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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Love stories / Romance
- Subject: Love / Romance / Dating
- Published: 04/07/2018
The big kid and the blind girl.
Born 1951, M, from Wilmington NC, United States“Well, it’s now or never.” The big kid with red hair thought to himself.
He had wanted to meet her since the first day of school. After what she said in class today, well, he had to meet her.
Two weeks of school was already over with, and he still had not acted on his original impulse to ask her out. Oh he had found out little stuff. She was seventeen, blind, was a great student, a good dancer, and her name was Elizabeth. But so far nobody had succeeded in getting her to go out with them. That made the big kid leery. I mean as pretty as she is, she should have had bunches of dates. And she was a Senior too.
Guys must be idiots if they hadn’t asked her out. Or maybe she just turned them all down. Maybe they didn’t want to go out with a blind girl. I mean you can’t ask her to a movie, can you? He didn’t know how to answer his own questions. Heck, he had never known a blind person personally. He had never asked a girl out either. If she said: “Yes.” She would be his first date- ever. And he thought he might faint if she said yes. I mean how lucky can a guy get?
But today, when they were in Physics Class and she told the teacher that pure reason would explain that Einstein’s equations were true- well that stunned him. He was spellbound as her clear logic, pure reason, put his math skills to shame. And he had plenty of Math Skills.
No one at school knew that he owned a small Computer Company that used computational math to sift through large data blocks. He started when that company when he was only twelve. He now had sixteen employees, an Office Manager, and a reputation for fast, solid, groundbreaking work. He had never been to school, so he decided to move to this little town outside of a big city and start High School as a Junior. Only the Principal knew who he really was.
To everyone else he was just a big gangly kid. Six foot five in his bare feet, almost six foot seven with his boots on. Shoulders so broad that when he went to a movie, he always sat at the very back of the theater so no one behind him could complain they couldn’t see the movie. His red hair was such a deep dark red that he listed it as Mahogany on his Driver’s license. His hands were enormous. He could reach almost two octaves on the Piano- and when he did play the piano, those same long strong fingers could caress the keys with the perfect balance between strength and finesse.
His goal was to sell his Company after High School, move to Europe and become a Concert Pianist. He never thought about having a girlfriend, or even a date. Until he saw her. When he heard her reasoning about Light and Gravity- well, the deal was done. He had to ask her out. He had too. Beauty and brains, together? Plus the sweetest smile since the Mona Lisa smirked at the world all those centuries ago? He wasn’t the bravest guy in the world, but he would ask her out. If she said no. Well, he would be in good company with all the other would be suitors.
Then his thoughts drifted back to what she said- for the millionth time that day:
“Mrs. Howard, of course Gravity bends light. Those early Michelson-Morely experiments in 1897 proved that there was no Aether, and that light had a constant speed. The wavelength is so short that light always goes in a straight line. So Einstein just figured out that if light bent around the sun, there could only be one explanation: SpaceTime was curved by gravity “bending the light.” The light itself was never “bent.”
Everyone in the room stared at her. (He wondered if she knew that?) Mrs. Howard simply said: “Just so, Elizabeth. Just so.” Everyone in the class knew without a doubt that Elizabeth was special in more ways than just being blind. The Big Kid understood just how special. It was an Honors Class, and an honor to be in it with her- is how he felt then.
She was sitting at the table in the lunch room. Sitting by herself as she often did. The few girls that tried to befriend her usually left the table when she started talking about things like Black Holes and Information Loss. And she didn’t know how to talk about hair, hot guys, or pop-idols. She did date a few guys her Freshman year - but all they wanted was her body. She didn’t have to see to see through that rather quickly. So she just didn’t date.
The voice caught her completely by surprise. She knew he was tall, because the voice came from way above where a “normal” voice would. She also knew what kind of person he was from the tone of his voice which echoed kindness in its every note. She turned her head to look up, already smiling from the hints in his voice. She wondered if sighted people ever knew how much emotion, intelligence (or lack of it) was in their words. His words were loaded with feeling, thought, and …kindness. So she listened.
“Excuse me, Elizabeth. I am in your Honors Physics Class with you, and well…er…uh…”
“Yes?”
Something in her tone broke through his shyness- to let his thoughts out in words.
“Well, I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me on Friday, I mean if you don’t have a boyfriend or something.”
Elizabeth didn’t need eyes to see he was blushing. Nor did she need eyes to read the hope in his voice. She was surprised to hear that his words were already colored with affection if not outright full of liking. So she answered in kind:
“I do not have a boyfriend. I never have.”
He interrupted in a burst of boyish charm:
“Good. I mean, well, you know, uh…”
She smiled and reached for his hand- which he noticed in the abstract, since his hand seemed to be headed towards hers without consenting with him first. She gripped his giant hand in her fingers with a light, firm, confident touch. A little laugh came out of her mouth.
“That’s okay. It is good. You don’t have to worry about a jealous boyfriend, or rejection either. “ Her hand squeezed his.
“You…you…you mean you will go out with me?”
Now his voice was colored with all the warmth and stickiness of maple syrup running down the sides of pancakes. Pure delight candied each word.
Her words back had that same syrupy delight covering them too:
“Yes. But first you have to let me see what you look like.”
“Oh. How do you do that?”
“I just feel your face with my hands. It is like reading braille, or sculpting clay, with the right touch, I can know what you look like.”
“Okay, but I am pretty tall, so I will have to sit down so you can reach my face without being awkward about it.”
She could tell by the swiveling of his body, and the pressure of the turn in his hand, which she still held in hers, that he had taken a seat at the table facing her. With one hand on each of side of her hips, he gently guided her to stand directly in front of him. His head just a little below her nose. With a gentle flowing motion he took his hands off of her hips, and guided both her hands, one to each side of his face. Then he dropped his hands.
“Do I close my eyes or something?’
She laughed in a way that melts away awkward comments in a sea of “don’t be silly”.
“No. Just relax. “
So he did.
Her hands did just what she had said, they sculpted his face for her. It was a good face; cheerful, solid, kind and strong with touches of laughter and thoughtfulness around the eyes. He had high cheekbones, a nose that had to have freckles spotted on it, and a jaw that squared just enough to border on handsome.
“What color are your eyes?”
“Green.”
“Your hair?”
“Well, they call it red, but it is a kind of Mahogany like an old church pew.”
She laughed again. She could feel his skin blush as he realized she never saw an old church pews color, or any other color for that matter.
“You paint a good word picture. Don’t be ashamed, I wasn’t alway blind. I lost my sight from an infection when I was ten. And I can picture your hair and eyes going together very well with the shape of your face.”
He reached up with one of his giant hands, the long strong fingers gently edging up the outside her arm onto the back of her hand. Once it covered her whole hand - he surprised her by leaning into her palm and saying:
“Thank you for your understanding. I might say lots of stupid things that people that see don’t realize are stupid. Please forgive me - I never want to hurt you because I think like a sighted person.”
This time it was her strong hands that pulled his face up to look at hers. Her eyes might be lifeless but her face and lips weren’t. She knew his eyes closed as she brought the softness of her lips to the fullness of his. Butterflies couldn’t have kissed more gently, nor could they have lingered without hurry either. Her lips did both.
When she stopped the kiss, she leaned her head on the top of his mahogany hair, which smelled delicious to her. He bowed his head to let her. His arms seemed to have found a way to wrap around her without binding, but bonding. And so they stood. Both unseeing, one because his eyes were closed, the other because her eyes were open, yet both seeing a future that neither had even a hint of just moments earlier.
They both heard the quiet exclamation from the girls just outside the lunch room:
“Oh. My. Gosh. Look at that !” Whispered in awe.
“What?”
“In the lunch room. Look at the big kid and the blind girl. It looks like True Love!”
You didn’t need eyes to see the smiles on the Big Kid or the Blind Girl- you just had to have a heart to see with.
The big kid and the blind girl.(Kevin Hughes)
“Well, it’s now or never.” The big kid with red hair thought to himself.
He had wanted to meet her since the first day of school. After what she said in class today, well, he had to meet her.
Two weeks of school was already over with, and he still had not acted on his original impulse to ask her out. Oh he had found out little stuff. She was seventeen, blind, was a great student, a good dancer, and her name was Elizabeth. But so far nobody had succeeded in getting her to go out with them. That made the big kid leery. I mean as pretty as she is, she should have had bunches of dates. And she was a Senior too.
Guys must be idiots if they hadn’t asked her out. Or maybe she just turned them all down. Maybe they didn’t want to go out with a blind girl. I mean you can’t ask her to a movie, can you? He didn’t know how to answer his own questions. Heck, he had never known a blind person personally. He had never asked a girl out either. If she said: “Yes.” She would be his first date- ever. And he thought he might faint if she said yes. I mean how lucky can a guy get?
But today, when they were in Physics Class and she told the teacher that pure reason would explain that Einstein’s equations were true- well that stunned him. He was spellbound as her clear logic, pure reason, put his math skills to shame. And he had plenty of Math Skills.
No one at school knew that he owned a small Computer Company that used computational math to sift through large data blocks. He started when that company when he was only twelve. He now had sixteen employees, an Office Manager, and a reputation for fast, solid, groundbreaking work. He had never been to school, so he decided to move to this little town outside of a big city and start High School as a Junior. Only the Principal knew who he really was.
To everyone else he was just a big gangly kid. Six foot five in his bare feet, almost six foot seven with his boots on. Shoulders so broad that when he went to a movie, he always sat at the very back of the theater so no one behind him could complain they couldn’t see the movie. His red hair was such a deep dark red that he listed it as Mahogany on his Driver’s license. His hands were enormous. He could reach almost two octaves on the Piano- and when he did play the piano, those same long strong fingers could caress the keys with the perfect balance between strength and finesse.
His goal was to sell his Company after High School, move to Europe and become a Concert Pianist. He never thought about having a girlfriend, or even a date. Until he saw her. When he heard her reasoning about Light and Gravity- well, the deal was done. He had to ask her out. He had too. Beauty and brains, together? Plus the sweetest smile since the Mona Lisa smirked at the world all those centuries ago? He wasn’t the bravest guy in the world, but he would ask her out. If she said no. Well, he would be in good company with all the other would be suitors.
Then his thoughts drifted back to what she said- for the millionth time that day:
“Mrs. Howard, of course Gravity bends light. Those early Michelson-Morely experiments in 1897 proved that there was no Aether, and that light had a constant speed. The wavelength is so short that light always goes in a straight line. So Einstein just figured out that if light bent around the sun, there could only be one explanation: SpaceTime was curved by gravity “bending the light.” The light itself was never “bent.”
Everyone in the room stared at her. (He wondered if she knew that?) Mrs. Howard simply said: “Just so, Elizabeth. Just so.” Everyone in the class knew without a doubt that Elizabeth was special in more ways than just being blind. The Big Kid understood just how special. It was an Honors Class, and an honor to be in it with her- is how he felt then.
She was sitting at the table in the lunch room. Sitting by herself as she often did. The few girls that tried to befriend her usually left the table when she started talking about things like Black Holes and Information Loss. And she didn’t know how to talk about hair, hot guys, or pop-idols. She did date a few guys her Freshman year - but all they wanted was her body. She didn’t have to see to see through that rather quickly. So she just didn’t date.
The voice caught her completely by surprise. She knew he was tall, because the voice came from way above where a “normal” voice would. She also knew what kind of person he was from the tone of his voice which echoed kindness in its every note. She turned her head to look up, already smiling from the hints in his voice. She wondered if sighted people ever knew how much emotion, intelligence (or lack of it) was in their words. His words were loaded with feeling, thought, and …kindness. So she listened.
“Excuse me, Elizabeth. I am in your Honors Physics Class with you, and well…er…uh…”
“Yes?”
Something in her tone broke through his shyness- to let his thoughts out in words.
“Well, I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me on Friday, I mean if you don’t have a boyfriend or something.”
Elizabeth didn’t need eyes to see he was blushing. Nor did she need eyes to read the hope in his voice. She was surprised to hear that his words were already colored with affection if not outright full of liking. So she answered in kind:
“I do not have a boyfriend. I never have.”
He interrupted in a burst of boyish charm:
“Good. I mean, well, you know, uh…”
She smiled and reached for his hand- which he noticed in the abstract, since his hand seemed to be headed towards hers without consenting with him first. She gripped his giant hand in her fingers with a light, firm, confident touch. A little laugh came out of her mouth.
“That’s okay. It is good. You don’t have to worry about a jealous boyfriend, or rejection either. “ Her hand squeezed his.
“You…you…you mean you will go out with me?”
Now his voice was colored with all the warmth and stickiness of maple syrup running down the sides of pancakes. Pure delight candied each word.
Her words back had that same syrupy delight covering them too:
“Yes. But first you have to let me see what you look like.”
“Oh. How do you do that?”
“I just feel your face with my hands. It is like reading braille, or sculpting clay, with the right touch, I can know what you look like.”
“Okay, but I am pretty tall, so I will have to sit down so you can reach my face without being awkward about it.”
She could tell by the swiveling of his body, and the pressure of the turn in his hand, which she still held in hers, that he had taken a seat at the table facing her. With one hand on each of side of her hips, he gently guided her to stand directly in front of him. His head just a little below her nose. With a gentle flowing motion he took his hands off of her hips, and guided both her hands, one to each side of his face. Then he dropped his hands.
“Do I close my eyes or something?’
She laughed in a way that melts away awkward comments in a sea of “don’t be silly”.
“No. Just relax. “
So he did.
Her hands did just what she had said, they sculpted his face for her. It was a good face; cheerful, solid, kind and strong with touches of laughter and thoughtfulness around the eyes. He had high cheekbones, a nose that had to have freckles spotted on it, and a jaw that squared just enough to border on handsome.
“What color are your eyes?”
“Green.”
“Your hair?”
“Well, they call it red, but it is a kind of Mahogany like an old church pew.”
She laughed again. She could feel his skin blush as he realized she never saw an old church pews color, or any other color for that matter.
“You paint a good word picture. Don’t be ashamed, I wasn’t alway blind. I lost my sight from an infection when I was ten. And I can picture your hair and eyes going together very well with the shape of your face.”
He reached up with one of his giant hands, the long strong fingers gently edging up the outside her arm onto the back of her hand. Once it covered her whole hand - he surprised her by leaning into her palm and saying:
“Thank you for your understanding. I might say lots of stupid things that people that see don’t realize are stupid. Please forgive me - I never want to hurt you because I think like a sighted person.”
This time it was her strong hands that pulled his face up to look at hers. Her eyes might be lifeless but her face and lips weren’t. She knew his eyes closed as she brought the softness of her lips to the fullness of his. Butterflies couldn’t have kissed more gently, nor could they have lingered without hurry either. Her lips did both.
When she stopped the kiss, she leaned her head on the top of his mahogany hair, which smelled delicious to her. He bowed his head to let her. His arms seemed to have found a way to wrap around her without binding, but bonding. And so they stood. Both unseeing, one because his eyes were closed, the other because her eyes were open, yet both seeing a future that neither had even a hint of just moments earlier.
They both heard the quiet exclamation from the girls just outside the lunch room:
“Oh. My. Gosh. Look at that !” Whispered in awe.
“What?”
“In the lunch room. Look at the big kid and the blind girl. It looks like True Love!”
You didn’t need eyes to see the smiles on the Big Kid or the Blind Girl- you just had to have a heart to see with.
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