Page 14 of Otter Heart
“I didn’t know he was blind, and I might’ve called him a dickhead the other day when he ran into me by accident. Although maybe it was me that ran into him now that I think about it.”
“Adam Matthew,” she sighed, shaking her head. “What am I going to do with you?”
“It was an accident! And I apologized!”
“Did that make it all better?”
Her tone was accusatory because she already knew the answer.
“No,” I grumbled.
“And what did we learn?”
“I know, I know. Don’t be a dick to people as a knee-jerk reaction.”
“Very good.”
“Are we done with the preschool lesson now?”
“Only if you’ve learned it and committed it to memory.”
“You know what,” I said. “I think I need to get going. I’m meeting Rowan and James at the beach for a picnic.”
“Convenient.”
“But true.”
“Alright honey,” she said. “But just be nice to people, okay? You’re never going to make any friends or meet that special guy if you keep pushing people away.”
Another sigh. “I know. Thank you, Mom.”
“That’s what I’m here for.” She made a kissing noise on the other end of the phone. “Love you! And have fun at the beach.”
“I will.”
“Oh, and I’ll come down and visit soon, okay? I know that cabin has a spare bedroom so no telling me otherwise!”
Before I could say anything, she was gone. I pulled the phone away from my ear and slumped down into the couch with a sigh.
I was going to have to put the sex swing away if she was just gonna pop in whenever she wanted. That was thelastthing I wanted to explain to her.
But for the moment I had a picnic to get too, and I still hadn’t bought the supplies I’d promised to bring.
Chapter Seven: Mateo
Going into town was always a huge pain in the ass. But when I was feeling cooped up and energetic, there was nothing else to do. Besides, it had been a long time since I’d gone to see a movie. Well, I listened to them, I guess. But I could imagine most of what was going on. There was an astounding amount of information given away from the sound alone. I really didn’t feel like I was missing anything on the screen.
However, that meant scheduling a ride, packing Bessie up, figuring out every stop while I was in town. My phone could guide me almost anywhere and Bessie made sure I didn’t get hit by a car or something. But that didn’t mean it was an easy task. I didn’t have the town memorized like I did the condo and the path to the beach. At least there I could count my steps and have a pretty good idea where I was. In town I was at the mercy of my phone, Bessie, and the people around me. I always took a cane with me, and that helped people stay out of my way at the very least. For some reason they didn’t enjoy getting smacked in the shins when they got in my way.
Today’s movie choice was a new fantasy based on some book I hadn’t read. It sounded interesting from the trailer. However, considering my other choices were sappy romance orstupid action movies, this one seemed like the best choice. I’d called ahead to let the theater know I was bringing Bessie, so when I went in and bought my ticket, nobody gave me any shit. I heard a couple Karen’s waiting in line click their tongues but when they saw the cane, they shut right the fuck up.
I got myself a giant bucket of popcorn, a drink that I could literally drown in, and Bessie and I found our seats. Of course I’d gotten one of the recliners up front. I even bought a seat for Bessie so she could enjoy the chair without taking it from anyone else. I don’t know why I was worried though. The theater was pretty much empty since it was early on a Saturday afternoon.
The movie was okay. There were a lot of long drawn out pauses in the character’s speech that I’m sure were full of facial expressions and wistful longings. But I didn’t see any of that. Mostly I was sort of let down by the sheer lack of actual plot happening. The movie was two and a half hours long and there was only about twenty minutes of dialogue. Everything else was just adventurous epic music.
It left a lot to be desired for someone who couldn’t see all the vast landscapes I’m sure they were projecting on the screen. But the popcorn was good, so that was enough for me. I pulled myself out of the chair, stretched, grabbed Bessie, and we headed for the exit. Our next stop was the cafe. A day out wasn’t complete without coffee.
I didn’t have to go far to find it either. There was a little coffee shop just a few blocks down the street from the theater that sold great coffee. It was a locally owned place that was somehow staying well in business even with a major franchise store with a drive thru down the road. They always had the best pastries. And even though I was full of popcorn, there was no way I wasn’t going to get one.
