Chapter 17

Rob, again:

Breakfast was great! Krista did a fantastic job with the huevos rancheros, and now Kay is bugging her for the recipe and a tutorial. They get to sniping at each other and Harland just sits there savoring his second cup of coffee and shakes his head. "See what I have to put up with, every time they're together?" And his smile belies any negative meaning one might attach to that statement. This man loves his family, and rightfully so. And they certainly adore him!

We finished, and the girls cleaned up while I showered and changed, and I checked my email while I waited. Nothing big happening back in Stressville (yeah, that's the way I'd been thinking about it lately) so I updated my status and location, and signed off the website. My website, actually; hadn't found one that suited my fancy, so I built one for myself. Kay thought it was cool, but I suspected she had some improvement in mind already.

Kay used her laptop to check in with her advisor, too. No real surprises there, as she had notified them as to what was going on, and where she could be reached. They made the usual "Do what you have to do" noises, said there was no problem, she was still on track, and that was that.

Harland had insisted that we drive his big Suburban when we went to get Belinda. "Longer wheelbase rides better on these gravel roads," he said. So Kay grabbed the keys off a rack full of them, and we headed out the door. He saw me looking at the collection of keys, "We used to leave 'em in the vehicles, but we're starting to get some folks wanderin' through who'd rather be drivin' than walkin'. Not so many as the neighbors down the road, but the neighbors don't have Julius and Caesar either."

So with Kay driving, and Krista in the back, we headed to town. It was still early enough in the spring that the mornings were cool, but the high sky promised more sun to warm things up later on. Krista pointed out the sights (mostly dry scrub) and talked about how that "global warming" had left snowdrifts "Clear up to there!"

We pulled out onto the blacktop, and things smoothed out a little. "About 45 minutes from here," said Kaitlyn. Funny how down here we measure things in minutes, and not miles. [PtC1] She fired up the CD player, and Boston Pops started playing. I liked it. She smiled, and said "One of Dad's favorites! This is a collection of Leroy Anderson's stuff that they did as a tribute to him. It's got Mom and Dad's favorite song – Forgotten Dreams - on it. It'll be on in a couple of minutes."

"Pretty song," I said, "he wrote Sleigh Ride, too, and a bunch of others."

"And that Typewriter Song too," laughed Krista. "That one is so cool!" Then she grimaced, "But I played it for the kids in music class, and they acted like they were gagging on it. Yet they love that rap and hard rock stuff. Dad says it sounds like somebody kickin' a garbage can full of busted bottles down the cellar stairs, and cussin' at it all the way." Kay and I both cracked up. 'Course there's not too many cellars down this way, but we get the picture.

"My folks' favorite song is Stardust. They love the Big Band music. I go home and hear Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman 24/7, and I still never get tired of it."

Kay looked over and smiled at me. "Another thing we've got in common, sir! I did a term paper on 'Music of the 40s and 50s' and I loved it!"

"Well I still like Celtic music best," said Krista, "like that CD we played last night."

"I think there's one coming up next in the player," said Kay, "should be time to hear it before we get to the hospital."

The rest of the trip went smoothly, with several changes in topics of conversation, and I was pleased that the three of us were able to keep it at a good pace, regardless of topic. And sure enough, there was a Dougie MacLean album in there. Love that stuff too!

We talked about books for a while. All three of us were apparently very well read, and not held hostage to what some still call the "vast wasteland" of TV. I said that, and Krista spoke up. "It's worse than a wasteland, Rob. A wasteland just is there, empty and lifeless. Seems like these morons on TV actually come out after your mind, and try to trap folks into their own particular version of reality."

I Looked at Kay and said, "Out of the mouths of babes."

She giggled, "Sis, did you hear that? He called you a babe!"

"Yeah. I wish," she mock-pouted, "but then you'd get all upset and pissy, and reach over and smack him, and take your eyes off your driving, and you wouldn't see that steer in the road until we hollered, and you'd swerve at the last second, and we'd hit a tree and all get killed, and you know how Dad hates all that paperwork!"

By the time she was finished, Kay and I were laughing so hard that she almost did miss the exit to the hospital! "Woops! Almost there. Couple more turns and stop signs, and hopefully, no steers!" Cracked up again.

We pulled into the hospital parking lot, and Kaitlyn drove around to a spot near the patient pickup area and parked. An attendant came over to make sure we were actually there to get someone, okayed our choice of spots, and we went on in to the hospital. Typical. Typical hospital smell, hospital lights, hospital squeaky-shoes-on-the-floor, typical hosp ... I really don't hate hospitals, you understand, they're just not listed among my favorite places to be. We made it onto the elevator, and Krista pushed the button. "She's on three," she said as the door closed, and we felt the typical hospital elevator lurch, as it started up.

We got off at "Floor Three... (ding) ... Going Down," and yeah, I got the typical hospital bump in the butt as the doors closed. We turned and went around the corner toward Belinda's room. The hallway was bright and cheery, smiling nurses, a polite orderly saying "Excuse me," as he wheeled a patient toward the elevator we'd just got off. Nice, calm, relaxing.

Krista went in first, and said "Hi Mom! Here to take you home! Kaitlyn's here, and we brought a guest." I looked as we entered, and saw a smiling, blonde-haired pixie sitting in the chair by the bed. She stood up when we went in, and I got a good look at her. Tiny! Couldn't have been five feet tall, maybe 90 pounds. And I couldn't help picturing her standing next to that comparative giant she had married. Beautiful face, beautiful smile, beautiful clear blue eyes, and I could see the girls in her face, both of 'em. She welcomed the three of us in a soft, but lively voice; and she was obviously delighted to see us.

Wait.

See us?

I stopped dead in my tracks, just as Kay froze and gasped, as it dawned on her there was something she hadn't told me. I saw the same expression of horror on Krista's face as she came to the same realization at the same time as her big sister.

Belinda Sanderson was blind! Those beautiful, clear blue eyes were totally sightless!

It seemed an eternity before my mind unstuck, and I was able to think. Fortunately I was able to hide my surprise, and Kay just clung to my hand. "Mom, this is Rob ... Rob Lister. He came along to make sure I got here okay."

Then this beautiful woman reached out to me, and I took her hand. "Well, hello there, Rob Lister! I'm pleased to make your acquaintance! Thanks for watching out for Kay" she smiled, "she certainly does need it sometimes!"

I smiled too, as she, with surprising firmness, gripped my hand. "I'm so happy to meet you. Kaitlyn has told me so much about you!"

She must have sensed my initial surprise and hesitance, must have heard Kay's gasp of realization. "But I'll guess she didn't tell you everything now, did she? That's okay, we're so used to it that it's second nature, and sometimes folks come unprepared to deal with it. I'm sorry for the surprise; sometimes we forget. But it's okay, and I guess I can deal with it better than others."

As she spoke she held my hand in a firm, soft grip, then said "Come closer, Rob, so I can get to know you." I did, and she reached up, and her touch was as if butterflies had flown near, and they caressed my face. Such a gentle, knowing touch! I don't know how to explain it, but there was calmness and warmth, innocence and love in that touch, and suddenly I knew how Harland had become enthralled.

Kay's thoughts:

Oh no! I never gave it a thought! I hadn't told Rob about Mom! He'll hate me now. O God, what'm I gonna do? It's been so good so far, and we fit so well, even Kris and Dad. I mean...

I felt that first look in his eyes clear down into the pit of my stomach, a look as if I'd somehow betrayed him. And I knew he'd hate me for not telling him. But then that look changed – I think he recovered from his surprise, and Mom talked to him, to all of us, really, reminded me and Krista again that not everyone reacts in the same way to what has become natural to all of us. I mean, I've never known my mom any different than she is now. And I've never heard her complain about anything – it's just natural to her. And to us.

Then she 'looked' at Rob.

Really, I shouldn't be surprised. I've seen this before. People are flustered, don't know what to say, then she just touches their face, and somehow it's all right. I can see it in his eyes – he's okay. He cares, but he's not gonna let it become more important to him than it is to Mom. So I said the first thing that came to mind.

"Watch out for the bump on the side of his forehead, Mom, it's probably still tender."

"I thought maybe it was; he winced when I touched it. Forget to duck, Rob?"

"No," he said with a grin, "just tripped over my own big feet. It's getting better now. Long story."

Mom still had her fingers on the side of Rob's face, and said, "It must be a good story, if you can smile about it when it still hurts!"

I said "It happened on the day after we met, Mom, he slipped on the boat and hit his head. Knocked himself right out, and I had to lower the sail, and Hector helped us out, and..."

"Slow down, Kaitlyn!" Mom was smiling now too, "we've got a long ride home, and it sounds as if this is going to be a long enough story to get us most of the way back! Besides, the people here are very nice, but they can't compete with your daddy, and he's a couple of hours down the road."

So we got her checked out, and that polite orderly wheeled her out to the car – got a kiss on the cheek as a "thank you". After admonishing us to "Be good to this nice lady", he watched us pull out of the pickup lot, then waved and went back to his work. I think I know what he was feeling; I've had people tell me that somehow a room gets a little darker when Mom leaves it. I know what they mean!

Back to Rob

On the way home Krista drove, and I rode shotgun, mainly because Belinda (she insisted I call her that) wanted to sit in the back with Kay, and hold her hand as she heard the story. Kept reaching up and touching me too, just for the sake of contact, I guess. I could see she was squeezing Kay's hand, and her smile faded as she heard what had happened, and then her reaction was much like Harland's had been. She reached forward again and touched the side of my face, and said, "Thank you, Rob Lister. I know you wouldn't hear of anything to do with repayment, so I'll not speak further of that, but know that we're forever in your debt, and you're forever in our heart." And it struck me that she said "heart". Singular. And it was plain to see that to Belinda and her Harland it meant just that. They shared one heart, and that was it. I knew then that Kay and I had a very big commitment to live up to.