Chapter Two Mateo
“B essie!” I called from the living room as I stood up from the couch. “Come here!”
The sound of paws came trotting through the house as she came running. I crouched down, holding my hands out until I felt her warm fur against my fingertips.
“Good girl,” I cooed, rubbing the sides of her face vigorously. She loved that. “Do you want to go to the beach?”
Furious tremors washed over her body as her tail wagged so fast it threatened to tip her over. I couldn’t help smiling as I scrubbed my fingers through her fur. Reaching out, I grabbed the bar at the top of her harness and got back to my feet.
“Let’s get our shoes on and we can go.”
Still wiggling like mad, Bessie led me to the front door. I could feel the heat of the sun streaming through the window, letting me know I was in the right place. Not to mention the walls closed in here, making the space sound smaller than normal. I sat down on the bench next to the door, reaching below it to pull out my shoes. My fingers grazed over a pair of leather sandals, the soft straps well-worn. The second pair was my tennis shoes, the smooth fabric cool to the touch, but not exactly what I was looking for.
“There you are,” I said as my fingers found the third pair.
Barefoot shoes were my favorite, and that’s what I slipped on. They had thin, but heavy tread at the bottom of the shoe that fit the curves of my feet perfectly. Both the fabric and the rubber were very flexible, not only making it easy to walk, but much easier to feel the shifts in the ground below me. With those on, I could easily tell what sort of surface I was walking on, and whether I had to take more care with my steps.
Bessie had her own shoes too, in a small box near the end of the bench. Since she was my seeing-eye dog, she went everywhere with me, regardless of the terrain. She was my lifeline in this world, and that meant I took amazingly good care of her. And that included her feet. I knew it was hot outside and there would be some concrete between the house and the beach. Not to mention the hot sand. I didn’t want her little beans to get burned.
“Paw,” I said, and Bessie immediately placed her paw in my lap.
She switched to the second without a command and then turned around, backing her butt up against my knees so I could slip her shoes onto her back feet. With both of us dressed, I stood up, pulled a hat off the rack next to the door, slipped on my sunglasses, and headed out with Bessie at my side.
The walk to the beach wasn’t long, but it was a bit winding. I lived in a condo development near Lake Michigan that was decently large. I was easily the youngest there, being only twenty-nine, but I didn’t mind. My neighbors were quiet and with my super sensitive hearing, that was a blessing. Plus, everyone knew my name and went out of their way to say hi to me. Being the token blind guy had its perks.
One day I wanted to get out into my own house, but the condo was so nice that I had a hard time convincing myself I could find anything better for a reasonable amount of money. I was lucky that my parents already owned the condo and were happy to let me stay there for free. But most days, I found myself aching for more independence from them. Sure, the condo was great and getting a house of my own was a massive undertaking that would require a much better job than I had now. But I still wanted to do it.
Everyone liked to treat me like I was made of glass, especially my parents. They didn’t understand that I could take care of myself. I shopped, I paid bills, and I even went out to restaurants and things all by myself. I was just like any other person except that I had the best dog in the world at my side the whole time. In many ways, I felt luckier than most people. But they didn’t see me that way. To them, I was an invalid.
I was just blind, not broken.
“Where are you going, Bessie?” I laughed, pulling her back toward the trail that would lead us to the beach.
I could hear the leaves rustling in the breeze and knew we’d gone about thirty too many steps for her to be taking me to the trail. She whined a bit, but corrected and pulled me up onto the grass. It was odd for her to pull me the wrong way, but then again, she’d been acting a bit restless lately. I reached down and gave her a pat on the side.
“We’re going to the beach, remember?” I paused, running my fingers through the fur on her stomach. “Feels like you could use the exercise, anyway. I’ve been giving you too many T-R-E-A-T-S, haven’t I?”
I don’t know why I bothered to spell it. She knew exactly what I meant, anyway. Slipping a hand in my pocket, I handed her a small treat for taking me to the trailhead and together we started down the boardwalk through the woods. My shoes made a dull thump on the wood as we walked, my hand trailing over the smooth metal railing that was hot from the sun. Meanwhile, Bessie’s nails clicked against the boards with rhythmic certainty.
The air stilled as we entered the trees, and I could smell the humidity rising. There was a small swamp between the condos and the beach. I imagined it was covered in cattails and willow. That’s what it sounded like, anyway. But I’d never been off the path. Jumping the railing was a bit of a gamble because sometimes there was standing water and other times it was just stinky swamp muck. Neither of those things sounded like a good time, and I doubted Bessie wanted to be part of that adventure.
We followed the boardwalk across the swamp and through a small patch of woods until I felt the ground below me begin to soften. The wind picked up, sunshine heated my skin, and the scent of the air shifted once more.
Lake Michigan .
The big lake always smelled cleaner than smaller lakes. Friends had described the water to me before, but I could tell from the scent that it was crystal clear. Heat rose off the sand, flickering around my shins and prickling my skin. In the distance, I could hear the waves crashing against the shore. It wasn’t terribly windy, and the crash wasn’t quite a roar. The water would be safe to go into as long as I didn’t go past my knees. As much as I loved the lake, I was a bit terrified of being bowled over by a wave. With the multiple sandbars and big waves, the lake could very easily be my downfall if I got turned around in rough water. Because of that, I offered it a healthy amount of respect.
“Let’s go to the water, Bessie,” I said, giving her a small push.
The beach sounded lively, but not packed as Bessie led me through the people lazing on the beach. Several of them turned and let out an audible awww as we passed by. More than one clicked their tongue in disapproval in my direction. Hardwood Beach was a no dog beach. But they couldn’t legally stop me from having a service animal. However, that never stopped some Karen from trying to give me an earful about it. The way they acted, you’d think Bessie purposefully shit in their lunchboxes on a daily basis.
We made it to the water without issue and I felt Bessie lean down and lap at the cool water. I knelt down beside her, letting the low waves wash over my feet without care. The shoes were built to get wet. Plus, if I was being honest, the squelching sound they made as I walked back to the condo made me laugh.
I lifted my head, eyes facing the lake and the horizon in the distance. If I tried hard enough, I could conjure up a mental image of what it might look like. But I’d never been to the lake as a kid and after my accident, it was too late to take one last mental picture.
A sigh escaped my lips. Life had been pretty lonely since then. The moment I got back from the hospital, I was taken away from all the other kids and put into a special needs classroom. The area we were in didn’t have much money, so I was pretty much stuffed in a corner to do my work while the two teachers desperately tried to keep up with other children that had more needs than I did.
I didn’t get the chance to grow up with the friends I’d made or date or explore who I was. Instead, I was eventually stuck at home being taught math by my parents, who had no idea what they were doing. Social interactions dwindled to nearly zero, and it wasn’t until college I even figured out I was gay.
At first I thought guys might be into a blind boyfriend. It was different, and they didn’t have to worry about how they looked at the time because, well, I couldn’t see them . I thought it would be a perk. But the men I did talk to only wanted to be friends with me. Apparently, the blind thing was a bit more of a factor than I’d anticipated.
When college was over, I got Bessie, moved into the condo, and gave up on trying to date. The right guy would come along eventually, right? Until then, I just had to live my life to the fullest and hope fate would intervene.
A splash sounded nearby, and my head snapped up toward the noise. It only took me a second to realize it was someone running through the water and jumping into the lake. Bessie turned in their direction too, watching the scene unfold. I caught a hint of a leathery cologne and citrus. However, all that was gone a moment later when the biggest splash faded, and I heard whoever it was resurface. I heard their sigh of relief as they started to swim. Whoever it was, they were happy to be there.
Standing upright, I nudged Bessie along and we started down the beach. It was hot out, so we only walked for ten minutes in one direction before turning around again. I followed the winding edge of the beach, always keeping one foot on dry land while the other caught the very edge of the waves. The sound of people never died away as we walked and several of them moved out of our way as we went, recognizing Bessie’s harness as she led me around.
By the time we got back to where we started, sweat was gathering at the small of my back and I was ready to get out of the sun.
“Come on, Bessie,” I said, patting her side. “Let’s go home.”
I’d only taken three steps when my shoulder collided forcefully with something hard.
“Hey!” a man’s voice said not two feet from my ear. It was definitely in the tenor range, but with a distinct edge of exhaustion to it. “Watch where you’re going, dickhead!”
I glanced his direction, but I could hear him already stomping away through the sand.
“Oh yeah,” I called back sarcastically. “Tell the blind guy to watch where he’s going! Great advice!”
I scoffed, pushing Bessie forward. Sometimes I missed having a social life and then there were moments, like right now, where I was happy I didn’t have to be around people. The amount of assholes in the world was astounding. I’m just glad I didn’t have to look at them, too. Anyone who was that much of an ass probably looked like one, too. And not the good kind either.
But that got me thinking.
I missed ass . It had been far too long since I’d gotten laid. Good thing I had some toys at home that were ready whenever I needed them.
Picking up the pace, I headed for home.