Post by minianne on Oct 14, 2009 22:17:22 GMT -5
"A Long Way Up"
Chapter 4
Sweetheart?”
Jim woke with a start. It was Christie, sitting on the bed next to him, gently rubbing his arm. He must have fallen asleep.
She touched his cheek and leaned in for a kiss.
“What’s with the sunglasses?” she asked, tentatively.
Jim’s hand went up to adjust them. He sat up against the pillows and bit his lower lip.
“Chris, I need to ask you something and I want you to be honest with me.”
Her blue eyes widened. He looked so solemn. She was almost afraid of what he might say.
“I promise,” she replied, giving his arm a little squeeze.
He took the glasses off and turned to face her. “I need to know what my eyes look like.”
She held her breath. The tears that were never very far from the surface started up again. A large one dripped down her cheek.
“I - I don’t know what to say,” she said softly. She knew this was hard on him, but were they ever going to reach a point where she didn't feel like her heart was being ripped out of her chest?
“The truth, Chris…”
She looked at his eyes, still as clear and blue as ever, but how could she tell him that it looked as though the life had gone out of them?
“Chris?” he repeated.
She took a deep breath.
“Your eyes are the same as they’ve always been,” she said. “They’re same color, shape, size…everything. They look perfectly normal. The difference is that they’ve lost their expressiveness.”
“I look blind?”
“Yes…”, she replied regretfully.
He swallowed hard.
“So, if someone were to see me across a room, they could tell?”
“Jim…”
“No,” he said, turning the dark glasses over in his hands. “Really, baby, I need to know.”
Christie wiped the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand.
“Yeah,” she said. “People can tell. I‘m sorry Jimmy.”
**************************
It was 6:30 p.m. and his mom was getting ready to put dinner on the table. Jim wanted to take a shower and change clothes before going back out and Christie helped by laying fresh clothes out for him on the bed.
“Call me if you need any help,” she said, giving him a kiss and closing the bedroom door.
Jim sighed with pleasure as the hot water ran over his body. He put his head under the stream and flinched when it hit the side of his head.
“Gonna have to be careful with that until it heals up”, he thought, running his hand along the wall until he found the soap dish. Soaping himself up, he thought about what Christie said about his eyes. Could he trust what she had told him? He “looked blind” but his eyes appeared “normal“? It would be like Chris to try and spare his feelings. God, it must be pretty bad. What the hell…the way he looked was the least of his worries.
Shampoo. He reached up toward the shower nozzle and located the rack hanging from it. There were a couple of bottles…both shaped exactly the same. He opened one and sniffed the contents. Then he opened the other and did the same.
“Hell,” he thought. “One’s gotta be shampoo and the other conditioner.” Jim wasn’t sure which was which and decided to squirt a little from each bottle into his hand. “It’ll work,” he reasoned. Maybe later he could do something like put a rubber band around the shampoo so he could tell it from the conditioner.
He stepped out of the shower and reached for a towel, automatically. After drying off, he wrapped it around his waist and thought for a minute. Okay. He could do this. Deodorant. The medicine chest was to his right. He pressed on the mirror and the door opened. He cautiously reached out and located the bottom shelf. Gently running his fingers along the contents, he found what felt like his deodorant. Okay. That was it. He opened the top and rubbed it under his arms. Replacing the cap, he returned it to its spot.
That wasn’t so hard. You can do this, Dunbar. Shaking his head, he smiled at the ridiculousness of his situation. Surely, after awhile things wouldn’t take this damn long.
After finishing up in the bathroom, he went back into the bedroom and located his clothing on the bed. Underwear, socks, pants, shirt. But where were his shoes? f*ck, he was a detective. He could figure this out.
“C’mon, Dunbar“, he chided himself. “They’re in the closet where they’ve always been.”
He stood still for a moment, trying to get his bearings. The closet should be straight ahead, about eight, nine feet away. Holding his hands out, he walked toward it, counting his steps. “One-two-three-four-five-six-seven…” That’s when he encountered the door. Opening it, he leaned over to find his shoe rack and brushed his head against clothes. Maybe he shouldn’t just lean over without scoping out the territory first. He’d have to remember that. The shoe rack was where it had always been and he ran his hands over the shoes until he found what seemed like his brown suede pair. Yup. Just what he was looking for.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he put on his shoes, then reached over to the nightstand to retrieve his sunglasses. Slipping them on, he stood and walked to the bedroom door. “Okay Jim“, he thought, giving himself a mental pep-talk. “Just go out there and be grateful that you’re alive and you have a family who loves you.”
The smell of his mother’s chicken and dumplings filled the air. It made Jim’s stomach growl. He was starved. This meal, he realized, was the first thing he’d looked forward to in over a month.
Chapter 4
Sweetheart?”
Jim woke with a start. It was Christie, sitting on the bed next to him, gently rubbing his arm. He must have fallen asleep.
She touched his cheek and leaned in for a kiss.
“What’s with the sunglasses?” she asked, tentatively.
Jim’s hand went up to adjust them. He sat up against the pillows and bit his lower lip.
“Chris, I need to ask you something and I want you to be honest with me.”
Her blue eyes widened. He looked so solemn. She was almost afraid of what he might say.
“I promise,” she replied, giving his arm a little squeeze.
He took the glasses off and turned to face her. “I need to know what my eyes look like.”
She held her breath. The tears that were never very far from the surface started up again. A large one dripped down her cheek.
“I - I don’t know what to say,” she said softly. She knew this was hard on him, but were they ever going to reach a point where she didn't feel like her heart was being ripped out of her chest?
“The truth, Chris…”
She looked at his eyes, still as clear and blue as ever, but how could she tell him that it looked as though the life had gone out of them?
“Chris?” he repeated.
She took a deep breath.
“Your eyes are the same as they’ve always been,” she said. “They’re same color, shape, size…everything. They look perfectly normal. The difference is that they’ve lost their expressiveness.”
“I look blind?”
“Yes…”, she replied regretfully.
He swallowed hard.
“So, if someone were to see me across a room, they could tell?”
“Jim…”
“No,” he said, turning the dark glasses over in his hands. “Really, baby, I need to know.”
Christie wiped the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand.
“Yeah,” she said. “People can tell. I‘m sorry Jimmy.”
**************************
It was 6:30 p.m. and his mom was getting ready to put dinner on the table. Jim wanted to take a shower and change clothes before going back out and Christie helped by laying fresh clothes out for him on the bed.
“Call me if you need any help,” she said, giving him a kiss and closing the bedroom door.
Jim sighed with pleasure as the hot water ran over his body. He put his head under the stream and flinched when it hit the side of his head.
“Gonna have to be careful with that until it heals up”, he thought, running his hand along the wall until he found the soap dish. Soaping himself up, he thought about what Christie said about his eyes. Could he trust what she had told him? He “looked blind” but his eyes appeared “normal“? It would be like Chris to try and spare his feelings. God, it must be pretty bad. What the hell…the way he looked was the least of his worries.
Shampoo. He reached up toward the shower nozzle and located the rack hanging from it. There were a couple of bottles…both shaped exactly the same. He opened one and sniffed the contents. Then he opened the other and did the same.
“Hell,” he thought. “One’s gotta be shampoo and the other conditioner.” Jim wasn’t sure which was which and decided to squirt a little from each bottle into his hand. “It’ll work,” he reasoned. Maybe later he could do something like put a rubber band around the shampoo so he could tell it from the conditioner.
He stepped out of the shower and reached for a towel, automatically. After drying off, he wrapped it around his waist and thought for a minute. Okay. He could do this. Deodorant. The medicine chest was to his right. He pressed on the mirror and the door opened. He cautiously reached out and located the bottom shelf. Gently running his fingers along the contents, he found what felt like his deodorant. Okay. That was it. He opened the top and rubbed it under his arms. Replacing the cap, he returned it to its spot.
That wasn’t so hard. You can do this, Dunbar. Shaking his head, he smiled at the ridiculousness of his situation. Surely, after awhile things wouldn’t take this damn long.
After finishing up in the bathroom, he went back into the bedroom and located his clothing on the bed. Underwear, socks, pants, shirt. But where were his shoes? f*ck, he was a detective. He could figure this out.
“C’mon, Dunbar“, he chided himself. “They’re in the closet where they’ve always been.”
He stood still for a moment, trying to get his bearings. The closet should be straight ahead, about eight, nine feet away. Holding his hands out, he walked toward it, counting his steps. “One-two-three-four-five-six-seven…” That’s when he encountered the door. Opening it, he leaned over to find his shoe rack and brushed his head against clothes. Maybe he shouldn’t just lean over without scoping out the territory first. He’d have to remember that. The shoe rack was where it had always been and he ran his hands over the shoes until he found what seemed like his brown suede pair. Yup. Just what he was looking for.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he put on his shoes, then reached over to the nightstand to retrieve his sunglasses. Slipping them on, he stood and walked to the bedroom door. “Okay Jim“, he thought, giving himself a mental pep-talk. “Just go out there and be grateful that you’re alive and you have a family who loves you.”
The smell of his mother’s chicken and dumplings filled the air. It made Jim’s stomach growl. He was starved. This meal, he realized, was the first thing he’d looked forward to in over a month.