The Eyes and Ears of Love (26 page)

“Are you sure?” she asks, once more.             

“Look at you, who wouldn’t want to always be with the most confident woman in the room?”

Dorothy wipes her eyes and smiles. “But, what if…”

“Stop!” he interrupts her, “Move in with me.”

She bites her lip and thinks. “Is that a demand or a suggestion?”

“A suggestion.”

“Fine,” she says while attempting to hide her smile. “Was that a smile?”

Dorothy shakes her head.

“It wasn’t?” he asks, and she feels his hands close in on her waist and tickles her playfully.

She roars with laughter, “Alright, alright!” She wraps her arms around Bentley. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

***

Two months after school starts up for Dorothy, she and Bentley have established a routine at their quiet duplex.

Bentley and Dorothy get up each morning to the sound of the alarm at six sharp.

Dorothy stretches her arms with a grin. “I’ll make you breakfast!” she says climbing quickly out of bed, tracing a finger along the wall for support. She’s wearing her underwear and one of Bentley’s t-shirts.  She looks so tiny in his light blue shirt.

Bentley watches her make breakfast every morning. Usually she makes different varieties of omelets, but this morning she is making Korean egg muffins from a recipe she learned in class last week. She’s learned so much already. She can crack an egg with one hand without the fear of leaving behind some shell. She can measure ingredients without using measuring utensils. She’s even creating her own recipes now. But more importantly, she looks like she is having fun again: to Bentley, it is reminiscent of when he first laid eyes on her.

She blasts the music and uses a fresh banana as a microphone.  She encourages Bentley to sing with her, decrying “
sourpuss!”
when he doesn’t join in. He gives in, snatching the banana and outshining her by hitting higher notes than she can. She doubles over in laughter.

She places the muffins in the oven and when she turns around, Bentley stands right behind her. He grabs her hands and sways her in a step they’ve been learning in a dance class they take with his parents. He dips her and she comes back up and takes the lead.

“I thought I was the man?” he asks, shouting over the music.

Dorothy shakes her head and smiles.

They continue dancing until the oven timer goes off.

Dorothy serves one golden brown muffin topped with cheese and bacon to herself and serves the other five to Bentley. He takes the first bite, his teeth crunch through the top in order to get to the moist center. His erect posture slumps as he chews. He looks around at the filthy kitchen and then centers his attention at Dorothy enjoying each bite of her muffin. She smiles when she eats, chewing very slowly.

After they finish eating, Bentley cleans the kitchen and Dorothy does the laundry.  

Though he never asked her to, Dorothy does the laundry every Monday morning. By now, she has laundry sorting down perfectly with exception to newly bought fabric. She grips a piece of clothing, using her nose to determine if it is hers, Bentley’s or the Garden’s and what color it is by familiarity of the texture. Bentley has a distinct cologne dissolved in his laundry making it easier to identify which is his. She has the most difficulty with towels and dish rags. Usually she’s right as to which pile it'll go in.

This morning, Bentley delays cleaning the kitchen and stands by the door, watching her sort piles of whites, colors, and blacks. She holds a red towel for a couple minutes. He can see by the movements in her face that she’s contemplating where to put it. Finally, she throws a colored towel in with the whites. Bentley moves the towel to the colors as quietly as possible. She thinks he’s scrubbing down the kitchen.

When the laundry finishes, it’s time for Dorothy and Aurora to commute to the university for her morning culinary classes while Bentley goes to work at the Garden. Their destinations are in opposite directions. They kiss and Dorothy and Aurora proceed on their route. Bentley waits twenty feet before yelling how beautiful she looks. She keeps her head forward, as if she doesn’t hear, but Bentley knows she’s faking. Bentley waits through several more of her steps before walking distantly behind her.

She stops at the Coffee Hut first, a few blocks from the university. He watches as Dorothy hands the cashier a twenty dollar bill for her caramel macchiato. The cashier, a man probably in his twenties, glances at Aurora then back at Dorothy, who is patiently waiting for her change. Bentley leans closer to the counter: he notices the man counting ones back into Dorothy’s hand. He only gives her five ones. Bentley taps once on the counter. The cashier glances up. Bentley returns a stern glare, nodding in the direction of the change. The cashier, wide-eyed and clearly dumbfounded, switches out one of the ones with a five. Bentley smirks.

When Dorothy returns to the sidewalk, Bentley walks behind her for the final fifteen blocks until their arrival at the university. He makes sure she is seated and safe in class before heading to the Garden.

“You’re late!” Nurse Lena points out as Bentley enters the lobby.

“I’m the boss! I can be late, sugar!”

“You know, Dorothy did prosper from this facility.” She pauses momentarily. “But you following her around all the time may reflect poorly on the facility’s ability to reform disabled people.” She declares. “Dorothy isn’t fragile. She can get around town without you.”

“I think she is more capable than anyone in this world. You’re right, she’s far from fragile.”

She narrows her eyes. “You follow her every day, without her knowing. Why do you do it?”

Bentley sighs. He places his keys into the outer pocket of his work bag. “Because I love her,” he finally says. “Because I’m a part of her and she’s a part of me. I can’t imagine myself without her. It’s quite scary actually, to imagine it.” His expression turns waxy, almost lifeless. “I follow her because I cast out the fear of something ever happening to her.”

“But she'll never know.”

“True. But love doesn't always need to be on display.”

Lena’s face softens as she pauses. “You’ve got a golden heart, Mr. Menichelli.”

He smiles at her and proceeds to his office. 

In his office, he sits in his chair starring at the little black box sitting on his desk. He opens it and admires the emerald colored engagement ring, imagining it on Dorothy’s finger, picturing the matching of her eyes.

***

The next morning, after their morning routine, Dorothy gets a kiss from Bentley before she begins her walk with Aurora to the Coffee Hut.

She walks in and the rich aroma of espresso draws her in. Aurora helps guide her to the counter, where she places her hands on the cool granite to assure herself she has arrived.

“What can we make for you today?” a barista asks.

“I’ll have a caramel macchiato, please,” Dorothy replies, reaching into her pocket for the five she knows she has. “Keep the change!” she says, handing over the money.

“Dorothy?” a familiar voice asks from behind her.

Dorothy turns to the direction of the voice, remembering it almost instantly. “Janessa?” Dorothy asks.

“Oh my god! It is you!”

Dorothy feels Janessa’s arms capturing her in a hug and Dorothy immediately melts into her arms, letting all her muscles relax. For a moment, the noisy coffee shop becomes silent as night. Several tears escape from Dorothy’s eyes.

“Are you crying?” Janessa asks as she lets go of Dorothy.

“I’m just so happy to see you. I never thought I’d see you again!”

“I’m happy to see you too! Do you have time to sit and catch up?”

“Of course I do!”

In true Janessa fashion, she leads in with a joke. “I thought blind people wear glasses and use walking canes and all that disabled shit?”

Dorothy rolls her eyes and chuckles. “That’s Hollywood for you. I have Aurora, she’s my guide dog, but more of a companion than anything.”

They find a table and sit. 

“Hey, I’m sorry,” Janessa says.

“Sorry for what?”

“Not coming to see you. I felt shitty every time I ignored your mom’s calls. I kind of hate myself for it now.”

“Why did my mom call?”

“She just wanted me to come visit you,” Janessa says. Silence hangs in the air and Dorothy sense that Janessa wants to say more. Finally her friend adds, “She really thought I would be a big help or something. She was desperate, seeing you like that.  She even offered to pay for my flight, but I found ways to keep busy to avoid coming to see you.”

I can’t believe my mom did that
, she thinks, astounded.

“I’m sorry,” Janessa blurts out. “I was a shitty friend.”

Dorothy breathes in deeply. “I completely understand. I was angry and I’m glad you didn’t come see me. I wasn’t myself, then. Everything was so toxic... So what are you doing now?” she asks, suddenly uncomfortable remembering those months, “Still in school, I hope?”

“Uh… yeah, yeah I am,” Janessa murmurs.

“What’s wrong?”

“I got the internship with Bobby Frier,” she stammers quietly.

Dorothy sets her cup on the table and grins. “That Mermaid pie must have been the jackpot!”

“Oh come on. Everyone knows you should have gotten it. I was second place, but since you weren’t there…”

“Hey!” Dorothy reaches out and finds Janessa’s hand, then cups it in hers. “You earned that internship, fair and square. It wasn’t because your pie was the second best, you earned it because your pie was
the
best!”

“Really?” she says. Her voice is high and timid.

“Yes! So how is the internship going?”

“Well, it’s been great. I still intern there despite Professor Bloomington’s resignation. And I’ve been guaranteed a job there after I graduate!”

Dorothy registers what Janessa has just said. “Mr. Bloomington resigned?”

“Yeah, all the students were devastated.”

“Did he say why?”

“Not really, just that he needed to focus more on his family so he needed to find a job less time consuming.”

Dorothy scoffs.

Janessa shrieks, “I know right, bogus. There were a lot of rumors about possible misconduct, so he resigned before they could investigate.”

Dorothy shakes her head. “He knew he was playing a dangerous game. He was lucky to have made it out alive, untouched.”

“What?” Janessa asks.

“Nothing. Just thinking out loud.”

“Oh shit! I better get going, it’s after ten.”

Dorothy takes a gulp of her coffee, “Yes me too, I gotta get to class!”

They both stand and say farewell with a hug. Dorothy turns to walk away.

“Uh, you know,” Janessa says.

Dorothy flips back, she can feel Janessa’s warmth: she has stepped close to Dorothy. She continues, “I may be wrong, but, I think you’re being followed or stalked or something.”

Dorothy says quickly, “no, no, don’t look at him!”

“Why? Is that your bodyguard or something?” Janessa adds with an heir of conspiracy, “Am I not supposed to look him directly in the eye?”

“No, that’s my boyfriend!”

“Oh! Why doesn’t he come over here and say something, rather than be a creeper in the corner? Oh my god! He’s abusive, isn’t he? Because I
will
kick his ass, if that’s the case.”

“Janessa,” Dorothy giggles. “He thinks I don’t know! He follows me on my way to school, to protect me.”

“Wait, that’s actually really sweet in a weird sort of way.”

“Yeah, it is.” Dorothy grins.  “I just go along with it. If following me around gives him a peace of mind, then it doesn’t bother me.”

“Well, you’re very lucky and you definitely deserve a man like him.”

“Thanks Janessa. So are we actually going to keep in touch?”

“You bet your skinny ass we will!” She laughs. “Let’s have coffee here every Monday morning?”

“I look forward to your trashy-mouth starting out my week!”

They both laugh and hug once more.

Later that evening, Dorothy spends time in her bedroom with Aurora while she waits for Bentley to return home from a lip reading class for the deaf. The lingering smell of pork roast from dinner follows into the bedroom. She paces back and forth contemplating while tapping her cell phone against her thigh.

“Well,” Dorothy says to Aurora, “Should I or shouldn’t I?”

Aurora barks.

Dorothy bites her lip. “You need to be a little bit clearer. Is one bark a ‘yah’ or a ‘nah?’”

Aurora barks again.

“Enough! I’m doing it. I am going to do it!”

Dorothy dials a number on her phone and holds it up to her ear. Each ring boosts her anticipation. She finally hears someone on the other line pick up.

“Hi mom,” Dorothy says. “I’ve missed you.”