Page 11 of Otter Heart
It made me realize how lonely I was.
“Come on, Bessie,” I sighed, patting my leg. “Let’s get some lunch. I’m sure you’re hungry after taking off into the wilderness for over an hour.”
I got Bessie her food first before setting to work in the kitchen for myself. Cooking for myself was the thing that terrified my parents most about me living alone. I honestly didn’t see what the big deal was. Using a knife was easy, and I always knew where it was at when I was chopping. Cooking itself wasn’t difficult either. Most of the time I used the oven so I could set a simple timer and know everything was done.But using the stove wasn’t hard either. People who could see forgot that they had other senses. I could feel the heat, smell the doneness of the food, and I could hear if the gas stove was on. Not to mention, all my tools and cookware had braille on them, so I always knew what I was using.
But today I didn’t really feel like making something extravagant. After worrying all morning that myextremelyexpensive dog and only companion had run away and been hit by a car or something, I was feeling a bit worn out. Instead, I opted for a sandwich and a handful of grapes. That would be enough for me.
“I’m gonna eat on the patio,” I told Bessie after I’d assembled my plate. I heard her finish her food several minutes before. “Andyouare gonna stay inside because I don’t trust you right now.”
No sooner had I pulled the slider closed behind me and sat down, my phone began to ring. It chimed once then read the name of the contact.
“Mom calling,” the phone said in a feminine robotic tone.
I clicked the button on the side and left it on the table. I didn’t need to hold it up to my ear to hear her.
“Hey Mom,” I said, popping a grape into my mouth. The skin snapped between my teeth and my tongue was flooded with a dry sweetness.
“Hi honey,” she replied. “How are things going?”
She called nearly every other day just to make sure I was still alive. It used to be every single day, but I had to tell her to back off a bit. This was as far as she was willing to go.
“Things are good,” I replied, wondering if I should tell her about Bessie. I decided it wasn’t worth hiding. At least it would give us something to talk about besides the weather. “Just got Bessie back home. She decided to let herself out of the condo again this morning and go for a walk by herself.”
“Again?!” My mother sighed. I could hear her earring strike the side of the phone as she shook her head. “That dog has tens of thousands of dollars of training, and she still runs off… I wonder if there’s something wrong with her?”
“She seems fine. This is the only weird habit she’s gotten into. It happened once a couple months ago and maybe two times since. But she always comes back, usually alone.”
“Usually?”
“Well, she brought back a guy this morning.”
I could almost hear my mother’s ears perk up. “Oh? What’s his name?”
“Asshole,” I replied, shaking my head.
“Oh… not nice?”
“He was nice enough this morning. But a couple days ago he ran into me on the beach and called me a dickhead. He told me to watch where I was going.”
“He probably didn’t know you were blind, honey.”
“I know that,” I sighed. “But it was a dick thing to say, regardless. Although he was pretty apologetic.” I couldn’t help a chuckle. “You should’ve seen the look on his face when I told him Bessie was black and white like a cow. I could almost see it.”
“Mateo Lombardi!” my mother cried, trying to contain her laughter. “You havegotto stop doing that to people!”
“It’s too funny to stop,” I laughed back. “Even you think it’s funny!”
“I do, but that’s not the point! What if this boy wasthe one?”
“Oh Christ.” I rolled my eyes hard and took another grape from the plate. “You think every guy that talks to me might bethe one.”
“Your father was just some guy that talked to me, and he turned out to bethe one!”
“Mom,” I sighed. “This guy is definitely not it. He’s rude and he doesn’t even like dogs! How could I be with someone who doesn’t like dogs?”
“You never know, honey,” she replied. I could hear the smile in her voice.
“I’m sure, Mom. This guy, whatever the hell his name is, is thelastperson I’d ever want to be with. Believe me.”
