“Sam, they don’t belong to you, they belong to the Catholic church. You must give them back,” Sue said firmly.
A sense of betrayal settled over Sam. Return the glasses? “For the first time, I’m free from a lifetime of shackles that have been preventing me from doing what I want to do. My inabilities are no more, and you want me to give them back. You, of all people, should understand. How could you say that when I’ve been pouring my heart out to you every day for the past five years?
“You’ve seen how I’ve been living. I’m a twenty-three-year-old stupid, illiterate loser who has never had a boyfriend or a steady job or anything good happen in my life. Now I can read, there is a boy who is interested in me and may like me for me, and I have a chance to go to university and make something of myself.”
Sam stood up. “But I guess you don’t want that. You don’t want me to succeed because you like having me around, don’t you? Just in case a volunteer doesn’t show up on a shift, you have me to take their place, don’t you?”
Sue’s eyes were stormy. “Are you finished? You sit back down and listen to me, young lady. Every time you cried because you didn’t get a job, I cried right there with you. Whenever you felt terrified and alone, I was there next to you, feeling hopeful and blessed that you had entered my life. I’m a friend but I’m also a nun, sweetheart, and what you have there doesn’t belong to you. They belong to the church and there’s no escaping that. It’s written on the frames; you said it yourself.
“You asked yourself why you can read suddenly, and why are all these things happening to you? What happens when bad things happen to you as a result of you having these glasses or, God forbid, also to other people? You are already seeing the dead. The glasses are sacred, and they belong to the church. Let’s go and show Cardinal Graham together. The sooner you do this, the sooner you can get back to your life.”
That was the last straw. Sam jumped up. “I knew it. You just want me back the way I was, your little helper, the loser who cleaned up all your shit. You haven’t been listening at all. I’ve had enough of this bullshit. I’m going to have a boyfriend and go to university and make something of my life. I’m getting out of here!” Sam stormed out the office, slamming the door behind her.
Alone in her empty office, Sue feared that her worst nightmare, of losing Sam forever, had finally come true. From the first day she’d walked into her office, five years before, vulnerable and scared, Sue had been fearing this. And she was still too afraid to tell her the truth about who she was. If it hadn’t been for Joyce, she would have done it long ago.
“Hello, Sister Sue, I’m Samantha Page. They told me to see you about doing some volunteering here while I’m looking for a job,” Sam said politely after closing the door behind her.
“Yes, please come in and take a seat.” Sue was almost breathless with shock to see how beautiful Samantha was. She had been told the day before that a Samantha Page wanted to see her, and she and Joyce had both agreed that it had to be her Sam.
“Where did you move from Sam? Can I call you Sam?” Sue said with a smile.
“Yes, you can call me Sam. I moved from Melbourne last week, but I don’t want to talk about that please.” She folded her arms across her chest.
“Okay, that’s fine. What sort of job are you looking for?” Sue settled back down and managed to keep her nerves under control.
“Anything with my hands. Nothing where I would need to read.”
“I see. Any reason for that?”
“Reading is a problem. I have dyslexia,” Sam explained.
“Everyone has something they struggle with. Don’t let that stop you chasing your dreams, okay?”
“Can you give me a reference for a job, please?” Sam asked.
“I need to get to know you first. Would you like to help us out here from time to time? If you do, I would be happy to give you a reference.”
“Yeah, okay.” Sam smiled.
After Sam left, Sue returned to her office, and gave in to her tears. She phoned Joyce, who said she’d come immediately.
Her baby was a slim five-foot-seven-inch beauty with light blue eyes and gorgeous long brown hair. Although she had done her best to hide the cuts up and down her arms, they were as clear as day to Sue, all too familiar with seeing the damage left behind by child abuse and bullies over the years. She blamed herself for putting Sam in that situation and was filled with anguish.
“Hey, enough of that. You need to be strong for your girl, honey,” Joyce said softly as she came in and embraced Sue.
“Joyce, my baby was abused and it’s my fault!”
“Look, we can’t do anything about the past, but we can do something from now on.”
“I guess,” Sue said as she tried her best not to cry again. “I don’t know what to do.”
“If we tell her who we are now she will go away and not come back. She’s eighteen years old and full of anger. Do you remember when we were eighteen? We need to be cool and let her settle in first. If she volunteers here, you can establish a trusting relationship and then tell her when the time is right. In the meantime, you can help her find a job and help her with her needs. Here’s your chance to protect her, honey. That’s what you want, isn’t it?” “But if I don’t go to her now, when she finds out she won’t forgive me.”
But Joyce had worried that it would be too much for Sam, that she would leave, and they would never see her again. Sue had listened and done as she’d said, and, as she’d expected, every day that passed it became harder to tell Sam the truth.
It was all too much for her. She did not have the strength to fight her fear of losing Sam. All she could do was respect her wishes to keep the book glasses, despite how strongly she felt about what they could do to her.
First Official Date
Furious at Sue for trying to take her new life away from her, Sam ran all the way home, vowing never to go back to the refuge or see her again.
She had everything under control. All she needed to remember was never to overuse the book glasses and never to tell anyone else about them. Revealing the secret to Sue had been a mistake. Nor would she leave evidence for anyone visiting from the refuge to suspect she was reading. She collected all the books scattered around her apartment and took them back to the library.
While she was there, Sam received a text message but left it unread. As soon as she got home, she put on the glasses and found the message was from Billy. He said he couldn’t wait until Saturday to see her and asked her to meet him for dinner the following day, Friday at 6:30 p.m. near her place in the city.
Thrilled, Sam quickly replied she would like to leave it as they planned for Saturday and assured him the wait would be worth it.
It would be their first official date. Never before had she connected with someone so quickly. It was almost like a dream and yet it was real. Thinking of his smile and the way he had looked after her warmed her heart. She couldn’t wait to see him again!
She wondered where Billy would take her on Saturday. What will I wear? she thought. I can’t wear the same black dress I wore last week. Remembering it was Thursday night, she decided to go shopping.
Why not? she asked herself, I have money. “I’m going shopping!” she declared to her empty apartment.
Then another daring idea popped into her mind. Instead of takeaway, she would eat out in a real restaurant. A restaurant with waiters and wine and silver cutlery. She would use it as a practice run so she wouldn’t embarrass poor Billy at dinner.
She carefully stowed the glasses in her bag and headed off on her adventure. First stop was to buy a dress, shoes, and accessories to wear on her date. With her glasses by her side, she had all the confidence she needed to make her outing a success.
For the first hour, she looked around to find out what was fashionable and compare prices. Although money wasn’t an issue now, she knew she wanted a bargain and finding it was going to be fun.
Four hours later, Sam returned to a dark apartm
ent and dropped all her shopping onto her bed; a bed desperately in need of a new mattress.
As usual, her first thought was to take care of the book glasses. She took them off and secured them in her bag, which she hid in her closet.
She couldn’t wait to open all her shopping bags to look at what she had bought. After unpacking all the bags and spreading all her purchases out on her bed, she was in awe.
The blue sleeveless dress that highlighted her blue eyes, along with matching shoes, was a magnificent choice but she felt the five-hundred-dollar Saint Laurent clutch purse was a little excessive. She was glad she had shrewdly sidestepped the jewellery department, fearing a further cost blowout. And while City Quay at Circular Quay was far from fine dining, eating there had been a dream come true for Sam after walking past the restaurant for five years.
Over dinner, she had decided she would need a lot more money to live on; much more than she’d won at the casino because the glasses would always opt for quality over price. It was amazing to recall that only weeks ago she could barely pay her rent, most days she had eaten all her meals at the refuge because she couldn’t afford to buy food, and her wardrobe had consisted of second-hand clothes from a charity clothing bin.
That night she went to sleep dreaming of restaurants and ferries, wharves and water. In particular, she dreamed about City Quay, the delightful harbour view restaurant overlooking Circular Quay wharves, where she would meet Billy the following day.
Sam woke with a start on Saturday morning, ate breakfast in haste and opened her new portmanteau case of brand-new makeup specifically designed for her. After the previous night’s preparations, she was ready for her first date.
For a small fortune, a professional department store makeup artist had filled the case with an array of designer label makeup and application paraphernalia that would bring a smile to Oprah Winfrey.
Once she had applied her makeup, the result was so astonishing that she couldn’t tell if it was her skills or the superior quality of the products. If her lipstick hadn’t been so glamorous, no one would have been able to tell she had any makeup on at all.
With only minutes to spare, Sam finished getting dressed and took off out the door after grabbing her black bag and putting it on her chest backwards. She always strove to keep the book glasses safe and secure and never out of reach. After all, this would be her first official date with a boy, and she needed the glasses close by just in case things started going wrong. It was reassuring to know she had them ready to back her up at a moment’s notice.
With an hour to get to Manly Wharf, as she waited for her ferry, Sam watched the other ferries come and go from Circular Quay wharf number three. The sun was the colour of her orange-red lipstick in a cloudless sky and the sea breeze played havoc with her ocean-coloured dress, repeatedly teasing the hem, and lifting her skirt.
Overwhelmed with joy and happiness at the thought of seeing Billy again, Sam’s heart leapt in her chest. She couldn’t wait to be in arms again to confirm that he and her feelings for him were real.
On the ferry ride, her mind was so filled with dreams and possibilities that she barely noticed the view and was surprised when the ferry docked. She stepped off onto Manly Wharf and Billy surprised her by coming up from behind her and greeting her with a hug. She quickly turned around and hugged him even tighter.
“I’m here early. What are you doing here?” Sam said with a huge smile.
“Are you kidding? I’ve been here since 10a.m., waiting for you. I’ve had so many coffees I’m starting to talk fast,” Billy said.
After another long hug and an even longer kiss, they walked off hand in hand, talking about their week. She admired his navy shorts and his half-open shirt with tropical fish on an ocean blue background that matched her dress. Their sandals were almost the same too and she loved that he looked much taller than he had last time when she’d been wearing heels. He was everything she had wished for and more. He was gentle and polite and always asked her how she felt about things before doing anything.
“You know, we did go out together last week but really, today is our first official date,” Billy said.
“Yes, I know,” Sam said, concealing the fact her heart was rapidly fluttering as she realised he felt the same about her as she did about him.
“After a light lunch on the beach, I’ve organised a mini-bus tour around Manly. You are going to love it. My mate, Tony, who runs a local travel agency, has arranged an afternoon of sightseeing. It’s a private tour just for the two of us. How about that?
“But that’s not all, I’ve also booked a table for dinner in a seafood restaurant overlooking the water. What do you think, Sam, happy with that?” he asked with arms open, waiting for a response.
“Thank you, that sounds wonderful,” she said with a smile, then jumped into his arms.
“Here, look at the itinerary for our mini-bus.” He was so excited, he practically positioned it right in front of her face and started reading it aloud, “We are going to Manly, Balgowlah, Seaforth, Curl Curl, Dee Why, Collaroy, Long Reef, Narrabeen, Warriewood, Mona Vale, Newport, Bilgola, Akuna Bay, Avalon, Careel Bay, Palm Beach and back to Manly!” She confirmed how happy she was with a quick kiss.
From then on, it was a whirlwind of fun, adventure, and amazing food. Billy had organised the day so well that Sam’s feet hardly touched the ground as she was whisked away by the man of her dreams.
After dessert at the Manly seaside restaurant that night, Sam paused, looked at Billy and didn’t think things could get any better. Then he invited her back to his place. Without hesitation, she nodded, and her smile lit up the entire restaurant.
Making More Money
“Billy? Are you there?” Sam called out after waking up naked in Billy’s bed with no sign of him.
“It’s okay, Sam. I’m making breakfast for us. Go ahead and have a shower and breakfast will be ready by the time you finish,” Billy replied from the kitchen.
Freshly showered and wearing only one of Billy’s white t-shirts that she had pulled out of his cupboard, she followed the noise to the kitchen.
Their entire morning was filled with laughter and conversation. They constantly touched each another and talked about their lives and everything else, while feasting on an assortment of bacon and eggs, pancakes, and fruit salad.
Once they’d cleaned up from breakfast, they settled back into the bedroom and talked some more. It was the perfect relaxed morning.
They had been talking almost nonstop for a few hours, wrapped in each other arms in his bed, when Billy mentioned that one day, he would like to travel all over Australia. Sam jumped up and told him that this had been her dream since coming to Sydney. She was beside herself and Billy’s eyes just kept widening the more Sam shared about her hopes and dreams. Their cuddles soon turned into an afternoon full of passionate lovemaking.
Their love was real, but for Sam, it was a lot more than that because this day had washed away all the years of solitude and the tears she had shed alone. Afterwards, she held Billy so tightly and knew he wasn’t just her first love, but he would be her forever love.
Dinner at a fashionable Italian restaurant back in the city completed a wonderful and memorable weekend for Sam. By the time Billy walked her home, both were content to part ways, if only for a short period.
The following Saturday felt a world away and they settled on promising to call each other daily. Before one last kiss goodnight, Sam invited him to stay at her place next week and he was overjoyed to accept.
Her feet didn’t even touch the floor when she walked into her apartment. Feeling lightheaded with love, she paused for a minute or two, thinking it was all a dream.
But Billy wasn’t a dream. He was a magnanimous spirit who was very real who loved her as much as she loved him.
She went about getting ready for bed, dancing and singing unashamedly around her apartment before settling down.
The next morning her phone buzzed and woke her, prompting S
am to read Billy’s good morning text which elicited smiles and laughter.
She relished the thought of having someone who cared about her and was interested in every part of her life. Feeling this way was strange and new but she cherished every single moment.
As she placed the phone back down on the bedside table, took off the book glasses and put them in their case, she contemplated that she’d had the weekend of a lifetime without the book glasses. She hadn’t put them on once.
This struck a deep chord in Sam, who concluded that Billy loved her for her and not because of anything she had concocted with the assistance of the glasses. This revelation filled her heart with contentment and a sense of fulfilment beyond belief.
It was during her morning shower, still high on these blissful feelings, that Sam determined what to do next. She was ready to take on the challenge of making more money.
The casino was not on her agenda that day. Instead, she deliberated on the content of her reading matter from the week before. She had read through an array of economics books as well as Australian Financial Review newspapers from the last few weeks.
She had five thousand dollars of her winnings left. The stock market had attracted her interest with a potential return on investment that the casino’s odds could not match.
She was excited about the possibilities of the stock market, because, although general confidence was at an all-time low, the newspaper articles reflected the opposite for a select number of high-profile corporations, with their CEO bonuses at an all-time high and huge quarterly profits, giving conflicting reports of the current financial situation.
Instinctively, she knew she could capitalise on this in the short term by selectively investing in these businesses before other investors jumped on the bandwagon and tipped the scales of profit.
She quickly dressed in her business suit and applied her makeup while wearing the book glasses and was out the door in no time, looking fabulous.
The Book Glasses Page 9
