"I'm so sorry,” I whisper into her hair. “I'm so, so sorry." I can see the wetness form under her lashes and I softly kiss each of her blind eyes.
"My gran said that’s the best medicine for a boo-boo." I can't believe she just said that, and we both chuckle, latching onto each other again.
"Your gran was a smart woman," I reply, kissing her warm lips. "I'm going to go take a shower. I'll be right back, and we'll have breakfast, okay?" She nods and reaches up on her tip toes, kissing me quickly before returning to her task.
I look around the room at my friends and family as they smile their condolences. I give them all a quick nod and slowly make my way to my room, closing the door behind me, still bent on finding out what could have possibly gone wrong.
After the house empties of everyone except Joy and me, we settle in for a quiet night in front of the fire, reading. We haven't spoken about it since this morning, and I'm not sure what there is we can say.
It's done.
It didn't work.
We move on.
"I'm tired, Matthew. I'm going to bed," she says, closing her book and placing it on the table in front of her. "Are you coming?"
"Yeah. I'll meet you up there. I need to let Conrad out first." After I let him out, I put the remaining dishes in the sink and turn off my computer that I left on in my study. Letting Conrad back into the house, I turn out the lights and head upstairs where I find Joy curled in a ball. The sight breaks my heart. I can only imagine what's going through her mind. I plan on talking to her about it, but not tonight. Maybe Adrienne can talk to her, or perhaps both of us.
After I get undressed, I climb under the blankets, scoot toward the middle, and pull her to me. She immediately unwinds from the fetal position and latches onto me, our legs intertwining.
"I love you. There are no words to describe how much," I say, tucking her head under my chin while running my fingers up and down her back.
"I love you too, Matthew. We’ll get through this. Don't worry." I take a deep breath, letting out a loud sigh, and this is how we leave it.
~.~
I smile when I feel her familiar fingers running through my hair. She often wakes me up like this when she wants morning loving. I'm lying on my stomach, facing away from her, and stay that way a few more minutes, waiting to see how long she will massage my head, because, frankly, that shit just feels good.
I want to laugh when I hear a sweet whisper. "Baby."
"Hmm." I groan.
"Hey, baby?" she whispers again.
"Hmm." I groan again, turning my head in her direction, still feeling her hands weave through my hair. I love it when she does that, and this morning, I want to experience it a little longer. I fear I may fall back to sleep on her, though, if she keeps it up.
"Baby?" This time she takes her nails and gently strokes up and down my back, and now I am in fucking heaven. I can barely get my eyes open, and I peek at her through one of them.
"That just feels too good," I mumble into my pillow.
"Baby?" she says again after a long while, and this time I know she’s trying to get my attention for a different reason so when I blink my eyes open, I look at her.
When I do, my head pops up off my pillow, and her eyes follow mine.
"Oh, my fucking God, Joy!"
"I see you," she cries. "I can see you … I can see."
We sit up and face each other. She touches me with her eyes closed and then opens them to see what she’s touching. We both lift onto our knees and hold each other's faces, looking into each other's eyes. It's a very magical moment.
"How well can you see?"
"It's a little blurry, but I can definitely see you. Jesus, Matthew, Laura wasn't lying when she said you were fuck hot. I had no idea how beautiful you are."
"Have you seen yourself yet?" I ask, and she shakes her head emphatically. "Do you want to see?"
"I have to, sooner or later, right?"
"Right." Joy in the morning, to me, is when she looks the sexiest. I love her hair mussed from either a night of loving or active morning sex. I grin as I see her slowly walk into the bathroom and ease her face into the mirror. When she stands fully in front of it, her hands rise to her face, and she touches herself and smiles.
"I'm … pretty," she croons, feeling her cheeks.
I throw my head back and laugh.
"No, Joy. You aren't pretty … you're beautiful."
Bending down, I lift her in a bear hug, spinning her around the bedroom. I quickly put her on her feet, leaving her to stand there. I run to the door and whistle for Conrad. He comes barreling up the stairs, and missing his target, slides past the door. He looks like a newborn deer on an ice rink. Once he regains his footing, he comes running into the room, and Joy covers her mouth with her hands and starts to cry. She drops to her knees, hugging her dog, "Hello, handsome." They make the connection by looking into each other's eyes. She giggles and falls onto her back when he lunges into her, fiercely licking her face.
"Come on …" I pull her to her feet … "let me show you the house that you live in." She jumps up and runs out the bedroom door, and I have to laugh at her child-like behavior when she literally runs down the stairs. I remain upstairs, resting my arms on the railing, taking her in as she flits from one room to the next, occasionally looking up at me. When I hear the back door open, I run downstairs because I want to watch her experience it all.
"Wow," she says, pointing. "Those are trees, and they're green." She smiles at me, proud that she recognized those two important items: that they are trees and they are green.
"We have some phone calls to make," she says through a cheerful giggle. I nod, looking deep into her beautiful golden orbs and get misty-eyed when she pulls me down to her for a kiss. She keeps her eyes on me the entire time.
We call everyone to let them know and ask them to meet us for lunch.
I throw her over my shoulder, and we go upstairs so we can do the one thing I promised we would do once she could see again.
I make love to my sighted fiancé.
~.~
"Let's go get your ring today. I want you to pick it out. Do you want to do it before or after we meet the crew for lunch?" I ask, pulling away from her face, so I can see her. She continues to look into my eyes and smiles.
"Your eyes are green. They're such a pretty color. And I'm so jealous of your eyelashes," she giggles. "I don't care if we go before or after lunch. But let's get dressed and go out. I want to go see the world."
She jumps up and runs to the bathroom to start the shower. I lie there and watch her newfound ability to run around. She's never been able to run inside a room before and her every move has always been calculated. Now she can run up and down the stairs, and from room to room. It's a pleasure to see. I look up when she pops her head around the door. "You coming?" She giggles as she raises her eyebrows.
Oh, yeah, I'm coming, baby.
After making love with Joy this morning, we fuck in the shower. If I thought she enjoyed sex before gaining her sight, she enjoys it even more now. We eventually get dressed, and I head downstairs to let Conrad out before we leave for the day. Joy makes sure he has plenty of food and water, and once I let him inside, I lock up and we head for town.
"Where are we going first?" she asks, excitedly.
"Tiffany's."
"For my ring?" She looks at me with wide eyes, and I nod. She reminds me of Maddie when she jumps in her seat and claps her hands.
After spending an hour looking for the perfect ring, Joy settles on a simple platinum ring with a round stone and square cut channel-set diamonds along the band. Simple, but elegant. We decide to go ahead and get the matching wedding band and a wide platinum band for me. I can't wait for the day I can proudly wear it. I pay for the rings and we collect our little green bag before heading for the car.
I observe her from the corner of my eye as she looks at the bag sitting between us. I know she wants to put her ring on her finger, but I have other plans
. Since I've already asked her to marry me, and since she's already said yes, I plan on placing that ring on her finger somewhere beautiful, so I drive us to Volunteer Park to the Lily Ponds. What she doesn't know is that I have her engagement ring in my pocket, and when she sees me put the bag in the trunk, she frowns and becomes pouty.
"Isn't it beautiful here?" I ask, taking her hand and looking down at her as we stroll along the path. She looks around and smiles while looking at the man-made lily ponds. Since it's a workday, there aren't many people in the park, so I take her to sit at one of the nearby benches.
"What's the matter, baby?" I ask, putting my arm around her. She smiles up at me and shakes her head. I smile at her, knowing what is wrong. "You want to wear this?" I smile, offering her the diamond engagement ring. She looks at it and grins up at me.
"I didn't think you wanted me to have it, and I couldn't figure out why. I thought that you might wait until later to ask me again."
"Oh, baby, I want to marry you all right. If I could marry you right this minute, I would," I say, slipping the ring on her finger. Bringing her hand to my lips, I kiss her fingers. "I love you to distraction. I'd do anything in the world for you and I can't wait to call you my wife." I chuckle when she climbs onto my lap and kisses me.
"And I love you to distraction, Matthew. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me. You make me feel safe and protected and, most importantly, loved. I can't wait until I can call you my husband." We look at each other and start laughing. "That was so cheesy, but it's the truth. I love you so much." She kisses me, and I open my lips to hers when she runs her sweet tongue over my mouth, inviting her in. We sit that way until we hear someone clearing their throat in front of us. It's the park security.
"Do we need to get a room?" he asks, rocking back on his heels.
"No, we just got engaged, sorry." I look at a blushing Joy as she holds up her ring before jumping off my lap. "We need to go anyway." I take her hand, and we run to the car, laughing, and when I look over my shoulder, the guard is smiling, shaking his head while he continues his stroll down the path.
Having missed breakfast, and then spending time at Tiffany's, we’re starving. I asked everyone to meet us at a local oyster bar, and when we walk in, everyone is already there. They jump up to greet us … or shall I say, they greet Joy.
"Joy?" Laura speaks first, and Joy rushes into her arms.
"Oh, Laura, look at you. You are as beautiful as I imagined. It's so good to see you." Both girls are in tears at this point.
"Hey, don't forget me."
"Brian. How could I ever forget you? My God, but you're handsome." I watch as they stare into each other's eyes, and they, too, hug as if it's the first time they've spoken to each other in years.
"Joy?"
"Maddie," Joy says, turning toward my sister for a hug. "Matthew was right when he said you were beautiful."
"What about me?"
"Oh, Jessie. My lord, but you are big. Laura tried to tell me, but I just couldn't picture it. You are right, Laura, he is very handsome," she says, smiling into Jess's eyes. "It's good to see you, Jessie." He smiles and lifts her off the ground into one of his bear hugs.
"Time to meet the parents, dear," I say out loud.
"Joy, meet my mom and dad." By the time Joy and Mom touch, they are in full-on tears. I look around at everyone, and there's not a dry eye in the bunch. Including Jessie.
"Lillian, Leland, you have no idea how good it is to see you," Joy says, holding on to my mom.
"You don't know how glad we are to be seen, Joy," my dad says, pulling Joy away from my mom. We all start laughing, and it's Jessie that reminds us.
"Holy shit, Matthew. That's quite a sparkler she has on that finger." At that, everyone gathers around to look at Joy's new piece of jewelry, while I stand off to the side as if I didn't exist. At least until Joy pulls me into the circle with her.
"Where did you get that?" Laura asks, holding Joy's outstretched hand.
"Tiffany's," I answer.
"What size is the diamond?" Maddie asks, taking Joy's hand from Laura.
"Almost three carats in the center, one in the band," I answer.
"Does it come with a wedding band?" Mom asks, stealing Joy's hand from Maddie.
"Yes," I answer, rolling my eyes at the interrogation.
"What's the cut?" Jessie asks, peering over everyone's head to get a peek.
"Round, dipshit," I answer, "and can we eat now? We're starving." I laugh, looking down at Joy.
We experience our first hurdle with her having her new sight … she attempts to read the menu.
After we muddle through the menu and lunch selections, the ladies immediately dive into making wedding plans.
"So, when are we getting married, baby?" I ask, pulling everyone's attention to that question.
"Um, when do you want to?" she asks in return.
"Right now."
"Oh, Matthew," she says, blushing, looking at everyone at the table.
"How soon can you pull something together? Everyone I want at the wedding is sitting at this table so …" I am deadly serious and let her know that by not laughing like she is.
"You're serious," she states. I nod and continue to stare into her beautiful golden eyes. I watch as she nervously looks around the table while they all look back at her, waiting for an answer.
"I have the marriage license application right here." I pat my pocket. "All we have to do is sign it and take it in today. We wait three days before we get our license, and we have to get married within sixty days of the date of the license. But I don't want to wait sixty days. Do you?" I smile at the soft blush that comes to her cheeks before she slowly shakes her head.
"Now, wait a minute. Let's not railroad her into anything here," Brian speaks up. "She just got her sight back. You might be uglier than she imagined and is having second thoughts. Let's give her time to adjust to one thing at a time before you shock her even more by forcing a wedding down her throat." Joy looks across the table at Brian, and he simply winks at her waiting for her to speak.
"No one is railroading me, Brian. I want to marry Matthew. The sooner the better," she admonishes. She sits up straight and speaks up for herself, looking at me. My head snaps back to Brian, giving him a "what the hell" look and the middle finger.
"Well, that's all I wanted to hear, darlin'." He grins with a quick nod at her.
I let out the breath I've been holding. "Good to hear, baby." Bending down, I kiss her just before the server arrives with everyone's lunch.
By the time lunch is finished, we have decided to get married in three weeks, at my parents' new house. The dinner will be catered, and we will invite a few close friends over for a cocktail reception after dinner. All wedding guests will stay either at my house or my parents' house for the weekend. It sounds perfect. Now, all I have to do is find a Justice of the Peace on the island to officiate.
After everyone says their goodbyes, giving their congratulatory hugs, Joy and I head for the office so that she can meet Krista.
While we walk down the hall, making our way toward Krista, she looks up at hearing us approach. When she sees Joy, her eyes get huge and full of tears.
"Oh, Joy," she says, getting up from behind her desk to offer a hug of congratulations to her.
"Krista. It's so good to see you." I watch as two of my favorite girls greet each other with affection.
"I'm going to let you two visit while I go check my mail and schedule. Here, Joy," I say, handing her the application, so that Krista can notarize it.
"What's this?" she asks.
"It's the application. You need to sign it and have Krista notarize it." She looks at me like I've lost my mind.
"Matthew, I can't read this," she says quietly while scanning the document.
"Here, let me help you," Krista volunteers before I can kick myself for my stupidity. I completely forgot that she can't read outside of Braille.
Once I sit down at my desk, I read
my emails and see that I have one waiting for me from Jennifer Adams. I open it first and read it with interest.
Matthew,
I wanted to drop you a line to let you know that Dr. Lawrence had his review this past week. Once he was confronted with the information you provided us, he confessed to divulging Joy's personal information to Dr. Ford. He was, or shall I say is, very remorseful of what Ms. Johnson has had to go through at Dr. Ford's hand, knowing he had a large part in it. We have determined that it is in our best interest to let Dr. Lawrence go from the Center. It was also determined that he broke several rules of confidentiality and ethics codes. We hope you are satisfied with the results, and if there is anything we can do here at the Center to assist you with any avenue you wish to take with regard to Dr. Lawrence, please feel free to call my office.
On another note, have you performed the surgery on Ms. Johnson? Please let me know as I am eager to hear the results.
Regards,
Dr. Jennifer Adams
After I review the other emails in my box, I sit back and open the mail sitting on my desk. I approve any expenses that need to be turned in to accounting and answer Jennifer's email.
Jennifer,
Thank you for your update concerning Dr. Lawrence. I am satisfied with the results of the review panel. However, I must tell you that, a few weeks ago, Dr. Ford was killed in a self-inflicted traffic accident. You will most likely find the story on the internet better than what I can tell you here. I am, however, glad that the issues concerning her are finally over, and she is out of our lives.
As far as Joy’s surgery, we have success. I am very pleased. I look forward to our next official conversation concerning the furtherance of my project.
On a lighter note, I am planning on getting married in a few weeks’ time and will call you as soon as I return from my honeymoon.
Thank you again for the update, and I will talk to you soon.
Dr. Matthew Davis
"Matthew, if you don't mind me borrowing Joy for a little bit, I'm going to take her next door to see the new office and to speak to Lillian about my colors," Krista says, as I finish up my email.
I See You (Seeing You #2) Page 20
