Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 92930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
“Okay.”
I’d gotten myself into this mess, and now, I would have to literally clean it up.
About a half-hour into scrubbing the floors downstairs, I checked to make sure the kitchen was dry before removing the sign. The plan was to venture upstairs next. I’d assumed Ivy was up there since all of the bathrooms and the residents’ bedrooms were located on the second and third floors.
A tall, dark-skinned man donning sunglasses entered the kitchen. He was walking extremely slowly before he sat down.
He caught me off guard when he spoke. “Hey, beautiful.”
“Hi.”
“Smile. You look gorgeous today, by the way. And you’re doing a great job.”
“Thank you. That’s…uh…nice of you to say.”
“It’s not that nice.”
“What?”
“I don’t really know how you look. I’m blind. I’m a ball buster.”
“Oh.” I laughed. “I see.”
“Yes, you do, but I don’t.”
“Right. Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. It’s a beautiful thing sometimes. I get to see everyone for what they really are on the inside without the bullshit on the outside—the masks that people wear.”
“That’s an interesting way of putting it.”
“I can also pretend that every woman looks like Halle Berry. That helps.”
“Yes, I suppose it does.” I chuckled. “How do you know…um…”
“How do I know what Halle Berry looks like?”
“Yeah.”
“I wasn’t always blind.”
It wasn’t any of my business, but I was really curious. I whispered, “What happened to you?”
He pointed to the floor. “You missed a spot.”
I flipped around. “Where?”
“Now, how’s a blind man gonna see if you missed a spot? I told you. I’m a ball buster.”
I smacked my forehead. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Leo.”
“Hi, Leo. I’m Ni…uh, Shari.”
“Niashari. Interesting name. To answer your question, I lost my sight in Iraq. It was a roadside bomb. I’m a soldier.”
His admission jarred me into silence. Leaning my mop against the sink, I pulled up a seat across from him. “Wow. I’m sorry. Thank you for your service, Leo.”
“Don’t look so depressed.”
“I thought you couldn’t see me.”
“That is correct. You’re getting better at anticipating my tricks, Niashari.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ve never seen you here before,” he said.
“Is that another trick?”
“Actually, that one wasn’t. But that would’ve been a good one, too.”
“So, how long have you lived here?”
“A couple of years. It’s hard to get into one of these state funded homes, so I jumped at the chance. It’s not exactly the best fit for me. Most of the people here have behavioral challenges, but I need the assistance with daily living. And believe me, being here definitely helps me realize that there are people with way bigger issues than mine. It’s sort of like the opposite of ‘the grass is greener.’ We all have crosses to bear. They’re just different.”
“That’s funny. My husband says that same exact thing, that everyone has a cross.”
“Your husband’s a wise man. And probably damn lucky, too.”
I could see myself smiling in the reflection of his sunglasses.
“Thank you.” The chair skidded against the floor as I got up. “Well, I should get back to work. It was really nice meeting you.”
As I started to walk away, his voice stopped me. “Hey, Niashari. Whatever’s bothering you, it will be okay, you know.”
“How can you tell something’s bothering me?”
“I sat on the stairs and listened to you cleaning for a while before I came in here. The way you were breathing seemed off and something about your voice just now…I can tell. The inability to see with my eyes sometimes makes me more in tune to everything else.”
“Well, you’re very perceptive. But running into you actually helped calm my nerves. So, thanks.”
“You could be butt ugly for all I know, Niashari. But you’re a ten in my book for taking the time to chat with me. Not many people who walk in here give me the time of day. You’re good people.”
My eyes began to water. “Thank you, Leo. The pleasure is all mine, believe me.”
As I carried the mop and bucket to the second floor, I thought about how sometimes God will place someone in your path at just the right time. Leo demonstrated that no matter the hardship, it’s your attitude that will determine the quality of your life. At the same time, he made me realize how fortunate I was. He couldn’t have known how much that little interaction meant to me. It was the one thing that gave me the strength to face whatever I’d find at the top of those stairs.
***
My hands shook as I wrung out the sponge while trying my best not to breathe in the fumes of the chemicals. Using rubber gloves, over the past forty-five minutes, I’d cleaned two toilets, two tile floors and scoured orange crud off of two bathtubs.
Abandoning the cleaning supplies in the corner of the second bathroom, I walked down the hall. My heart pounded as I peeked into whichever bedrooms were open.
In one room, a blonde woman who looked to be in her early twenties stared vacantly at a television. That couldn’t have been Ivy. She was too young. And I did know that Ivy had red hair. That was pretty much all I knew about what she looked like since I never asked Jake to show me a picture.