Blind Faith

This time I took a bath with him, helped him wash his body, soaped him, and stroked his whole body with my hands, making him laugh all the time. "If you don't stop, we're going to go back to bed," he said.

"I don't mind at all," I said, nibbling the back of his neck and playing with it.

After we showered and ordered dinner, I showed him around my house. "The house is a bit small, but for Missy, I need a decent yard," I explained, "but it seems like I'm not at home very often."

I stood behind him, held his hands, led his hands to move, and led him to feel the texture of the entire kitchen countertop.I showed him where the coffee maker, the sink, and the microwave were located.Actually I don't have to stand behind him like this, but he doesn't mind.He doesn't mind at all.

Because when I stand behind him like this, I can kiss his neck and lean into his body.So, he doesn't mind at all.

"Are we sure we don't have to go back to bed?" he asked with a smile.

I kissed his neck again and turned him to face me. "Don't seduce me," I said, kissing his lower lip tenderly, and then the doorbell rang and I wailed, "Dinner is here."

He smiled: "Don't be so disappointed."

As we finish eating and cuddle up on the couch, I pull out my phone. "We should call Hannah."

"why?"

"Because she will be very worried about you."

He sighed. "She wouldn't want to talk to me. I said some bad things to her before."

I'm tempted to sigh.No doubt he must have said something bad about her.But I resisted, and instead I kissed the side of his head: "She'd definitely like to talk to you. She might be a little mad at you, but she loves you." I typed in her number and turned the phone Handed it to him.

I can hear her voice.Obviously, she saw my number appear on her phone screen, so she asked cautiously, "Carter?"

"No, it's me, Isaac."

I went into the kitchen to get some bottles of water and gave him some privacy to call his sister, though I could still hear the answer from his side. "No, we're at his house...it's here too..." I think he was talking about Brady. "...no, I went to his place of work...yes, Hannah, in the rain...he said the same thing...I'm fine...yes..." He smiled into the phone up, "...yes, I told him I love him...we're doing great...yes, very good...no, I don't want to tell you that!"

I was amused by the response on his part, imagining what Hannah had just asked him.I sit back next to him and put one leg behind him, and he's back in my arms in no time.

"Well, wait a minute and I'll ask him," he said to his sister.Then he asked me, "What are we going to do tomorrow?"

"Hiking."

"Hiking," he repeated into the phone, then stopped short. "Hiking?"

I chuckled. "Yeah, I was going to check out the trails in Wompatuck State Park you mentioned. If the weather is nice, there's no reason why we shouldn't take a walk."

He continued talking to Hannah for a while, he apologized for the stupid things he said, she apologized as well, and he gave me the phone back.

"Thank you."

He didn't thank me for using my phone.He was thanking me for letting him call his sister. "Don't be polite to me."

He rested his head on my chest and smiled.

***

I got up early, let the dogs out to pee, put some logs on the fire, and crawled back into bed beside him.Isaac's body was warm, and when I put my cold feet on top of him he grunted and I smiled.But when he awoke to meet the world, he wrapped his arms around me.

"Good morning."

"Yes, it's a good morning." He tightened his arms. "Have you turned on the coffee machine?"

"Oh, I forgot," I told him, "I let the dogs out and added wood to the fire, but forgot to make coffee."

So he made a gesture to push me off the bed: "Get out quickly. Prepare coffee for me, or I won't give you a hug."

I laughed out loud, but then sneaked back and hugged him tightly.His arms wrapped around me warmly, and he sighed. "Is the weather good for hiking today?" he asked, "or is it better for lying in bed all day?"

I chuckled, "Well, if you're asking about the weather, today's sky is clear."

"That's a pity."

My hand went down to stroke his buttocks, and then squeezed it gently. "If we had gone on the hike earlier, we could have been back before lunch."

"Then we can stay in bed all afternoon?"

"What a monster I made!" I laughed. "Yes, in bed all afternoon, and all night if you like."

He sat up. "Okay, let's go! The sooner we leave, the sooner we can come back!" he ordered.I laughed and he picked up a pillow and threw it at me.As a blind man, his aim was really good.

"Get up, Mr. Dissatisfied with Desires, take a shower first, and I'll make coffee."

***

It's actually not that far to drive to Wormpatuck State Park.It's about ten miles or so from the pet hospital.Considering I've never been there and a blind man was my guide, I think we did a pretty good job.But when I parked the car in the reserve, it occurred to me that we should take the bus.I thought to myself, then next time.The next time we're here, we'll have the option to take the bus, so that if Isaac decides not to come with me later, Brady can learn the route.

And that way there wouldn't be a repeat of yesterday's mistakes, and Isaac wouldn't have to walk a block in the rain again.At that time, he can also interact with Brady.Thinking of this, I smiled.

"Wow," I muttered as I jumped off the jeep, "this is beautiful."

Isaac took Brady and said, "There are two paths to the end." He nodded indicatively to the right. "They all go through the forest to the lake. The sounds all the way are amazing. Birdsong, water, cicadas and more birdsong, it's really unbeatable."

I put the leash on Missy's belt, then smiled and said, "Then we'll go there first."

"You'll have to take me with you later," he told me. "I brought a cane with me when I came here with Rose. Besides, Brady's never been here."

So that's what we did.We walked slowly on the path leading to the small lake.I guided him as best as I could, and Brady was great.It's one thing to watch Brady do his guide job on flat roads, streets, and traffic, but it's one thing to watch him do it on rough, pristine trails with tree roots as steps and slippery surfaces Guiding the blind is another story.Whether it is stopping, starting, turning, or touching Isaac, it is easy to do.

It's an amazing animal.

And in the service of a great human being.

On the way back, we sat on a park bench for a while.I hand Isaac a bottle of water, then pull out the portable water bowl so the dogs can drink too.Seeing Isaac and Brady work so well together, so well, I was hoping that Isaac would pat Brady, or give him some other reward, or something.

Everything is good.

But he didn't.He did nothing.

Instead of doing that, he talked about the few times he'd been here with Rose before.He kept smiling as he spoke, and although I wanted to say something, I ended up holding my tongue.After the first few days of our mutual complaints, misunderstandings, arguments, and finally reconciliation, I don't want to ruin it.I don't want to ruin our newly repaired relationship.

I want to tell him that Brady is as good as Rose.I want to tell him that if he doesn't stop this behavior and take it seriously, he's missing out on getting to know this very, very good dog.

But I didn't speak.

And I know very well that I shouldn't pet a guide dog while it's working, on a leash, but I had to give it a little attention this way.I had to let it know that it was well done and that it was appreciated and loved.The veterinarian part of me, the animal lover part of me, just couldn't just sit there and watch that beautiful dog with the brown eyes sit there and wait for some sort of admiration.So while I was clearing away the water bowl, I rubbed the hair on the top of its head.

Isaac wouldn't have let me do this if Isaac could have sensed my movements with his uncanny, no-eyes ability to see everything.But he didn't say anything.

But Brady looked at me, his tongue hanging out from one corner of his mouth, his joyful brown eyes beaming, and I smiled back at him.

We sat on a park bench in the warm winter sun, and I described what I saw.There's a piece of equipment that looks new, with new signage showing which trails are for which type of hiker, and new picnic tables.I can imagine that it should be very lively in summer, but when the weather turns cold, there are a lot fewer travelers who come to hike.

"I'd love to do it again," I said, "I'd like to try another route, so next weekend, if the weather is nice, how about we do it again, huh?"

"No problem," said Isaac, "we can go one more way today if you really want to try."

"No," I said, standing up, "I promise you the afternoon will be indoors, and I'm not going to break my word."

Isaac smiled: "Indoor activities?"

"Yeah," I said with a smile, "on the bed, on the couch, against the kitchen counter, or in the bathroom..." I hesitated suggestively.

"In this order?"

I laughed and pulled him to his feet. "You can do whatever you want."

"Well, I want," he said, stood up and leaned against me, took a deep breath, put his nose close to my neck, and sniffed my scent, "do two rounds in this order."

I groaned and laughed, covering the sudden pain in my lower body with my hands. "Then we'd better leave now."

I packed the pack and handed Isaac the handle of Brady's leash.I looked at the two dogs: "Come on, kids, are you ready to go?"

"Uh," Isaac asked, "you just called the two dogs 'kids,' didn't you?"

I laughed: "Yes."

He shook his head at me, and when he got into the jeep, he said, "Oh shit!"

"what happened?"

"Next weekend," he began, "I won't be able to go hiking with you. We have a school cleaning next weekend."

"'Cleaning'?"

"Yeah, you know, just sweeping the yard, gardening, tidying up, repairing equipment, pruning trees, stuff like that?"

"Pruning?" I asked. "I don't want to be so explicit, but how do blind people prune?"

Isaac buckled up his seat belt and said, "I don't know either. Honestly, I don't even know if we actually have trees, but I sincerely hope we do."

I smiled, almost afraid to speak: "Why?"

"Because last year, Mr. Granger—our art teacher—did take the pruning shears and cut something."

I laughed out loud.From time to time, I get a sense of his sense of humor, like Hannah's, and I look forward to seeing more of that in him. "Isaac, did you just joke about a blind man?"

He laughed too: "I'm not joking, Mr Granger actually used the scissors to trim something. At least that's what I heard. But they hid the scissors after that, and now nobody can Found it."

I laughed out loud, and Isaac chuckled too.I brought his hand to my lips and kissed his knuckles. "Can I come along?" I asked, "This housecleaning?"

"Of course," he said, still smiling, "you can come and look for the pruning shears."

***

I'm really looking forward to seeing where Isaac works.I want to know where he spends his days, what he does every day, why he likes this job.I've heard him talk a lot, and he's shown me some of the work he's brought home, but it's in Braille, so I can't make out what's said.I mean, I'm learning Braille, but it's like another language, and frankly, it's confusing.I can't even imagine how he learned Braille as a young boy.So every time I watch him read Braille, I admire him a little more.

Naturally, we brought Brady, but Missy had to stay home.Then, as Isaac put the dog on a leash in the parking lot, he asked me, "Can I introduce you as my boyfriend?"

I smiled and said, "Of course."

He grinned. "A lot of people here don't know I'm gay," he continued, "so I want you to describe their expressions to me, please."

I laughed at him and said, "Oh my God."

He smiled and walked towards the building: "Aren't you coming?"

He was still smiling when he entered the building.And the building itself, these classrooms, these facilities, are all great.I now know why Isaac loves it here - he's been here for many years, first as a student, then as a teacher - and I can't help but feel a pang of sadness that he never got to see it.

It's like a normal school here, which surprised me a bit.With posters on the walls, exhibitions of student work, and notices on bulletin boards—some handwritten, some in Braille—the classrooms are lined up along the corridors, and at first glance, I wouldn't guess Not that this is a school for the blind.

It wasn't until I got a closer look at the facilities and saw the Braille writing boards on the tables, the braille markings on the door numbers and under the information boards that I could confirm that this was indeed a school for special populations.Then I realized this is what Isaac does every day.

He gave the children the will to live well.

"Wow," I said softly, "this looks like a normal school, with all the posters and bulletin boards."

Isaac laughed. "Not all students and teachers are completely blind. These posters are for them, and for visitors like you."

"Very sweet," I replied quickly, "I just wanted to say...Isaac, this place is really great."

He still smiled: "Really?"

“Hi, Isaac,” an older woman greeted as she came down the hall, “nice to have you here today.” She turned her head and looked at me out of the corner of her eye.Apparently she can see, it's just limited in some way. "So, who is this gentleman you brought today?"

"Marianne Turis," Isaac called her by her full name, "come and meet, this is Carter Reese."

"Ah," she said suddenly, "you're the Carter I've been hearing Isaac talk about."

I was a little surprised to learn that she had heard of me. "I hope he has good things to say."

She smiled. "Oh yes. Isaac thinks very highly of you."

Before I could get the compliment right, Isaac said, "Carter, Mariana is the principal of our wonderful school. She's the boss who keeps us busy."

"Well, I'm trying to do that," she said, smiling. "Where's Hannah?"

"She and her husband are away for the weekend," Isaac told her. "She figured that since I'm bringing Carter over today, I don't need her, so they set off for a little vacation this morning."

"Oh, I'm so glad for her," she said kindly.Apparently they have a great relationship. "Now, I have to go. Nice to see you at last, Carter."

"Yes, nice to meet you too," I said, feeling a little confused.

After she left, we were left alone in the hall, and I said softly, "I thought no one knew about us."

"Besides her," Isaac said with a smile, "I've known her since I was eight. We'd talk a lot. She's known about it since I realized I was gay."

And what he said earlier about introducing me as his boyfriend was no joke.He did.A few were surprised, most were the "silently shocked" type, but I had the feeling Isaac didn't care about the reactions.

Isaac is proud to call me his boyfriend, and he cares more about how I feel than what others think.His boss knows he's gay, and seems to have always known, and that's all he cares about.

I spent most of the day with Isaac, sometimes out helping others.I discovered that it wasn't really about equipment repairs at all, it was a community gathering: these people, and their friends and family, coming together to do something good.Awesome.

Once most people get three basic facts from my conversations—my name is Carter Reese; yes, I'm a veterinarian; yes, I'm here with Isaac—then they Basically it's really just about how good I am with a shovel and a paintbrush.

When we stopped for lunch, Isaac said he wanted to show me something.I followed him into a classroom. "Don't you want to see what I do?" He asked mysteriously, "Well, this is the classroom where I mainly teach."

It's a spacious room, and in addition to teaching aids—screens with sound equipment, for example—there are signs in large letters and Braille, pictures and colorful hand-painted posters hanging on the walls.But these little tables reveal something.

"Is this a classroom for elementary school students?"

Isaac smiled. "Yes, I'm teaching the youngest kids here," he explained, "ages six to ten." He stood at the front of the room, as he would when his students were present.

I looked around and it was obvious that he was very proud of the classroom. "What are those?" I asked, walking to one side of the wall. "These display cards are covered in stuff. Is this sand?"

Isaac smiled: "Yes. Not all of the students are completely blind, only some are, but all of them have a sense of touch. Every one of them learns by touch. So when reading new books, we will have some in Braille. Describe the display card, and then we will put the corresponding object in the box in front of the card, or stick it on a poster, so that children can learn these words, but also understand how they feel to touch."

There are shells, sand, straw, leaves, grass, and dirt.I can imagine kids feeling the different textures of what they're reading. "This is really cool, Isaac." Then I saw the new, unfinished display card. "Cotton batting and faux fur," I said with a smile, "is this for Peter Rabbit?"

Isaac also laughed: "Yes, did you see that pot of soil?"

There was a small pot of dirt on the shelf. "Yes."

"We're growing carrots," he said, shaking his head with a smile. "They want to grow an entire field of vegetables."

I smiled. "Isaac, that's amazing. You're amazing, too."

"No way."

"I'm telling the truth!" I told him. "You're not just teaching these kids to read. You're making what's in the textbook come true, and you're making it accessible for them."

He smiled. "I just want them to have fun."

That's when I had an idea: "Isaac, if you think it's okay, I can bring some real rabbits over. The kids can pet them and hold them in their arms."

Isaac showed an almost disbelieving expression: "Are you willing to do this?"

"Of course I would," I told him, "as long as your supervisor, or anyone else who needs your advice, agrees. There's a lady at my place of work who has small lop rabbits. She just Start raising. I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I asked her and told her what I was going to do."

"Oh, Carter," he said softly, "the kids will love it."

I laughed happily: "Me too."