Love Comes in Darkness (2 page)

“I’ve given things plenty of time already. How long am I going to have to wait before we can be together?” Cedric asked. Instantly Howard regretted this whole thing and wished he was back home, where he wasn’t under Cedric’s control.

“Can we please talk about this after the party?” Howard asked levelly and as sweetly as he could manage.

“No,” Cedric said, and Howard felt the brakes being applied. A loud rumbling sounded as the car continued to slow.

“What’s happening?” Howard asked as the car pulled to a stop.

“Get out!” Cedric said roughly. “You think you’re so independent and don’t need me, then you can find your own way to the party. Now open the damned door and get the hell out.”

“Are you serious?” Howard asked, scared.

“Get the fuck out!” Cedric screamed, and suddenly Howard was more afraid of Cedric than anything else. Howard felt for the handle and pulled it. He pushed the door open and unfastened the seat belt. Then he carefully got out of the car and stood up. He closed the door. Tires squealed, and he turned away as bits of gravel pelted him. He listened as Cedric’s car sped up and the sound disappeared into the whizzing of traffic as it zoomed by him.

Howard didn’t move. He didn’t even have his cane with him. He had folded it up when he got into the car, and it must have shifted when Cedric braked, because he didn’t have it with him. Slowly, he took baby steps back from traffic. Just a few—he didn’t dare go any farther. He had no idea where he was or what was around him, other than cars passing by. Was there a ditch, a wire fence, a creek? He had no idea. At least he should be far enough back that he wouldn’t be hit. “Don’t panic, think,” he told himself as he pushed down the fear that welled inside him. With no points of reference other than the cars flying by and the ground under his feet, he was lost and getting more confused by the second. To make matters worse, the wind was coming up and the heat from the sun he’d felt when he’d first gotten in the car was gone. He inhaled deeply and groaned when he smelled water in the air. It was likely coming off Lake Superior, but it shouldn’t be in that direction. Either that or he was very turned around and even more lost than he thought. He patted his pockets quickly and found his phone. Breathing a small sigh of relief, he raised it to his ear. “Call Ken,” he said, and then he took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

“Calling Ken,” the rich male voice said, and Howard waited.

“Ken,” Howard said when the phone was answered, but all he heard was a mumble. “Patrick, is that you?” Two simple vocal tones sounded. “I need Ken. We were on our way to the party and… well, Cedric and I had a fight, and he left me along the side of the road.” A long wait followed, and then he heard movement behind Patrick.

“Howard, what happened?” Ken asked as he came on the phone. “Patrick looks like he’s ready to kill someone. Are those cars I’m hearing? Are you by a freeway?”

“Yeah,” Howard said as he swallowed hard. “Cedric kicked me out of the car. I’m standing by the side of the road. We were on our way to the party and we had a fight. He kicked me out of the car and left me,” he repeated, desperation kicking in.

“Howard, hon, the party is tomorrow,” Ken said softly. “We had to reschedule because Hanna needed to go in for some tests.”

“Is she okay?” Howard asked, forgetting for a moment about his predicament. Seven-year-old Hanna had been through leukemia treatments, and everyone hoped she remained cancer-free.

“She’s fine. Just routine follow-up,” Ken said. “I called you last week and… shit, Cedric answered your cell. Let me guess, he didn’t give you the message.”

“No,” Howard said, clutching the phone like a lifeline.

“Do you know where you are?” Ken asked. “We’re on our way to the car.” He heard a door close in the background.

“I must be someplace between Marquette and Pleasanton, but I’m not sure where. I’m by the highway. We’d been traveling for about ten minutes, I think, if that helps.”

“It does. Just stay on the line,” Ken said. “We’re leaving now.” The connection clicked, and for a second Howard thought he was going to lose them. “Hanna and Patrick are in the car with me. The phone is on hands-free, so I can drive.”

“Okay,” Howard said a bit nervously as cars continued to zoom by. “I think someone is stopping. God, I hope it isn’t Cedric coming back.”

“If it is, you tell him to hit the road. I’m driving as fast as I dare,” Ken said with energy, and Howard breathed a bit easier.

“Okay. The car is definitely stopping. But I don’t know if it’s Cedric’s.” He would have known the old one by the ticking sound the engine made, but he hadn’t immediately registered a unique sound for Cedric’s latest car. Howard heard a car door slam closed and he flinched slightly.

“Do you need help?” a melodious voice asked, definitely not Cedric’s slightly nasal tone.

“Yes, please,” Howard said, turning toward the sound of the voice. “I have friends coming to get me. Can you tell me exactly where I am?”

“Huh?” the man asked.

“I’m blind and I got dumped here. My friends are on the way, but I’m not sure where I’m at,” Howard said, hoping the guy didn’t decide to rob him or something.

“You’re between mile markers 135 and 136, or pretty close,” he said, and Howard relayed the message to Ken.

“That son of a bitch,” Ken swore. “We’ll be there as fast as we can.”

“Where were you headed?” the stranger asked.

“To Pleasanton,” Howard answered.

“No wonder. You’re going the other way,” he told him, and Howard swore.

“He did this on purpose,” Howard said mostly to himself. “The bastard did this to me on purpose.”

“Why would he do that?” both Ken and the stranger asked in each ear, and Howard shook his head.

“I’ll stay with you until your friends arrive,” the man said. “They can call you when they get close.” Howard relayed the message to Ken, who swore again.

“What?” Howard asked, concerned. Ken rarely cursed, and almost never in front of Hanna.

“I picked up a cop. Shit,” Ken said.

“Daddy, you swore… lots,” Hanna sang. “Potty mouth. Does that mean Daddy Patrick will wash your mouth out with soap?”

Ken groaned, but didn’t swear. “I’ll be there as soon as I can explain what’s going on,” Ken said.

“Call when you’re close. I’ll be okay.” He hung up but held onto his phone.

“You can sit in my truck if you want,” the man said. Howard heard him take a step closer, and he tensed. The man’s touch on his arm made him jump, but only for a second. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. Let me guide you toward the truck.” His touch was gentle and he stayed slightly behind, guiding rather than tugging Howard forward. Cedric had never gotten the hang of walking with him. He’d always tried to pull Howard along. “I’m Gordon Jarrett, but my friends call me Gordy.”

“How close are we?” Howard asked.

“About three or four steps,” Gordy said. It took more than three steps, probably only because Howard was walking carefully. Howard heard the door open, and Gordy placed one of Howard’s hands on the door and the other on the truck seat. Slowly Howard climbed into the truck and sat on the seat. Gordy kept the door open. “Why would your friend leave you beside the road?”

Howard gripped the dashboard to steady himself. “Cedric used to be my boyfriend, and he wanted to move in with me, but I wasn’t ready,” Howard said. “Actually, I think he wasn’t as interested in me as he was in control.”

“Control?” Gordy asked gently.

“Yeah. He wanted to control my life and everything in it. That’s why he left me. He wanted to somehow prove that I couldn’t get along without him or something.” Howard really wasn’t sure, but he didn’t want to spend too much time to find out. “I caught him cheating on me a few days ago with some screamer. I went to his house and I could hear them all the way down the stairs. I’ll spare you the details, but I was going to tell him to take a hike when we got home.” He heard a car pull up and stop.

“What do your friends drive?” Gordy asked.

Howard shrugged. “A car? I don’t know. I’ve never seen it.”

“They don’t drive some beat-up wreck that’s about ready to fall apart, do they?” Gordy asked. Before Howard could answer, he heard Cedric.

“What the hell is going on?” Cedric demanded. “Who are you? And why is my boyfriend in your truck?”

“Go away, Cedric. Ken and Patrick are on their way to pick me up. I don’t need or want you. Go home to the screamer,” Howard said. “Yeah, I heard you the other day.” Howard refused to turn in Cedric’s direction.

“I think you’d better go, buddy,” Gordy said firmly. “His friends will be here soon, and I daresay you better not be. I have a mind to call the police, and I can tell you they’ll find a charge for abandoning someone alongside the road, especially someone who can’t see.”

“Well, he….”

“Obviously he doesn’t need you, so get in your piece-of-shit car and go,” Gordy said forcefully. Howard wasn’t sure how big Gordy was, but Cedric wasn’t a small man, and Howard hoped Gordy wasn’t getting into trouble because of him.

“Go home to the screamer, Cedric, and leave me alone,” Howard said, and this time he heard someone turn around and walk away. He assumed it was Cedric, and when he heard the other car start, the engine rev, and then the spinning of tires, he figured Cedric was gone.

“What an asshole,” Gordy said. “How could you go out with a guy like that? He looks like a total sleazeball from the eighties. Some sort of Mick Jagger wannabe without the talent or the lips.” Gordy began to laugh.

Howard had heard some of the references, but they really didn’t mean much to him. He shrugged. “I guess that’s one of the disadvantages of being blind. I can’t see how people look or dress. I get to know the person on the inside. And why wouldn’t I be involved with him, or anyone? Am I ugly or something? Aren’t I good enough?” Howard asked indignantly and then began to get out of the truck. He wasn’t feeling exactly comfortable any longer.

“I didn’t mean it that way. Cedric was sort of a goombah, and you’re, well, very handsome and rather cute,” Gordy told him.

Howard wasn’t sure if he should be offended or not. Even he knew “cute” was the kiss of death. “Thanks, I think,” he said, and he smiled, staying in his seat. He knew others responded to visual cues, even if he didn’t. They were often something he had to think about. He rarely thought about smiling or how he appeared to others, just like he never really worried too much about what other people or things looked like. He was much more interested in the sounds things made or the way they smelled. Those had meaning for him, as did touch and taste. But the way things looked or the way he looked he never paid much attention to.

“You have a nice smile,” Gordy said, and Howard did it again. “Now you’re trying.”

“I’m always trying,” Howard replied. “I’ve never seen a smile, but I know they’re important. I’ve never seen anything.”

“So you were born blind?” Gordy asked.

“Yes. So I don’t really understand many things I’ve learned people look for in others. Cedric was always prompting me to do things like smile or nod. He said it made me look normal. My mom did it too, only she was nicer.” Howard chuckled again. “Maybe he was an asshole.”

“I don’t think there’s any ‘maybe’ about it,” Gordy said. Howard heard another car pulling up. “Now, these are probably your friends. It looks like two men and a child.”

“Those are my friends,” Howard said. Gordy helped him step down, and before he knew it, Howard was engulfed in a hug. He instantly knew Patrick was holding him, and he hugged the silent man back.

“Are you okay?” Ken asked.

“Yes,” Howard answered, and Patrick let him go. “I’m fine.”

“Thank you for staying with him,” Ken said, presumably to Gordy.

“It was my pleasure,” Gordy said. “We had a great talk, and I scared away the lying, cheating boyfriend. That was an added bonus.” Howard was engulfed in another hug, this one by someone he didn’t recognize, so it had to be Gordy. God, the man was huge. Like,
immense
, and strong, too, if his arms were any indication. Howard returned the hug, and he could barely get his arms around the man. “I’m glad I could keep you company,” Gordy said, and then the hug was over, much to Howard’s disappointment.

“Uncle Howard, are you really okay?” Hanna asked.

“Yes, sweetheart, I’m fine,” Howard told her.

“Get back in the car, Hanna. We’ll be in soon, and then we’ll all get ice cream,” Ken said before adding, “I have Kahlua at the house; we can fortify it if we need to.”

Howard was all for that. Patrick took his arm and guided him toward the car, using small touches to prompt him. It was funny to Howard: Patrick couldn’t talk, and over the year or so they’d been friends, they’d developed their own method of communication that involved various types of touch. Howard knew Patrick used sign language to communicate with Ken and Hanna, but to communicate with him, it was entirely different.

Howard had met Ken at the hospital. They’d ended up in the same waiting room and began talking. Ken had told him about Hanna and why they were there, and Howard had explained about his appointment for his eyes. It turned out Howard was in the wrong waiting room and ended up waiting a lot longer than he needed, but it was the best hospital waiting room experience he’d ever had. A few weeks later, Ken and Patrick had approached Howard as he waited for a concert at the park near his house. The music was awful, but the company made up for it, and almost before he knew it, Howard had made some of the kindest and most important friends he’d ever had.

Patrick had taught him signs that he made against Howard’s hand. That was enough for Howard to be able to understand what Patrick was saying. They also had developed simple auditory cues—one humph for no, two humphs for yes. That had been the system Patrick used when he’d answered the phone. For a man who couldn’t speak and another who couldn’t see, communication should be difficult, but it wasn’t. For them it came naturally, and Howard’s friendship with Patrick was something he treasured. Patrick tapped his arm lightly and placed Howard’s hand on the open car door. He used that as a guide and got himself settled in the backseat of the car.