Blind Man's Bluff

by Gene Lembrick

  • • •

  40 Minutes Later

  Brandon and Lucy pull into the parking lot of the fair grounds. The night skies are clear; the rain that swept Connecticut never reached western Massachusetts. As Brandon puts the car in park, Lucy looks in the car’s back seat and notices one unique flower resting on the seat behind Brandon. She picks up the flower.

  “Baby, where did you get this?” She holds up the flower and he looks at it oddly.

  “I’ve never seen it before. Where did it come from?”

  “It was on your back-seat.”

  Brandon is puzzled by this mystery. He’s had his parents’ car to himself for the past few days; he has no recollection of this flower.

  “That’s strange,” he says.

  They get out of the car and walk along the sidewalk. At first, Lucy is walking on the outside of Brandon, but he switches position with her.

  “Why did you do that?” she asks.

  “My father taught me that if a woman walks on the outside, that means she’s available. If she walks on the inside, she’s taken. Plus, it looks crazy for the woman to be on the outside; only pimps have their women on the outside.”

  “So if a guy doesn’t switch with the woman, he may not be a respectable gentleman?”

  “That’s for the woman to figure out, but yes, it’s possible.”

  “Looks like I have me a true gentleman!” She squeezes his hand.

  “You’re just now figuring that out?”

  Lucy lets Brandon’s hand go, so that she can wrap her arms around his arm. She smiles at him, and tucks her forehead into his bicep as they arrive at the fair’s entrance.

  As promised, Brandon buys a caramel apple on a stick for Lucy and a large lemonade drink for himself. He buys six ride tickets, three tickets a piece are needed to ride the biggest Ferris wheel on the grounds. When the wheel spins to the top, the view allows them to see every section of the fair and its few thousand in attendance.

  “Are you enjoying your extra-sweet apple?”

  “Uh-huh, it’s delicious!”

  The Ferris wheel stops at the very top.

  “Your lips are all brown and glossy now.”

  Lucy leans in toward Brandon. “These brown glossy lips are waiting for your soup coolers.”

  Brandon bursts out laughing. “You called my lips soup coolers?”

  “Everyone pucker ups their lips when they try to cool off some hot soup before eating it. Now will you hurry up and kiss me while we’re stopped up top?”

  Brandon and Lucy share a kiss. Lucy drops the remaining piece of her caramel apple, but she never flinches from her kiss. Once the ride moves again, she looks into his eyes and says, “Baby, thank you for making this the most special night of my life.”

  He smiles back and says, “You’re welcome.”

  • • •

  That same night, the twins are in the supermarket grabbing snacks to go along with the movies they’ve rented. Jesus wants to see “Ride Along”; however, Angel wants to see “300: Rise of an Empire.” Since neither budge, they get them both. With neither saying a word, Angel points to a big bag of popcorn, but Jesus shakes his head no. Jesus points to corn chips, and Angel shakes his head no. The twins stand next to each other, both with a hand on their chin, confused about what they’ll both like for snacks. They are in the aisle alone until a senior citizen walks in their direction. With the help of her cane, she gets to the canned low-salt potato chips she is looking for. She reaches up toward the shelf; however, those chips are beyond her reach. The twins are deep in thought and never notice this little old lady in the aisle with them.

  “Excuse me. Could one of you young men grab that can there with the low-salt chips, please?”

  Angel, who is closer to the old lady, bumps Jesus’ arm; they both look at each other and then look around them.

  “You can see us?” Angel whispers.

  The woman has a puzzled look on her face. Jesus, who is on the opposite side of Angel, leans forward so that the woman can see his face. He gives her his version of a confused look.

  “That’s not possible that you can see us!” whispers Jesus.

  The twins stay in character with a confused look and a stare at the woman. She begins to panic as if she’s seen a ghost. She clutches the top collar of her blouse, turns, and swiftly waddles away to escape the crazies. Once she gets near the end of the aisle, they can’t contain their laughter anymore. Jesus grabs the can of chips she has requested, and he jogs toward her with them.

  “Ma’am, ma’am, here’s your chips.”

  But she still looks confused about what has just happened.

  • • •

  Dominic is home in his bedroom, lying on his bed, listening to Five Finger Death Punch’s “The Wrong Side of Heaven and The Righteous side of Hell, Volume 1.” He’s smoking his joint, trying to relax; however, he can’t escape the vision he has of the figure he called Rossi, who appears, in flashes, closer and closer to him, to the point that he can actually touch him. In reality, Rossi was 40 yards from where he stood that night. Dominic sits up on his bed, puts his marijuana joint out into an ash tray. He walks to his window to crack it open; then sprays the room with an air freshener. He looks at the joint sitting in the ash tray, picks it up, walks to his bathroom and dumps the remains into the toilet bowl. As he flushes it down, he thinks,

  ‘This is getting old. That’s it. No more after tonight; I can’t have my mind playing tricks on me.’

  Washington vs. Jefferson

  It’s Saturday afternoon, time for the high school football game of the week. Washington is ranked number two in the polls; Jefferson High, a school in New Haven, is the top-ranked team in the state. Washington is the host for Jefferson; the entire state is watching to learn who truly is the best team in Connecticut. If you don’t get there early, you surely won’t get in. Brooklyn and Lauren are cheerleading; they decided to walk together with Ida, Lucy, and Vicki on this beautiful afternoon to the game at their school’s football field.

  Lauren says, “Give me a W, give me an A…”

  “Girl, will you get a grip? Save it for the game!” Brooklyn says.

  A laughing Lauren says, “I’m just getting psyched up; everyone’s going to be there today!”

  “That’s true, especially if I’m going. I hate football,” Ida says.

  “Yeah, I was shocked that you wanted to go. I thought it was a prank call,” says Vicki.

  “Will you zip it, Vicki Lynn!” She grabs Ida by the waist and leans her head onto her shoulder.

  “I’m just glad you came,” Vicki says.

  Brooklyn is in front of the girls, leading, and begins to walk backwards so that she can speak to the others face-to-face as they walk.

  “Oh, I almost forgot,” says Brooklyn.

  She starts to swing her arms as an orchestra conductor, and chants as she looks at Lucy: Happy birthday to you. Now Lauren and Vicki join in: Happy birthday dear Lucy, happy birthday to you! Lucy is shocked by the love she is getting from the girls; however, she can’t help but notice that Ida wants no part of singing to her. Lucy is blushing and grateful for the belated birthday singing.

  “Thank you, guys,” Lucy says. “A day late, but I appreciate that.”

  “So what did you do last night?” Vicki asks.

  “Brandon cooked and took me to the Big E.”

  “Wow, a guy that’s a superstar and cooks for his lady is A-okay in my book,” says Brooklyn.

  Ida can’t help but throw shade on Lucy. “So a basic night.”

  “Oh, I beg to differ. Since it rained last night, Brandon strung up little shiny stars to the ceiling of his home. We actually ate hot dogs under the stars.”

  Brooklyn says, “Oh my God!”

  “You’re kidding me, right?” says Lauren.

  A prou
d Lucy says, “I kid you not.”

  “That is so dope!” says Vicki, nudging Ida as if unable to believe it.

  “Brandon taught me something last night that you guys may find useful,” says Lucy.

  The girls are all ears. Even Ida can’t help but show interest in what Lucy will say. They all stop in their tracks. Once she has their attention, Lucy explains..

  “If you’re on a date with a guy, or if you have just met, I have a test you could give him to see if he’s worth your while to continue talking with him.”

  Brooklyn, Lauren, and Vicki’s eyes are bulging out of their sockets; even Ida is trying to hear what Lucy has to say. Lucy looks each girl in her eyes, enjoying the growing anticipation. She considers telling the girls later when Ida isn’t around, but she knows that there is no way the others will let her stall.

  “Dammit, Lucy, will you hurry up?” says Vicki.

  “All right, already! Ya’ll heifers are demanding!”

  Lucy laughs, but the others don’t share in the laugh.

  Lucy says, “If you’re walking with a guy along the street on the sidewalk, right at the beginning go to the outside of him; near the street. That would place him on the inside. A true gentleman will try to switch positions with you so that he’ll be on the outside, while you’re protected from the harm of the street on the inside. If a man doesn’t want to be on the outside, then he may not be in your best interests. You may want to dump him. A woman on the inside means she’s taken, if she’s on the outside she’s available.”

  “That actually makes sense,” says Ida, “because pimps put their prostitutes by the curb.

  Lucy points to Ida and says, “Exactly.”

  “Wow, I have to try that one day,” Lauren says.

  “Basically, a real woman should cut off a loser that doesn’t have her best interest at heart,” Ida says.

  “So next weekend we’re heading to New York to shop, right?” Brooklyn asks. They all agree it’s a go.

  “My mother already agreed to allow me to borrow her SUV for the trip,” Lucy says.

  “How about a sleepover at my home the night before?” Brooklyn asks.

  Every girl thinks that is a good idea.

  They arrive at the school; the parking lot is full to the max. Every local news station is in attendance. The line to pay and get into the stadium seems a mile long. However, luckily for Ida, Lucy, and Vicki, they are with the team’s top two cheerleaders. They have the special perk of not waiting in the line of several thousand people. Waiting in line to get into the game is Dr. Buckley, who’s never been a football fan. Dr. Buckley spots the five girls nearly a half mile away. He watches their every move up until they are out of his sight.

  When it comes to the saying dark and handsome; Dr. Gavin Buckley fits it to a T. If he has any knocks on him, it’s that he’s only average in height. The single women of the Children’s Hospital all hope to get his attention, as he has the face of a movie star. He isn’t Tom Cruise’s twin, but Gavin would make you wonder if there’s a family connection between him and the actor. He’s respectful to all the women who continuously throw themselves at him without shame. Once they found out that he wasn’t married, they hoped that there was a chance that they could one day be Mrs. Gavin Buckley. There has even been flirtation from some of his homosexual co-workers toward him as well. He’ll respectfully let them, and the women know that he isn’t interested in dating anyone. However, he also informs his homosexual co-workers that he’s flattered, but he’s heterosexual. That doesn’t stop the men and women of the hospital from giving him an extra smile when their eyes meet or try to accidentally brush up against him as they pass him. He’s fully aware of the subtle attention he receives. Gavin is all about his profession, dating isn’t even a thought. He became the hospital’s psychiatrist just over a year before Jade Hughes became his patient. The fact that he started working at the hospital at the ripe young age of twenty-six made him an idea counselor for young people. His youth made him more relatable, more-so than older doctors of his profession. With now over a decade of experience under his belt, Dr. Gavin Buckley’s dedication to his career hasn’t changed one bit. For him to attend a high school football game is definitely out of his comfort zone.

  • • •

  Coach Milford is giving the boys a last pep talk in the locker room.

  “The state of Connecticut is watching! There’s not an empty seat in the house! Get out there and play with class, honor, and respect! Go out there and give Jefferson sixty minutes of hell!”

  The players, roar.

  Brandon, a team captain yells out, “Who Are We?”

  His teammates yell back, “Washington!”

  “Who Are We?”

  “Washington, Washington, Washington!”

  The players strap on their helmets and exit the locker room, running toward the field. Chris is the very last player of the group. He has his helmet tilted upward so that his face is clearly seen as he jogs out past the Jefferson cheerleaders. He locks eyes with a pretty brunette. He winks at her; she blushes and sends one right back at him. However, her boyfriend, number 25, who’s a cornerback and coincidentally Chris’s primary defender, catches the exchange between his girlfriend and his opponent. He starts to walk toward his girlfriend, but then runs towards Chris.

  “I’m going smash your ass!”

  “Oh, really?” asks Chris. “Well, after I embarrass you out here, I’m gonna smash your girl!”

  Chris back pedals toward his team’s side of the field. Number 25 loses it; two of his teammates have to pull him away from the sarcastic Chris.

  Brandon is warming up with some light throws to Dominic. He looks up find his parents and then looks out to find Lucy sitting with Vickie and Ida. Of course, Vicki is sitting between them; she knows that they don’t really care for each other but has never found out why. Once Lucy realizes that Brandon can see her, she blows him a kiss. In a cool manner, he gives her a smile back. The twins look toward the stands for their parents, and their mother gives them a fist sign. They know that means play solid. Chris walks over to Henry, the school photographer.

  “Henry, I have a job for you.”

  “Okay, so who’s the target this time, Chris?”

  “The knock-out cheerleader for Jefferson on the end over there, the dark-haired one.”

  “I have to admit, she’s hot. I’ll give her your number when I’m on that side taking pictures.”

  “Good look, Henry.”

  Chris rejoins the team, while Henry goes his own way to do his job.

  Jefferson kicks-off to Washington; Washington returns the ball to their own 32-yard line. Before Brandon takes the field, he happens to look into the stands and sees several college recruiters who are trying to land him. He jogs to the huddle, and the crowd goes bananas. This game has been talked about since the schedule was announced.

  “Brandon, they expect us to start off running the ball. Let’s go deep to loosen up their defense,” says Coach Milford.

  Brandon just smiles and nods his head in approval. Throwing a long pass is music to a quarterback’s ears. He jogs onto the field with extreme confidence.

  In the Huddle

  “Everyone expects us to start with our running game,” says Brandon. “Let’s go up top on them.” He looks at Chris. “Are you ready to son 25?”

  “Are you kidding me? Of course I’m ready to son him. As a matter of fact, I won’t even treat him like a son, I’ll step son him!”

  Brandon smiles and the other nine players share a laugh, which helps with their jitters.

  “What’s my name?” asks Chris.

  “D.J. Greco,” says Brandon.

  “Ya damn right!”

  Brandon calls the play, “play action post, ready break!” Washington’s offense lines up in their positions. Brandon looks over Jefferson’s defense to view
their formation.

  Jefferson’s Number 25 is lined-up tight on Chris and is talking trash to him.

  “I’m going to take pleasure in hurting you and shutting you down!”

  “You see, you’re pissed because you know damn well I’m gonna smash your girl and you can’t do anything about it!”

  Those words cut deep into number 25, to the point that he’s distracted once the ball is hiked. Chris easily gets past him. Brandon fakes the hand-off to Dominic; that briefly draws in the linebackers and safety. Number 25, the cornerback, is left to defend Chris on his own. Brandon throws a beautiful spiral that flies in the air nearly 60 yards and lands perfectly in the waiting arms of Chris at Jefferson’s ten-yard line. Chris easily strides in for the touchdown. The crowd goes crazy. On the very first play, Washington easily scores.

  The announcer says on the bullhorn speakers, “Brandon Turner hit Chris Greco for a 68-yard touchdown! Let’s hear some noise!”

  Number 25 is furious with himself. Chris whispers to him as he passes him, “Oh, I’m not done with you yet.”

  While everyone is distracted with excitement, Henry hands a note to the pretty cheerleader for Jefferson. She opens the note up and reads it to herself: “Let’s get acquainted, number 7. (860)555-1122.”

  She looks across the field toward Chris, and once she spots him, she sees that he’s already looking in her direction. She nods her approval, and slips the note into her bra. Chris smiles back at her, and thinks to himself, Damn, I’m good!

  While the crowd on Washington’s side is celebrating the team’s score, Dr. Buckley isn’t the least bit interested in the game. He’s more interested in the crowd; football bores him. He’s looking over the thousands of people in attendance. He changes his seat every chance one becomes available.

  Washington kicks-off to Jefferson at their own 27-yard-line. The twins are eager to hit the field, and someone else.

  Jefferson breaks out of their huddle, and walks up to the line of scrimmage.

  “Hey, quarterback,” says Jesus. “Nothing personal but either I or that animal on the other side has a meeting right about where you’re standing! You’re invited of course!”