"What?" Nick couldn’t believe what she was telling him. "I was blind once Nick, so I know very well what it is like." "How?" Kathy put her hand out to him and helped him up to sit on the couch. "I was born blind Nick. I couldn’t see until I was 18." His face wore an expression of confusion and disbelief. "You were blind?" "Yes, I was." she said patiently. "But what happened?" "I was born blind Nick. I grew up not being able to see. Of course, it was a bit easier for me since I didn’t have my sight taken away, like you did. When I reached my teens I was suddenly able to see some larger things, but it was almost like seeing with cataracts, very murky. I was sent to specialist after specialist, until we found one that thought he could perform an operation that would bring me my sight fully." Kathy paused and looked up at Nick. "I had to wait 2 weeks before I could take the bandages off my eyes. Seeing you in the hospital brought back so many memories to me." "What happened?" "When the time was up I went back to the hospital and they removed the bandages. I had my eyes shut tight and slowly opened them." "Could you see?" Nick was almost breathless in anticipation for the rest of her story. "I could, it was still a bit foggy, but nothing like it had been. I could see my parents for the first time." Kathy brushed away a tear and noticed that Nick was tearing up too. "It was the most beautiful thing Nick. To see the trees and sky, flowers and animals, children..." "Did the fogginess go away?" "No, I have to wear glasses. Here." She took his hand and guided it to her face to let him feel the thickness of her lens. "I am still considered legally blind without the glasses." Nick touched the glasses in wonderment and let his hand stay wrapped up with hers as she dropped her arm to her lap. "But you can see." "For now. My vision has been getting slightly worse in the past couple of years. My doctor said it may be just a matter of time before I can’t see again." "That would be awful." Nick murmured sympathetically. "But I can deal with it, I have seen and I was never supposed to. It’s a wonderful gift."
Nick nodded his head in agreement. "I’ve been stupid, haven’t I?" he said, thinking how he had been acting to her and others. Kathy laughed lightly. "No Nick, you haven’t been stupid. Like I said, sight is a wonderful gift. If I had it all along and it was taken from me who knows how I would react?" "But you’ve been through so much and you handled it so well." Nick protested. "I never knew what it was like to see Nick. I was born sightless, it was normal for me." He sat and let all the information she had just told him sink into his brain. Kathy glanced down and realized that she and Nick were comfortably holding hands. She began to stroke the back of his hand with her thumb. Nick smiled at the gesture. "I guess maybe you are the perfect person for me then, aren’t you?" "Well, the perfect person for the job maybe." He tried to hide a yawn with the back of his hand. Kathy glanced at her watch. "C’mon we have a busy day tomorrow. You need your sleep." "What are we doing?" "We have to go see your doctor to check your heart, and basic overall health. We have to pick up various things to help you continue to live a normal life, we have to..." Nick interrupted her. "We have to find out where my dogs are, can we do that?" "You have dogs?" Nick smiled. "Yeah, two little pugs Micky and Houston., they are my babies." Kathy smiled. "Yeah, I’ll call the dragon lady and find out where they are." She gasped when she realized that she had spoken aloud. "I’m sorry Nick. I didn’t mean anything by it." "It’s okay, mom can be a bit demanding when she wants to be." "But she is your mother, Nick." He grinned. "I’ve called her worse, trust me!"
Kathy stood and stretched. "Okay, let’s get ourselves back to bed." Nick stood and waited for her to take his hand before he moved an inch. "We’ll start you learning how to navigate tomorrow too." Kathy assured him. "It’s not too difficult." "Can’t prove it by me." he mumbled, as he shuffled along beside her. "It will come Nick. It takes time." She reached his bedroom door and led him to the bed. Nick laid down and pulled the blankets over his legs awkwardly. Kathy smiled and smoothed them for him, folding the blanket at his waist. "Thank you Kathy. I appreciate everything you’ve done, even if it might not seem like it." He reached his hand up and she allowed him to clasp hers. "I know you do Nick." She squeezed his hand in return, before she let it go. "You get a good sleep, hun, and I’ll see you in the morning, okay?" She shut the door quietly and went back to her assigned room to grab some nightclothes. "I guess one night here won’t hurt. I’ll switch rooms tomorrow." Kathy yawned to her image in the mirror. "If I don’t get some sleep, we won’t be doing anything tomorrow!" She brushed her teeth and pulled on her night shirt. The bed was so comfortable she was almost asleep before her head hit the pillow.