Blind love (Part IV)

The next night Ariel returns to Brandon’s room at nine o’clock. She taps on his door and waits for an answer. She hears his voice, “ Casper, is that you?” She pushes the door open and answers, “ Yes, Brandon, it’s me. How are you doing tonight?” He sits up in bed and replies with a smile on his face, “ I am doing a lot better since you are here! I didn’t think nine o’clock would ever get here! I started to wonder if I hadn’t dreamed you into my life. I am happy to know that you are real. Please come over and sit next to my bed.” She smiles and walks over and sits in a chair next to him. She looks up at him and says, “ I will stay as long as you promise not to exert yourself or anything. You are supposed to be resting so you can get better. If I feel like I am keeping you from this, then I will leave. Your getting better is all I want to see. I miss seeing those blue eyes of yours.” Brandon replies, “So! You have been close enough to me to see what color eyes I haveHave you?” Ariel asks, “ Are you fishing for clues to see if you can figure out who I am? Remember, you promised me last night that you wouldn’t do that!” He answers, “ No, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to pry. I am glad that you are here. Please stop me if you think I am asking something that I shouldn’t.” She looks at him and says, “ My identity is not important. Your getting better is. That’s all that matters to me!” He smiles in her direction and says, “It’s nice to have someone who cares. I haven’t had anyone around me that truly cares, since I moved my parents to Florida.” She doesn’t know much about his parents so she asks, “Forgive me for asking but why didn’t your parents come to see you after your accident? Aren’t they worried about you?” He smiles and answers, “ I have wonderful parents. I love them both very much! They were going to come but I called them and told them that it was unnecessary. I have great care during the day and I have you to visit with in the evening. I would hate to see them take such a long trip and I won’t even be able to see them. Besides, my mom would cry if she saw me like this and I don’t want to upset her. I fly out to see them often and as soon as I get my sight back, I will be going again. How about you? Do you still have parents?” He wondered if he shouldn’t have asked that question so he followed with, “ I’m not prying, am I?” She thought about it and didn’t see any harm in his question so she answered, “Both my parents are dead.” He heard the sadness in her voice as she spoke and said, “ I am sorry to hear that. You must have loved them very much.” She leans back in her chair and replies, “ Yes, I did and I still do. You would have liked them.” He feels like she wants to talk about them so he asks, “ Have they been gone long?” She feels like he is really interested so she continues, “ My mother was sick. She was dieing of cancer. It was about two years ago. My father would sit next to her bed for hours at a time. He even slept in the room with her when she finally had to stay in the hospital. I was there the day she passed away. My father was holding her hand and told her about how he had been shy his whole life. The moment that he saw her, he knew that she was the one he wanted to spend his life with.” She gets misty-eyed and hesitates. Brandon can hear her sadness and says, “ You don’t have to continue if you don’t want to.” She is happy to see his compassion and continues, “ He sat there holding her hand and thanked her for giving him so many years of happiness that he thought that he would never have because of his shyness. He thought that he would always be alone but when he met her, his shyness turned to love. They were married for thirty-five years. After momma died. My father was never the same. It was like part of him died with her. He died last year. The doctors explained why to me but I will always believe that he died of a broken heart because momma was gone.” She wipes a tear away as she sits and stares at him. He sits for a minute like he is reflecting on her story. He turns toward her and says, “ I have never had that type of love. I hope that I will be as lucky as your father was. Thank you for telling me about them.” He wants to hold her but knows that it is to soon so he asks her, “ Do you mind if I hold your hand?” She wanted to feel his touch since the day she first saw him. She was hesitant but she had to touch him. She reaches up and grabs his hand and puts it in hers. They just sit there without saying a word, just holding hands. Finally it was time for her to leave. She pulls her hand away and says, “ It’s getting late. You need your rest. I’ve got to go.” He smiles up at her and replies, “ Thank you for coming again. I really enjoy your company. Will you come back again? Please, say you will!” She knows that every time she sneaks up the stairs that she might get caught but he wants to be with her and that’s all that matters so she answers, “ I would like that, Brandon. I’ll try to.” She turns to walk away and he says, “ I will be waiting on you, Casper. Good night!” She leaves and makes her way back to her room.