Page 45 of Half Blind

“Don't matter,” Helen said. “You're the best at what you do and they moved you across the country to come and teach what you know. It doesn't matter because you're rich. If you don't like it, fuck em. Walk out the door. Come to our nice home and make furniture full time and travel all over Indiana and sell it.”

Mustang burst into laughter. “Come here, darling,” he said, pulling Helen into his arms. She was refreshing and crazy as a loon who made more sense than all the people who made big bucks to make big decisions. If she was falling in love, he wasn't far behind. “Let's get the day moving.”

The day progressed slowly, and the hours ticked down to Helen leaving to return to Ohio. It pained him to think of waking up in the morning and starting a new journey of his own without her to see him off and wish him well. He refused to mention it to her, fearing he'd seem needy. If he were honest with himself, which he often tried to be, he was needy. He needed someone to remind him of why he was doing this shit.

“Helen, what time are you heading out tonight?” he asked, concerned with her being alone on the road at night. “Wait, what am I thinking? I'm more afraid for whoever comes up on you in the dark.”

“I heard that,” she told him, ending the evening snuggled in his arms. “I’ll let you know when I’m rolling out.”

She didn’t want to tell him she was staying to greet him when he came home from the new job, to listen at how his first day at the academy fared. She didn’t want to ruin the surprise of staying until Tuesday morning. His focus needed to be on the task in front of him.

The next morning, just as she had at his place in Oregon, she was awake before him. Breakfast was on the table, his lunch was packed, and the thermos was filled with his favorite coffee. Helen drank the remnants in the pot after filling his thermos and a mug to start his day. She didn't talk as he prepared himself mentally to begin a new leg of his life. Second thoughts and doubts were showing all over his face. This was why she had stayed. He needed someone in his corner.

She asked, “How good are you?”

“How good am I at what?”

“Tracking. Who is better, you or Mr. Yield?”

“Yield relies on blind luck, I rely on clues, trails, evidence. I look for patterns in behavior, changes to routines, and things that stick out like a sore thumb. My success rate is pretty much on point. I find what I'm tracking, alive or otherwise,” he said, looking Helen in the eye. A spark was there as well as a smirk on her lips.

“Might I suggest, Trooper Instructor Neary, those words be your introduction to the team or your first class or anyone who looks at you side-eyed this morning,” she said, holding up her hand for a high five. “You go give them hell and show those people what you're made of. Take no prisoners. You've got this, Jay!”

Mustang smiled widely at her, pressing his large hand against hers. “Yeah, I'mma marry you.”

“Promises and wishes, neither gets you kisses,” she told him, snapping her fingers. “Off with you. Go make my money.”

“Aye, Aye,” he said, rising to kiss her fully. “Drive safe. See you soon. Text me when you get in.”

Helen only nodded as he left for the day. Wrapped in one of his terrycloth robes, she stood on the back deck, waving as he pulled off. He tooted the horn and went off for his first day on a new playground with a different set of bullies. She smiled and went inside to get her own day moving. On the counter was a set of keys for the house. The master bathroom needed rugs and not that slate stone he liked to step out of the shower onto, which she detested. There were other tiny touches she needed to add and one was a second photo on the shelf above the fireplace of the two of them in his canoe she'd taken in Oregon. One photo was of the two of them snuggled up on the couch, which she already added in a small frame inside his lunch box. It was presumptuous, but thoughtful.

Thoughtful stayed with them both as Mustang met with his team. It would be another week before a new class started the trooper course, which gave him time to get settled. An old timer with shifty eyes, who was passed the retirement age, gave him the once over, huffed as if he didn't approve, and made a snide comment.

“Hmm, DEI all the way, huh?”

Helen's image flashed before his eyes, making a smirk come to his lips. “Clyde, is it? Clyde, you've worked in the Trooper division for nearly thirty years and have not progressed past proctoring exams for the Academy,” Mustang said. “I, on the other hand, have advanced degrees in criminology and am the number one ranked tracker in the U.S., and you want to consider me as the DEI, versus yourself, who seems the only one around here being included for age diversity. Stand down and let's work as a team, okay?”

“Uppity one,” Clyde gruffly muttered, but Mustang wasn't buying it. It was his first day. The Clydes of the world would not ruffle his feathers. Besides, as Helen reminded him, he was rich and could quit and go make furniture full time. That thought alone got him through the first day.

In his heart, he hoped she’d left notes around the house again for him to find. Instead, he arrived home to find her still there. The dinner table was set, red meat was cooked and still partially bloody, plus potatoes and a veggie he actually liked. She had also opened a bottle of red from the vineyard where he used to live, allowing the wine to breathe. He entered the back door just as she began a sample pour for his approval.

“Hey Baby, how was your first day?” she asked.

He was happy she was here. She was a thoughtful woman who spent time to understand the people around her, making a connection. He wondered if Helen had stayed an extra day to focus on him. Had she stayed to ensure he was okay on his first day on the job? Over the steak she had cooked just the way he liked it, Jarius Neary had a revelation he felt compelled to share.

He asked, “You stayed an extra day, for me? I love you more for it.”

“We don’t walk this life alone. You want me to be your wife, you want us to share a life,” she said softly. “You’re giving me room to complete this journey, but I want you to understand the work isn’t as important as us. As you. I see what you need. I shall take care of you as best I know how.”

She smiled at him. He thought he heard angels singing. He’d never met anyone like Helen McDaniel and this slip of woman had him wrapped so tight, he couldn’t see anyone or anything else.

“Helen, I thought I was in love once, and it nearly broke me, but now I know that's not what it was,” he said.

“How do you know that, Jay?”

“Because it feels nothing like what I have with you,” he said. “Thank you for caring enough to take the time to help me sort through how I feel about this life change. It matters. It matters to me.”

“You matter to me, Jay,” she told him. “This life change is unfamiliar territory for us both. You always manage to get us to arrive at a happy ending simultaneously. I trust your lead. I shall follow.”

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