by Tyler Grey
“Go for it. I promise to answer you honestly.”
“Are you really okay with the fact that I’m blind? I’m talking long-term here. If you choose to be with me, your life will never be quite the same as if you were with someone that can see. I’ll never know exactly what you look like, I’ll sometimes do things that might embarrass you, and I’ll often need your help. It’s quite a burden for someone, and I wouldn’t at all be offended if it was too much for you.”
“Are you kidding me?” I exclaimed. I reached over and embraced him and gave him a soft kiss on the mouth. “You are perfect as you are. This doesn’t change who you are. You’re still Jacob. Anyway, I’m just going to walk around in my pajamas all day and tell you that I’m all dressed up.”
He laughed. “You do realize that, while I might not be able to see, I can feel. I do happen to know the difference between pajamas and a dress, you know.”
“Does that mean you’re going to be feeling me up all the time?” she teased.
“I sure hope so,” he said.
“Thank goodness for that. You have my permission to feel me up all the time. Jacob, I have no problem with you being blind. You are still whole to me. And if you ever need help with anything, I want you to promise me that you’ll come to me. This is not something you should ever be ashamed about. It’s simply a part of who you are. Okay?”
He nodded. “Okay. Right, now there is something else that I need to tell you.”
“Ask me, or tell me?”
“Tell you.” He reached over and placed his hands over my face, trailing over my mouth. I loved it when he did that. Like he was trying to see me. “God, you’re beautiful. Alice, I love you.”
I smiled and saw him smile too as he felt the corners of my mouth turn upwards. While I knew we had both fallen in love with each other, neither of us had said the words to each other yet. I had been waiting for him to say it to me first.
“You’re beautiful too, and Jacob, I also love you. I’m madly and deeply in love with you.”
“You do realize that this is one crazy story, don’t you? Have you considered writing about it?”
“Writing about it? About what? Us?”
He nodded. “Yeah. You want to write, so write. Write about us. Write about how you cooked for me, and how we fell in love. Write about our past and our future. This is some crazy story, Alice, and it’s going to blow people’s minds when they discover that it’s true.”
I laughed. “Jacob, you’re amazing. That is the best idea you’ve ever had.”
“What can I say? I’m not just a pretty face. What I lack in eyesight, I make up for in brains.”
I chuckled. I couldn’t believe how different it was to be in Belgium now that I was happy and in love. Not very long ago I’d cried myself to sleep most nights, and now here I was, feeling like the luckiest girl alive. As we fell asleep that night, Jacob told me once again how much he loved me.
“I love you too, Jacob.”
Chapter 39
Jacob
Two months later
I wondered if I had been waiting for Alice my whole life. I’d never felt this way about anyone before, and even before I lost my eyesight, I’d never felt so comfortable around someone. Alice felt like another extension of me: someone I knew I couldn’t live without. She’d moved in with me almost immediately after coming back from Belgium, and the house was filled with happiness again. We hadn’t planned on moving in with one another, but eventually, we realized that it was silly not to. She was at my house all the time anyway. I told her that I didn’t really want her there, but that Tank was insisting on it. Also, she was going to start her cooking school in a few months, and she needed to get as much practice with me as possible. We were in the kitchen now, and she was instructing me on how to make a simple pasta dish. It was all about the way things felt, and the way they smelled, and soon enough I was surprised by how easy it was for me to get around in the kitchen. I had a good feeling that she had found her dream job.
“Do you think your mother is going to like me?” I said to her as she handed me a lemon to squeeze. Her mother had freaked out when she’d discovered that Alice had left her job in Belgium to come back to me. Alice had sat her down and told her that I was the boy that had bullied her all through school and her mother had refused to talk to her. It had taken two months and a lot of persuasion from Alice for her mother to finally agree to come over for lunch. I was petrified.
Alice giggled. “She’s going to love you. Who wouldn’t?”
“I don’t know, Alice. I’m the one that bullied her little girl. I mean, I don’t blame her if she hates me forever. I wonder if I could maybe try the whole pity party thing on her? She might hate me for what I did to you at school, but can she really hate a blind man? Surely nobody can hate a blind man. Especially one that slaved in the kitchen all day to make a good impression.”
Alice laughed. “She’ll love you, Jacob. But if she doesn’t, you’ve at least got a plan B. The pity party always works.”
I groaned. “Don’t say that Alice. You’re not supposed to give me any doubt. You’re supposed to tell me that there is no way that she’ll hate me. Now let me taste this pasta,” I said, and lifted a spoonful to my mouth. “Oh damn, I’m good! Wow, your boyfriend is incredible. Here, taste it.”
Alice took the spoon. “You’re right. My boyfriend is amazing. However, what would he be without his partner in crime, huh?”
“You mean Tank?” I teased.
“Ha! You better be careful, or I might spike the food before my mother gets here. Ah… I think that’s her car,” she said.
“Oh no. Do I look presentable?”
“You have sauce all down your shirt.”
My hands flew to my shirt, but then I heard Alice laughing. “You brat! I’m going to tell your mother how cruel you are to me.”
“For extra pity points?”
“You betcha!”
Alice took my face in her hands and gave me a big kiss. “You look gorgeous.”
Alice’s mother, Muriel, had a lovely voice. Similar to Alice but a bit authoritative. I could tell immediately that she was on edge when she arrived, but it was what I expected. If she was too nice, I would know she was only putting it on.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I said to her, and clasped her hand. “Please, let me make you something to drink. Tea, coffee, champagne?”
She chuckled. “You have champagne?”
“We certainly do. I figured meeting you counted as a celebration. Why don’t we have some?”
“Sounds lovely,” her mother said. I wondered what sideways glances she was giving her daughter throughout the exchange.
We had anticipated the champagne, so the bottle was already open and being chilled in the fridge. I poured us all a glass and popped some cut-up strawberry on top. I was glad that her mother hadn’t interfered and hadn’t tried to do it for me. I knew how nervous people got when I was in the kitchen. We all went to sit in the living room and cheered the meeting.
“You… uh… you get along very well in the kitchen,” Muriel said. “Sorry, I hope I don’t sound patronizing or anything. It’s just… well… I’m impressed.”
“Thank you. It’s mostly thanks to Alice. She gave me a lot of confidence. I think she’s going to do very well with this cooking school.”
“Yes, actually, I think so too.”
“You do?” Alice said with surprise.
“Of course I do, darling. You’re good at everything you set your mind to. And you’re very good with people. I’ve always thought so.”
We chatted a bit, getting to know one another, and when I brought out the pasta, her mother was pleased. It was a simple but tasty dish, and one I was sure I’d be able to recreate without Alice. I was glad to now have a few things to cook for her so that she didn’t always have the burden of doing it. She said she loved it, but I didn’t want it to be her job anymore. She was still working for me, but I told her that as soon as she st
arted her new business, I wanted her to stop. I was going to hire someone to come in every day to help with the cleaning, and perhaps some of the food preparation in the kitchen, but the rest I would do myself.
“So, I’m just going to go right out and say it,” Muriel said once the food was finished and we were all sitting with our coffee. “I hear you bullied my little girl through school.”
“Mom!” Alice groaned.
I chuckled. “It’s okay. I was expecting this. If you didn’t bring it up, I probably would, just to clear the air. I have to face up to what happened. Muriel, I’m so sorry for what I did. I would love to go back and change it, but I can assure you that I will spend the rest of my life making up for it.”
“You put my girl through a lot of pain, but she tells me that you have changed.”
“I have. I was a stupid little kid who was trying desperately to be like his father, and who didn’t know any other way. I don’t know what to say, except that I’m sorry.”
“Why her, though? Why not any of the other kids? It was always her. I didn’t even know it was happening until much later.”
“Alice was the only one that dared to stand up to me. She was the only one that wasn’t scared of me. That’s why.”
Muriel chuckled. “That’s my girl. So, I hear she gave up this once in a lifetime job in Belgium to be with you.”
“Mom, come on,” Alice urged. “Leave him alone.”
“Darling, I’m only kidding. Look, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t happy when I found out that you left that job. I was even less happy when I discovered that you did it for a man. And I was very upset when I found out who that man was. But I’m not going to sit here and judge you. You’re a grown woman, and I know you have a smart head on your shoulders. You wouldn’t do something unless you were sure it was right. It took me a while to come to terms with this, but then… well… Winter… one of the young ladies in my club, funny name, isn’t it? Winter…” she said and trailed off. I tried not to laugh. Alice told me that her mother was quite the talker and that she often got distracted by her own train of thought. “Oh, what was I saying? Yes, Winter said to me ‘is your daughter happy?’ and that simple question took me by surprise.”
“What do you mean, Mom?”
“Well, all this time I’ve been thinking about myself instead of thinking about you. I realized that I have never seen you this happy before. You’re always smiling, always laughing, and you look so relaxed. Also, you have a determination that I’ve never seen before. You’re in love, and you finally have a direction in life with your career. How can I stand in the way of that? Anyway, I did some digging around, and the more I discovered about Jacob, the more I liked him.”
“You did some research on me?” I asked.
“I sure did. I mean, you’re with my daughter. I had to.”
“My mom, the private investigator,” Alice said, and I could hear that there was a smile on her face.
“So, I’m here to give you a chance, Jacob. From what I have seen today, you seem like a lovely man. I was a little worried that you were maybe using Alice, but I can see now that you are perfectly capable on your own. I can also see that the two of you are clearly in love. You also have a lovely home, Jacob. Oh, darling, is that the piece of art you were telling me about? It’s gorgeous.”
“It sure is,” Alice said. They were referring to the artwork that Patrick had given us in Belgium. We’d put it up in the living room, at the right distance for me to reach up and touch it.
“Want to feel it?” I said to Muriel.
“I’d love to,” she said.
I made my way to the painting and told Muriel to close her eyes. Then I moved her hand along the painting, explaining to her how I saw the painting. When it was done, I could hear that she was moved by my words. She gave me a big hug and told me that she gave me permission to be with her daughter as long as I promised to treat her right.
“Well, I think I better get going,” Muriel said. “Thank you for having me over for lunch. Next time you’ll come to my place, and I’ll cook you some of Alice’s favorite meals.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
We walked her out to her car, and then made our way inside.
Alice chuckled. “Well, you sure are good with parents. You wowed her.”
“You think?”
“I’ve never seen her like that with anyone before.”
I grinned. “Well, what can I say? I know how to charm the ladies.”
She giggled. “You sure do.”
“Didn’t she finish the champagne?” I asked when I realized the one glass was still full.
“Oh, that was me. I was too nervous to drink.”
“Nervous? How rude. You should know I would’ve charmed the socks off of her. Was she even wearing socks?”
Alice laughed. “No.”
“Well, there you go. I charmed them off her. It was nice showing her the painting. I can’t believe I still get so emotional when I look at it. I wish that I could create something as beautiful as that. Who knows, maybe I’m an artist and I don’t even know it.”
“You have created something beautiful,” Alice said.
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
Alice took my hand. “Well, there’s another reason I didn’t drink the champagne,” she said. She put my hand and put it on her stomach. “You’ve made something very beautiful with me.”
I gasped. “You’re pregnant?”
She chuckled. “I am. Are you… are you okay with that?”
I couldn’t believe this. I was going to be a father? “Oh, Alice. Yes! I’m more than okay with that. This is the best day ever.”
Epilogue
Alice
Eight months later
“Uh… my water just broke,” I said to Jacob.
“What? Already? But you’re not due for a few more weeks.”
“I know. I guess she wants to come out now. I’ll call Laurie.”
Thankfully we had a few things put into place early, in case something like this happened. We’d spoken to both Laurie and Hayden, who were on standby in case we needed them. I was strangely calm as I called Laurie, who screamed into the phone and told me that she would be right there. She arrived five minutes later, and we all scrambled into her car. I’d packed a bag the week before too. The whole time I had this feeling that the baby was going to come early, and I was right.
The labor went only a few hours, and Jacob was by my side the whole time. I squeezed his hand, and he spoke to me through it all, telling me that everything was going to be fine. Laurie was in the waiting room, and I could imagine her pacing up and down while she waited to hear that everything was going to be fine. Hearing the baby cry for the first time was the best sound in the world, and I knew it would be even better for Jacob, who couldn’t actually see his own child. The doctor came forward and placed the baby on my lap, and I gasped.
“What’s wrong? Is everything okay?” Jacob asked.
“Uh… it’s a boy!”
The doctor chuckled. “It is. I’m not sure how they got that one wrong. It’s usually so easy to tell. I guess this little guy wanted to surprise all of you. Yes, he’s a boy. A very healthy little boy.”
I giggled. I didn’t care what he was. It had been a surprise, but at the end of the day, the only I cared about was the fact that he was healthy. “He’s so beautiful.”
“It’s a boy?” Jacob said.
I took his hand and placed it on the little boy’s face, and he started crying. As soon as he cried, I cried, and then I saw that the nurses were crying too.
“Oh, we’re all ridiculous,” I said, and then cried all over.
“So, do you have a name for this little one?” the doctor asked.
“Well, we thought it was a girl. So now I’m not sure,” I said and felt the panic rise inside me. I really wanted to have a name. It felt wrong not having one. I hadn’t given any thought to boy names, and it had been a struggle coming up with a gi
rl’s name. We had eventually narrowed it down to three that we liked and figured we would decide on the day, but now all those plans were out the window. “Oh no. We don’t have a name now. I feel awful.”
“I have a name,” Jacob said calmly beside me.
“You do?”
He smiled. “I do. What about Patrick?”
I grinned. I looked down at the baby and smiled. Patrick was going to be so happy to hear that we had named our child after him. We still spoke to him often. It also meant that we would simply have to go for a visit again soon. The thought brought a smile to my face. Belgium now held such a special place in our hearts. “He looks like a Patrick.”
Jacob reached over again and stroked the baby’s face. “He feels like a Patrick.”
I laughed. “What do Patrick’s feel like?”
“Perfect.”
“Perfect Patrick has a nice ring to it. Better than Awful Alice,” I said.
“Who is Awful Alice?” the doctor asked. “I know it’s not you.”
I chuckled. “It’s a long story.”
“But if you want,” Jacob said, “you can read all about it. Alice here is writing a book about how we met. Trust me; it’s a story you’re going to want to read.”
I grinned. Jacob loved telling people about the book that I was writing. He was so proud of it, which in turn made me feel proud of it, too. I’d already started writing the book, and so far, it was going better than I had planned. It had been strange writing about my past, and thinking back to what I had been through, but in a way, it had been oddly cathartic. The more I wrote, the better I felt. I would write a chapter and then read it to Jacob to get his take on it. Sometimes his memories would vary slightly from mine, and it was always interesting to hear things from his point of view. He kept telling me that the book was going to be a huge success. I hoped so, but even if it wasn’t, I was happy to have written it, and happy simply to be writing again.
“I am very much looking forward to reading it. I hope you’ll let us know when it’s out. Now, I think you better get some rest, Alice. Jacob, if you don’t mind leaving for a while. We’ll call you when you can come back in.”