing his eyes she couldn’t be sure. Michael had always had a way of sounding genuine when he meant anything but. The only thing he’d never been able to disguise was the coldness in his eyes. “Thanks, Michael, but I don’t need any help.”
“Sophia, don’t be silly, you can’t take care of everything yourself. I’ll move in and help you out.”
Suddenly a door slammed.
“I don’t think so.” Francesca’s voice came from the door, before she stepped closer. Her red hair made her easy to recognize. Sophia sighed in relief: the cavalry had arrived.
“This is a private conversation between family, and last time I checked you weren’t family,” Michael retorted in a snide tone. The smoothness of the earlier conversation had left his voice, and the real Michael reared his head. Just like she remembered him.
“And last time I checked you were still a crook.” Her dear friend could always hold her own, and there was no love lost between Francesca and Michael.
He rose, and Sophia recognized their two shapes face off with each other. But Sophia didn’t want them to start a fight in the hospital. Someone was likely to get hurt.
“Stop it, both of you. I don’t want any fighting here.”
“What, you think your friend will help you? I told you, I’ll take care of things. It was stupid of Eleni to saddle you with all this responsibility for the house.”
Sophia sighed. “I can handle it.”
“No, you can’t,” Michael protested.
“She can, and she will,” Francesca interrupted.
“Keep out of it, Francesca. Sophia, here’s the deal. I’ll help you build up the B&B in exchange for an interest in the property.”
She knew it. He hadn’t just offered her his help out of the goodness of his heart. Of course he wanted something in exchange. He always did. Even as a child he’d been like that.
How much would her dear cousin want for his help this time? Maybe he was more reasonable now that he’d had time to cool off after the reading of Eleni’s will. Maybe he would accept what she’d offered him then—a small share of the profits for some occasional help with the B&B when she wanted to take time off. Curiosity made her ask. “How much?”
“Don’t—” Francesca gasped.
“Shut up,” Michael stopped her, his voice sharp. A second later, he addressed Sophia again. “I’ll help you, but I’ve got to live too. I’ll take fifty percent of the property.”
Sophia’s heart sank. “No.”
“Don’t be stupid. You’re practically blind. You’ve got a mortgage the size of Mount Hood and a contractor who cheats you at every turn. That won’t happen if I’m in charge.”
Sophia felt her blood pressure rise. Not only did he want half of what was hers, he also wanted to control everything. And she’d rather have the contractor cheat her than Michael. “My answer is no. Eleni gave the house to me for a reason: to preserve it. She didn’t trust you, and frankly neither do I. Don’t you think I know what you’ll do as soon as you’re on the deed?”
“I’ve changed. Things are different now,” Michael claimed. The soothing quality in his voice was back.
Sophia took a deep breath. What if he had changed? Maybe he wasn’t gambling anymore. She hadn’t seen him since the funeral. People could change, but she hesitated. What if it was all a lie, just like he’d lied to her and Eleni before? She’d always been able to tell when he was lying by looking into his eyes. Unfortunately, she couldn’t rely on this skill now.
As if he knew what she was thinking, he continued. “I haven’t made a single bet in six months. I’m even attending Gamblers Anonymous. You can check on that. Please, Sophia. I’m family. I can help you.”
Sophia pressed her palms to her temples, trying to stave off the approaching headache. She didn’t want to make any decisions now. “I can’t. Not now. I need to think.”
“Fine, you think about it. But I’m telling you, you need me.”
Michael turned and left the room, his heavy footsteps echoing in her head.
“You’re not seriously going to let him talk you into this, are you?” Francesca’s words reminded her that her friend was still here.
“I don’t know. I don’t know anything right now.” Tears she wasn’t able to hold back started streaming down her cheeks. “What am I going to do? I can’t live on my own right now. I can barely see anything. How can I make sure the contractors are doing wha
t they're supposed to when I can’t even make breakfast for myself?”
With a couple of steps, Francesca was by her side and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tightly. It felt good to know there was somebody who cared.
“Don’t worry, sweetie, I’ll help you. I’ll move in with you until you’re better.”
“You will?” Hope rose in Sophia’s stomach and traveled up her chest. She would have never asked her for help, but she could hear Francesca’s sincerity in her voice.
“Course, I will. So, don’t worry about it right now.”
A new wave of tears came, now signaling relief. “Thank you so much. You have no—”
“Shh. You’d do the same for me.” Francesca released her from her embrace. “Let me pack a few of my things. I’ll check in with my office to make sure Leo knows where to reach me and what needs to be done over the next few days—maybe I can even work from your house for a while. I’ll pick you up when they're ready to discharge you.”
At the mention of Francesca’s boss, Sophia remembered something important. “And the trade show on the West Coast?”
Francesca worked for a small semiconductor manufacturer supplying mostly the game console industry.
“Not a problem. Leo is going. It doesn’t need both of us. As long as one of us represents the company we’ll be fine. Somebody has to hold the fort down here anyway. I’m sure the orders will start fluttering in after the first day at the trade show in LA, and I’ll have to make sure they get filled promptly.”
“You’re so great. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
Sophia saw the shake of Francesca’s red curls. “You’d figure something out, and you’d cope. Like you always do.”
***
A few hours later, Sophia sat on the hospital bed and buttoned her cardigan.
“I wish I could change it, but Leo can’t travel. They're putting his leg in a cast as we speak,” Francesca said. She’d arrived in her office just as her boss was being carried out in a stretcher. He’d slipped on a loose tile in the men’s room and broken his ankle.
Sophia heard the regret in her friend’s voice and wanted to put her at ease. “I understand, I really do. Don’t worry about it. You need to go and represent at the trade show for him, that’s more important right now. I’ll figure something out.”
What she would do without Francesca’s help she didn’t know. But she didn’t want to burden her friend with it.
“Let me at least help you set something else up for you. I’ve spoken to the nurse, and she told me about this private home healthcare agency that hires out staff to take care of people who need help at home,” Francesca suggested. “They help you with anything you need, sort of a combination housekeeper and nurse. They even help you shower if you needed that.”
Sophia raised her hand in protest. “I’m not quite an invalid yet. I think I can do my own showering. How hard is it to find your way around in a four by four cubicle?”
“I’m just saying. I wasn’t suggesting you needed help with that. But at least you’ll know these people are equipped to do anything you need them to do. And their rates are really reasonable too.”
Francesca was intimately acquainted with Sophia’s financial situation. In fact, in the last few weeks she’d taken it upon herself to pay the bills and monitor her account. “Can I afford it?” Sophia now asked her friend.
“You’ll be fine.”
Sophia heard a twinge of doubt in her friend’s voice and knew Francesca didn’t want to worry her. “How bad is it?”
She could practically feel Francesca cringe, before she answered. “There was a letter from the bank manager. He heard about your accident and is concerned about the loan. He wants an update on when you’ll open the B&B. I’ve made an appointment for you so you can tell him what the status is.”
Sophia shook her head. “As if I knew. I have no idea how far the renovations have gotten along while I was in here. Who knows whether they did anything I asked them to do.”
Francesca’s hand touched her arm. “Sweetie, you worry too much. I gave them all your instructions, and from what I can see they made some progress. You’ll see a lot of the work on the second floor has been done. The kitchen is finished.”
Sophia shrugged. “Well, at least that’s something.” But she wasn’t confident that her instructions had been followed. Her contractor had given her enough problems when she was able to inspect everything thoroughly. Wouldn’t he now try to get away with even more shoddy work since he knew she was practically blind and couldn’t even see the defects?
It was bad enough that he thought that she—a woman—had no idea what she was talking about, when in fact she was the one who’d always taken care of all repairs in the house when Eleni was still alive. She knew a thing or two about repairs and was no stranger to swinging a hammer. The absence of a man in the house had necessitated that she and Eleni learn how to take care of small repairs themselves.
“So, shall I call the agency?” Francesca’s voice sounded in her ear.
“Yes, please, here’s my cell. I’d like to talk to them.”
A knock at the door interrupted them. It opened a moment later, and a person in white entered. The round form identified her as one of the nurses, who’d been taking care of Sophia for the last few weeks.
“All ready then? Time to go home, Sophia?” Nurse Claudia asked.
“Yes, I’m ready.”
The nurse wheeled something into the room, and Sophia knew it was a wheelchair. Hospital protocol dictated that patients would be wheeled out. While she felt it was humiliating to be seen in a wheelchair, at least it would prevent her from tripping over unseen hazards and making a fool of herself for everybody to see.
She hadn’t left the hospital in four weeks, and now the outside world seemed frightening. But there was no time to dilly dally. Nurse Claudia helped her into the wheelchair.
“Executive Home Healthcare? Yes, hold on, I’ll pass you to my friend. She needs to hire a healthcare worker. Thanks.”
Sophia felt Francesca press the cell phone into her hand. “Here you go. Just tell them what you need, and they’ll set it up for you. I’ll go get the car and meet you both at the main entrance in a few minutes.”
Francesca swept out of the room. Nurse Claudia pushed the wheelchair into the hallway an instant later.
“Hello, yes.” Sophia took a breath. “I need to hire somebody to help me.”
Chapter Eight
When he turned a corner, Triton almost collided with a wheelchair in the hospital corridor.
He cursed. “What in Hades!”
The words nearly got stuck in his throat when he looked at the person sitting in the wheelchair. There she was, Sophia, his mystery woman! What by the gods had happened? Had the accident paralyzed her?
Sophia didn’t look at him—she completely ignored him. Did he really deserve that? Had he been such an ass that night? Wasn’t it enough that she’d put him in her place then?
He stood almost frozen until the nurse gave him a stern look and a determined “Excuse us, please” which made him jump aside. The nurse pushed the wheelchair past him and continued down the hall.
Behind him, Dionysus cleared his throat. “What’s going on? Would you please now explain to me what we're doing here, and who this mysterious woman is you’re running all over town to find?”
With an impatient movement of his hand, Triton stopped his friend. “Not now, Dionysus. Follow me.”
Several large strides and Triton had caught up with the nurse pushing the wheelchair. He walked behind them.
“Yes, I need a healthcare worker who can help me around the house. No, I can walk,” Sophia said into her cell phone.
Triton felt relief when he heard her say that she could walk. He’d enjoyed dancing with her, and it would be a shame if she couldn’t do that anymore. He would love to take her dancing again and whirl her around the dance floor.
“Yes, otherwise I’m healthy.
I don’t need a real nurse, just somebody to help me find my way around the house.” She paused again, listening intently to the other person. “No, it’s both eyes. I can see only shapes and colors, not much of anything else.”
There was a quiet sigh he would have almost missed had he not listened so closely. “Yes, for now, I’m virtually blind.”
Blind? She was blind? She hadn’t been blind the night he’d met her at the nightclub. On the contrary, those eyes had practically devoured him.
“When do you think you can get somebody out to me? Tomorrow? That’s good. Yes, the name is Sophia Baker. And I live at—” She stopped abruptly then chuckled softly. For the first time her voice took on a carefree tone. “You knew Aunt Eleni? … Yes, I still live in the same house. … Thank you, that’s so kind of you. We all miss her. I’ll be expecting the healthcare worker tomorrow morning then. Thanks so much.”
Sophia disconnected the call. Triton watched her put the cell phone in her pocket.
Virtually blind? Could it be true? Part of him hated his next thought, but that didn’t stop it from coming. Could this be his second chance? If he made sure that she didn’t recognize his voice, he could pretend to be somebody else. That night, he’d given a false name anyway.
If he managed to get close to her, insinuate himself into her life, then he could prove to her that he wasn’t just some himbo as she’d called him. He could prove to her that he cared, that he was reliable, that he had a heart. And he would be close to her again—by the gods, how he’d missed her. How he’d longed to drink in her scent, to touch her smooth skin, to feel her body close to his. He could be there for her, help her with anything she needed. He could be her eyes.
Taking a few brisk steps, he passed by the wheelchair and rushed ahead of it. Then he turned around, pretending he’d forgotten something. He blocked the wheelchair from going any further.
Sophia looked straight at him. No, not at him, through him. She truly couldn’t see him.
“Excuse us,” the nurse said, clearly even more annoyed with him now.
“I’m so sorry,” Triton responded.