If there was a word to describe Ten it would be "whole". As I gradually got to know him better I found there was so much to the man, that I ceased to be surprised when I learned more. I felt pretty one-dimensional by comparison, and yet he claimed to find me fascinating.
Working with him was like going through college again. Everyone respected him because he was so dedicated to his work, but after a while he seemed less enthusiastic about the project, fortunately it was drawing to a close by then.
One afternoon he confided in me that he was feeling increasingly dissatisfied about his work, even freelance, and wanted to just go out and do his own thing and hope for the best. No more contracts. Just to create. I understood that. I'd never had the confidence to do it myself but I was ready to back him up. So immediately I offered to support him, to provide a regular paycheck, and even to give him a home. It was just a matter of time before he moved in anyway.
"That's a great offer, but I won't be doing this around here. I want to get on the road....and I want you to come with me."
On the road....wow. It sounded exciting but I'd never done anything so daring. I had to give it some thought, and he understood that.
"You're almost forcing my hand Ten, because I can't let you go without me..."
"I know" he said, grinning.
Naturally I turned to my sister and my friend Steph for counsel. I invited them both over on an evening Ten was busy selling his apartment. He had made up his mind, at least.
Maggie immediately said "GO". No qualms at all.
"You can't lose HIM, don't even consider it"
I hadn't.
But Steph was more wary "It sounds a bit flighty, really, what does he think he is, some kind of Gypsy?"
Actually, that was how I saw him. He didn't exactly sing to me under a balcomy but in many other respects he was my minstrel. His words, sometimes, were poetic, and he was very romantic. A dying art. He had said to me once
"When I'm with you life has a meaning."
And I'd just melted. I started thinking of times like that and was actually zoning out of what the girls were saying to me, but Maggie brought me up sharp with
"We will miss you so much"
Maybe that was what was holding me back. My friends, and poor Maggie who had come to live here to be near me, although she had a life of her own now. I had a life here too, but somehow, as much as it pulled, the need to be with my man was winning.
As we were talking Ten arrived. Maggie gushed, as always and Steph went very quiet when he greeted her - which was not like her at all. At the first opportunity she grabbed me in the kitchen while I was fetching snacks, and said
"You're right! He does look amazing in glasses".
I had forgotten, of course, she'd never seen him wear them. She'd never seen him outside work before. That was my priviledge. I noticed her looking at him quite longingly several times during the evening, and smiled to myself. Mine, I thought.
Then he did something I didn't expect. It was getting quite late, we were all yawning, and he took off his glasses and laid them on the table in front of him, and gently rubbed his eyes.
It was something he often did when we were alone together, at the end of a long day, but knowing how self-conscious he was about the way his eyes looked when he didn't wear them I was surprised that he'd let Maggie and Steph see. They both noticed immediately, I could tell. Steph looked uncomfortable and stopped looking at him. That was weird. Maybe that was what bothered him so much. But Maggie, being Maggie said
"Are your eyes tired?"
And he nodded, and smiled like he was relieved she understood. Maybe it was something she'd seen before, on one of her conquests. And she didn't take her eyes off him until she felt mine burn into the side of her head. Oh I knew she was attracted to him, and I didn't really mind that much, I trusted her, and I sympathized! But enough was enough! She grinned at me seeing my disapproving look at her, and looked coy. Ten put his glasses back on, Steph resumed eye contact with him, Maggie looked disappointed, and I relaxed.
Unfazed, Maggie asked him his prescription. He looked a bit confused.
"I'm not really sure. Hold on."
And he went through his wallet, found a slip of paper and handed it to Maggie.
"Oh," she said, mystifying me even more "It's quite complex isn't it?"
Ten just laughed. And with that she handed it back to him leaving me hanging.
Steph was starting to look really sleepy, and Ten offered to drive her home, as Maggie, who'd brought her, seemed to be in no hurry to leave as usual. So after they'd gone I grilled her.
"Maggie, you seem to know more about Ten's eyes than he does, explain it to me. I'm fascinated. I don't know why, but I just am."
"Understandable" she said "It IS fascinating. I've been studying this stuff for years."
"I THOUGHT you must have" I told her "You seem so knowledgeable"
"Well" she confessed "I make a point of only dating men who wear glasses, surely you've noticed that?"
Sort of, well, recently it had occurred to me, looking back.
"Oh Teresa you are so.......oblivious....sometimes!"
Well gee thanks. So I told her the truth
"I have always shared your preference, I just never knew you shared mine, as it were. Seems funny now."
We laughed, a lot.
"Oh Maggie, you're a good sister. Now tell me, what does his prescription say?"
"Well it's a medium minus with a lot of cylinder and a little prism too"
"HUH?"
"Didn't think so........"
"WHAT?"
"Where do I start........."
And she tried, I mean really tried to explain it to me, but she lost me fairly quickly. I got as far as the difference between concave and convex, I knew those from shapes I drew at work, but once she tried to explain in 3D, I didn't get it. I tried. I couldn't grasp how a glass lens could do three things at once, frankly. But whatever helped my man see, worked for me. I just liked looking at them.
"Teresa, you are telling me that all your life, just like me, you've been watching men in glasses, but you've never picked up on the differences in lenses?"
"Well, a bit. I can tell if they're nearsighted or farsighted, and if they're weak or strong. I knew Ten was nearsighted."
"Didn't you think his glasses looked a little unusual?"
"I just.......like them..........."
"Well I understand that! He's a rare find, I mean, he's good-looking to begin with, don't look at me like that, I won't touch him, but he IS, and you know it, he's pin-up stuff. Then, bonus #1 he wears glasses, bonus #2 he looks really good in them, and bonus #3 they're a bit out of the ordinary. He's the sort of guy that even girls who don't care much for glasses would agree - they work on him. Some guys are like that. And you found one!"
Yes, I did, and I was going to keep him. I would go with him wherever he wanted me too.
"I'm going to miss you Maggie"
She smiled and hugged me tight.
"Take your Gypsy lover and have a great time. Just don't stay away forever."
Ten arrived back, and saw the tears in our eyes. He smiled. He knew.
