by Tyler Grey
I groaned. “Do I really have to go to that thing? Are you going?”
“Of course I’m going, and yes, you have to go,” he said. “Come on; it will be nice. Also, you need to bring a date.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do. Why don’t you ask Alice?”
“What? Alice? I barely know her.”
“Well then, this would be a great way for you to get to know her, don’t you think?” Hayden said.
“No, I don’t think. How can I bring Alice with me? I mean, she works for me.”
“So what? You already said that the two of you get along well and that things are going great between you.”
“Well, yeah, but not in that way. I mean, I’m not interested in her like that.”
“Ah, you could just bring her along as a friend.”
“I don’t want to go to this thing in the first place, let alone go with a girl I barely know.”
“Well, I think you should ask her.”
“And I think we should concentrate on eating our burgers, which I know are just about to arrive at our table.”
“Whoa! How did you know that?” Hayden asked.
“I heard the waiter coming, and I smelled the burgers. Didn’t you?”
He laughed. “You’re like some superhuman now.”
Thankfully, we changed the subject from the navy to talking about superhero movies. This was a good thing even though I was sure he was just going to ask me again. Despite not talking about it, I was still thinking about it. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t want Alice to come with me; it was more that I didn’t want her to say no to me. Or, even worse, having her say yes just because she worked for me and just because she felt sorry for me.
Chapter 16
Alice
I was glad that Jacob had gone out for the day, but I was surprised to find that I missed his company. What the hell was wrong with me? Surely, I wasn’t really missing him. I reminded myself of who he was and what he had done to me. I had to keep telling myself not to get too close. He was just a man I now worked for, that was all. I would spend a few months working for him, save all the money that I could, and then leave. There was still a small part of me that wished I wasn’t working for him. It was messing my mind up a little and making me confused. Also, I had spent so long forgetting about my past, and it now came up in my mind almost every day. Poor little Alice. The little red-headed clown. The girl that everyone laughed at. I sighed and tried to shove the thoughts away. I was not that girl anymore. I was an adult now. An adult who was confident. An adult who was doing well for herself. I no longer needed to define myself by my past.
“What do you think, Tank?” I said to the dog who was staring up at me in the kitchen. I walked up to him and scratched him behind his ears. “Do you think he’s a nice man now? Or is he still the horrible boy from school? Is he a good owner to you? Does he treat you well?”
Tank looked up at me and then sniffed the air. He wanted food, not conversation. I laughed and went to get him something to eat. If only everyone was as easy as Tank. Once he had finished eating, he fell asleep in the middle of the kitchen floor, so that every time I walked from one side to the next I had to be careful not to trip over him. I couldn’t move him, though; it was too cute having him there.
I was just about finished in the kitchen when I heard Hayden’s car pull up. Jacob was right; the car was loud. I rushed over to the sink and tried to clean the plates as quickly as possible.
“Oh my goodness, it smells amazing in here,” Jacob said.
“It smells like heaven,” Hayden agreed.
I laughed. “Didn’t you both just come from lunch?”
“We did, but this smells better. Hi, Alice; it’s nice to see you again,” Hayden said.
I smiled at him. “It’s nice to see you too.”
He chuckled. “Has Tank been lying there the whole time?”
“Oh yeah. I fed him, and he fell asleep there. He’s in the middle of the kitchen,” I said for Jacob’s sake, and he chuckled. “Come on, Tank, wake up. Your dad is home.”
Tank’s ears shot up first, then his head, and then he rushed over to Jacob to say hello. We all laughed.
“Forgotten about me already?” Jacob said to the dog.
“Did you have a nice time?” I asked them.
“Yeah, it was good. Thanks for cooking. It really smells great.”
“My pleasure. I made a big roast. My mother always used to make something like this on a Sunday, and I remember saying to her that it should be made on any day of the week, and not just Sunday. Why wait when you want something?”
“I agree. And right now I want some coffee,” Hayden said. “We were going to have some at the pub, but it’s not exactly the sort of place that’s known for its coffee. Let me make us some. Alice, would you like a cup?”
“Uh…yeah, sure,” I said. I wanted to leave, but I didn’t want to seem rude. “Let me make it, though. I was just cleaning up. I’ll finish the dishes and bring out the coffee to the living room.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure.”
I did the dishes and then brought out a tray of coffee and cookies for everyone. I handed one to Jacob and sat down.
“I’m trying to convince Jacob here to go to the navy banquet over the weekend. He doesn’t want to go,” Hayden said, and I heard Jacob groan. I had a feeling this was a conversation they’d had at lunch and that Jacob was sick of talking about it.
“Why not?” I asked Jacob.
“Ah, I don’t know if I want to go. I know I will end up going, though. Hayden will probably just show up at the house and drag me along. He’s annoying like that.”
Hayden laughed. “Glad you’ve got me all figured out. We’re supposed to bring a date, though. Any chance you’re free? You can come with Jacob then. It will be nice to have you there.”
I was completely taken by surprise, and I tried not to notice the small blush that crept up on Jacob’s face. “Uh…sure. Sounds great,” I said, although I wasn’t so sure. This wasn’t part of my job description.
Jacob frowned. “You don’t have to, you know. Don’t let Hayden bully you into it.”
I flinched at the word ‘bully’ but quickly composed myself. “Nah, he’s not. Trust me; I don’t ever let people bully me. I’m happy to come along. It will be fun.”
“Well…okay…great…” Jacob said.
We chatted a bit more over coffee, but the whole time I was wondering why I had agreed to going to the banquet. Wasn’t it going to be strange? Was I his date? Or just his friend? I shook my head at the thought. What was wrong with me? I wasn’t either of those things. I just worked for him. He was my boss, and that was all.
I said my goodbyes and got into the car. I immediately called Laurie and told her that I needed her to go shopping with me. Laurie loved shopping a lot more than I did and she agreed without question. When I arrived at the mall, she was already waiting for me.
I laughed when I saw her. “I love that you’re more eager to go shopping than I am.”
“It’s just that this never happens! I’m always begging you to go shopping with me. So, what’s the occasion? What are we shopping for? Is it lingerie? Are you going on a date?”
I groaned. “How do you just jump to that conclusion? You’re crazy. No, I’m not going on a date, and I’m definitely not going shopping for lingerie. Uh…Jacob asked me to go to this navy banquet over the weekend, and I realized I had nothing to wear. A banquet sounds a bit fancy, doesn’t it? And you know I have nothing fancy in my closet.”
Laurie was looking at me in confusion. “Hang on a second…back up a little here. You’re going on a date with Jacob? Are you serious?”
I shook my head. “No, it’s not a date. He needed someone to bring with him, and I agreed to go. He didn’t even want to go to this thing. It was Hayden who asked me.”
“And you said yes?”
“Well, they didn’t exactly give me much time to
think about it, and I felt bad saying no.”
“You could’ve called him later to say that you had something planned that you had forgotten about. You don’t really have to go to this. Just because you work for the guy doesn’t mean you have to now go along as his date everywhere. Gross, why would you want to be his date anyway?”
I sighed. “He’s not gross. That’s not very nice.”
She glared at me. “Alice Bozeman! What the hell is going on?”
“Why are you using my full name?”
“Because I’m very disappointed in you. That’s why.”
I groaned. “We are not going on a date, and nothing is going on between us. Anyway, you are the one that is always telling me to go out and to stop staying at home on weekends. I thought you would want me to go out on a date.”
“I thought you said it wasn’t a date!”
“It isn’t. Stop twisting my words.”
“Alice, of course I want you to go out. I want you to meet a nice guy and to fall in love. You know that. But Jacob is not the guy that I meant when I said that.”
I put my hand on her arm. “Laurie, it’s okay. I don’t like him like that. I promise you. He’s my boss now, and he’s actually become quite a nice guy. Which is good. I don’t want to work for someone that’s horrible. I haven’t forgotten about my past, and I certainly will never forget what he did to me, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a nice person now. Hell, he’s probably paying big time for what happened anyway. The last thing he needs is for me to be horrible to him on top of all that he is going through. I’m going to go to the banquet, and I’m going to have a nice time and support him. Then I’m going to go home. I promise you.”
She sighed. “Fine. I know you’re just a good person. Better than me. I’m just looking out for you.”
“I know you are. Okay, how about this, how about I promise to start going on proper dates soon? I will even look online like you want me to.”
She beamed. “Really?”
I nodded, even though online dating was the last thing I wanted to do. I just needed to placate her, and I knew this would be the thing to say. “Really. We can even buy more than one dress in case I find the man of my dreams.”
She grinned. “Now we’re talking. Come on; I’m going to transform you!”
Laurie and I spent the rest of the afternoon shopping. She was in her element and had thankfully stopped thinking about the banquet. She was concentrating on this dream date of mine that she was sure I was going to find through my great online dating search. In the end, we came back with more outfits than I had planned to get. We got a beautiful teal knee-length dress, a long green dress that went beautifully with my eyes, and some lingerie. She’d insisted I get some after I told her I hadn’t been shopping for lingerie in years. She also bought a whole bunch of things for herself, although her shopping was more for bras than anything else. I couldn’t believe that one person could want so many bras. As much as I always said I abhorred the shopping process, I had to admit that I had fun. Not only that, but I felt quite pretty in all my outfits. I couldn’t help but think how sad it was that Jacob wasn’t even going to see me in them. Not that it mattered, of course.
“You see? Shopping with me is fun,” Laurie said as we surveyed our purchases.
I laughed. “You’re right. That was actually fun.”
“So, when are you going to start searching for a date?” she said eagerly.
“Soon. I promise you.”
She groaned. “Not now?”
I laughed. “Not now. I’m exhausted. Soon, I promise. You’ll be the first to know.”
She raised her eyebrows at me. “Okay, but don’t think I’m going to let you get away with not doing it now that you’ve promised. I’m onto you, Alice.”
I chuckled. “You’re also a pain in my side.”
“I’m your best friend who has never left you and who never will.”
I gave her a big hug. “I know. You’ve always been there for me.”
She held me at arms length and looked me in the eye. “Just be careful, Alice. Okay? I know you’re a good person, but you also need to make sure you don’t get hurt. Promise?”
I nodded and smiled at her. “I promise.”
Chapter 17
Jacob
The phone rang as I woke up in the morning. It was Hayden, calling to say hi. I wasn’t stupid, though. I knew he called me to check up on me. To see that I hadn’t fallen somewhere. To make sure I was okay. It was nice of him, but quite frustrating at times. I had to keep reminding myself that I was lucky to have him as a friend. I didn’t want to get angry and push him away.
“Are you my new alarm?” I asked.
“Oh shit, did I wake you up?”
I chuckled. “Nah, I was just lying here thinking that I really should get out of bed. I was feeling a bit lazy today.” The truth was that sometimes I enjoyed sleeping more than I enjoyed being awake. I was never blind in my dreams. I looked forward to them every night despite the dread I would feel when I realized they weren’t real.
“So, how you feeling about your date with the lovely Alice?”
I groaned. “You’re such a pain. I can’t believe you went ahead and asked her for me. Now I have to go to this thing.”
“Oh come on, if I didn’t do it you would never have done it, and I know you’re glad that I did even if you won’t admit it to me.”
“I just hope she didn’t just say yes because she felt like she had to.”
“Nah, she seemed genuinely interested in going with you.”
I sighed. I wasn’t so sure. The whole thing had been humiliating for me even though I knew Hayden was only trying to be a good friend. “I don’t know.”
“You do realize I would’ve done the same thing if you weren’t blind. I didn’t ask her because I feel sorry for you or anything. I just like embarrassing you. It’s my best friend duty.”
“Well, you’re doing a mighty fine job of it.”
We moved on from that topic and chatted about various things. I had a lot of friends before my incident, and I had expected them all to be there for me my whole life, but I obviously made people more uncomfortable than I realized. As it turned out, it was only really Hayden who made an effort with me. They say you only find out who your true friends are in times of trouble, and that was definitely the case with me. That was why I tried not to get upset with him. He was the only person who had been there for me through it all.
Later that day, Alice arrived for work. Again, I was surprised by how happy I was to have her in the house. It was too quiet without her, and while Tank was great company, he didn’t talk back.
“Hey, Jacob.”
“Hey, Alice. How’s your morning been?”
“It was good. I was trying out some savory muffin recipe, and I made so much that I decided to bring some in for you. So that means I don’t need to make lunch. Instead, I was thinking we could go for a walk to the park again. We can have some muffins and then come back? Then we can listen to the book while I make dinner. If you want, of course. Just an idea I had.”
I grinned. I liked that she always came up with ideas so that things were never boring for us.
“Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. I think Tank is dying to go out anyway. I think he’s in love with you, by the way.”
She giggled. “Oh yeah? Did he tell you that?”
“He doesn’t have to. The moment you walk in, it’s like I don’t even exist anymore.”
“Well, they do say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. So I guess that’s what has happened with Tank. He only loves me for my food. It’s okay, though; he’s so cute I can’t help but forgive him.”
“I know, he’s adorable. Thankfully I knew him before I became blind so I clearly remember his face. I’m not surprised that he’s so good with the ladies, too. Do I need a jacket?”
“Nope, it’s a beautiful day out there. You’re good the way you are.”
I smil
ed at that. I knew she was only talking about my clothes being right for the weather, but it was a nice comment anyway. I got Tank, and the three of us made our way outside. She was right; the weather was beautiful. Although, unlike before, I now didn’t mind whether it was cold, or rainy, or windy, or hot. I liked it all. I liked to feel the rain on my face, to feel the wind through my hair. I couldn’t believe how much I used to complain about it before, but the more I felt now, the better. I told Alice this as we were walking.
“That’s very interesting. It goes to show that we spend most of our lives complaining about things that we shouldn’t be taking for granted. That’s quite sad, actually. I’m going to do my best not to complain about the weather from now on.”
I smiled. “Nah, you don’t have to do that. It’s good to be thankful for things but the very fact that you take things for granted means that you don’t have hardship. And there’s nothing wrong with that.”
“You’re very wise, Jacob,” she said, and I burst out laughing.
“Wise? I think you’re the first person to ever call me that. I like that. Wise old Jacob.”
“Not so old, though. You’re only 26.”
“Oh, how did you know that?” I said. I couldn’t remember ever telling her my age, and I had often been told that I looked older than my years.
“Oh,” she said, and suddenly seemed flustered. “You told me.”
“Did I? Oh, I don’t remember that. Cranky old brain. Maybe I lost some brain cells along with my eyesight. How about you? How old are you?” I actually knew so little about Alice. We spoke about so many things, yet I didn’t even know some of the simplest facts about her.
“I’m 25, almost 26.”
“Ah, we’re pretty much the same age, then.”
“Exactly, so you’re definitely not old. Because if you’re old, then so am I,” she said and chuckled.
“You know, you are quite different from how you were on the day of the interview,” I said as we walked.
“I am? In what way?”
“Well, you were very quiet that day. When you left, I actually told Hayden that I was sure you weren’t going to take the job. He actually agreed with me. We figured we were going to have to ask someone else.”
