Page 14 of Blind Trust
“I hope they stop too, and I hope you sleep well tonight, all through the night,” he said. “If I can do anything to help with that, please let me know. I would like to help.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I will.”
About an hour later, he pulled the truck into the parking lot of the Dusty Trail Inn.
It was an older motel, but the ratings said it was clean, and all they needed was a clean, safe place to sleep on their route. Just a quick one-night place.
They registered for one room with two double beds, instead of two rooms, and then he carried their bags inside, while she followed behind him.
Once inside the room, he said, “Claim your bed.”
She moved into the room and took the bed farthest from the door, which was the one he’d have picked for her, as it put him nearest the door in case of trouble.
She’d be closer to the bathroom. Her choice also spoke of her trust. Had she picked the one near the door, he’d have known she wasn’t trusting him yet. Subconsciously, she’d have wanted a route away from him, if she didn’t fully trust him.
They’d begun to work out a pattern at meals, now that they’d had lunch and dinner. He would look at the restaurant and choose his seat, where he could watch the doors and be the first to see trouble looming, so he chose whichever seat protected her more.
Once he’d explained the why, and that he didn’t sit with his back to the door, she had understood and complied quite easily.
As long as he didn’t tell her what to do and where to sit, she seemed fine with him taking charge.
He put her suitcase near her bed, on the low table across from the foot of the bed, and then told her where the suitcase was and that she could have the bathroom first for a shower. Then he turned on the TV, sat on the bed, and tried to give her the privacy of not watching her constantly.
When she was awake, she always seemed to sense when his gaze followed her, as if she had a second sense about it. As fascinated as he was, by how she got around and did things, he didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable, so he was going to tune out with a TV show and let her settle in for the night.
She opened her suitcase, pulled out a soft pink nightgown, a white terrycloth robe and pink slippers, along with a bag of toiletries, and then went into the bathroom to shower and prepare for the evening.
Tired of the TV show he was watching, he got up and double locked the door, so they were in for the night, and then pulled out the things he needed for the evening. Gym shorts, as he didn’t own pajamas. He’d forgo his normal nightly routine out of respect for her. Though she’d never know it.
He found a Jackie Chan movie, one of his favorite actors, and was laughing at the show when she came back out of the bathroom, toweling her hair.
“What are you watching?” she asked.
“Jackie Chan,” he said. “Are you familiar with his movies?”
“Yes,” she said. “I’ve watched a couple. Before I lost my sight. Now, I don’t go to movies with anyone.”
He watched her speculatively.
Did she want to go to movies? Or did she avoid them because she no longer enjoyed them?
She was quiet, and moving over to her bed, before taking off her robe and sliding beneath the covers.
He wasn’t sure how to ask her and wanted her evening to be pleasantly spent on good topics before she went to sleep.
Then she spoke. “I would probably enjoy going to a movie if it had good dialog and wasn’t relying on the visuals. No one has ever asked me to one since I lost my sight.”
“That’s a shame,” he said.
“It’s not like I never get to hear movies anymore,” she said. “I like it when we have movie nights at the ranch. It’s even better than a movie theater, because I can ask a question, or someone will tell me if the actors stop talking, what is going on. Many suspense scenes for instance, I’ll know by the music that something is happening, or going to happen, but I don’t know what. You can’t really be talking in a movie theater though, without upsetting people. And there’s no rewind and replay in a movie theater.”
“So, you’d enjoy curling up on the couch with popcorn to snuggle and watch a movie,” he said.
“Oh, yes. I’d enjoy that very much.” She nodded. “Especially the snuggling part.”
“Good.” He smiled and took off his shoes. “I like snuggling and watching movies at home, too.”
“Don’t get me wrong,” she said. “Being blind doesn’t mean we can’t do or enjoy television, movies, or theatre. Just think of it like those old-time radio shows. We need to hear the story, and that can be just as exciting and enjoyable, if It’s done well.”
