Love Comes in Darkness Read Online Free PDF

through a few dozen more. Then he instructed the computer to develop the voice profile and to use that voice as the default.
    “It sounds like me,” Hanna said when Howard’s computer began using her voice. There were some phrases where it sounded like a computer with Hanna’s pitch and some more complex phrases that it couldn’t compute, but by and large it was Hanna’s voice. “That’s really cool. Can we do Daddy?”
    “Not now, you little scamp,” Ken said, and Hanna giggled and squirmed next to Howard. “You need to change into the outfit you picked out for the party. Guests will be arriving soon, and Uncle Howard needs a chance to put his things away and clean up a bit.” Hanna’s giggles softened as they got farther away. Howard saved his work and shut down his computer before packing it into its bag. Then he located his cane at his feet and stood up, then made his way to the bedroom he’d been given for his brief stay.
    He put things away and changed into what he hoped was a nicer shirt. Then he did his best at grooming and used the bathroom before following the voices. He wasn’t as familiar with the terrain here as he was at home, but he’d spent enough time here that he could pretty much get around. “The party is in the backyard,” Ken told him and led him carefully out into the warm summer air. “Here’s a nice chair in the shade.”
    “Thanks,” Howard said and felt for the arms before lowering himself down. “I don’t want to be a bother.”
    “You aren’t. All three of us love having you here. Hanna adores you, and we consider you part of the family.” Ken lightly gripped his shoulder. “I have some things to finish getting ready. But I’ll be back soon.”
    “Okay. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine,” Howard said. Parties tended to be difficult. There were lots of people and often children running around. Voices mingled with each other, and unless someone was speaking directly to him, his surroundings became muddled in his mind. Also, people tended to say hello and then move on because they never seemed to know what else to say to him. It could be awkward for both him and other people. So he didn’t often go to events like this. But Ken and Patrick had asked him, and he hadn’t wanted to disappoint them. He’d had no idea the whole thing would turn into a bit of an adventure.
    Ken pressed a glass into his hand. “I brought you a beer.”
    “I appreciate it,” Howard said, and he heard Ken rush away.
    Within minutes, people began arriving. He recognized some of the voices and he received many hugs and greetings. Some people sat in the chair next to him and talked for a few minutes before moving on. Soon the area around him was filled with voices, bits of conversation reaching his ears, only to be overlapped with others. Sometimes he wasn’t sure when others were speaking to him unless they addressed him first.
    “Hi.” Howard recognized Gordy’s voice immediately, and the deep, resonant tone went right down his spine. He’d definitely like to get him to talk into his computer so he could use his voice every day. Man, that would be something: a computer voice that sounded like Gordy. “I was looking forward to seeing you today.”
    “You knew you were coming yesterday?” Howard heard the chair next to him move. “Why didn’t you say something?” Howard asked, turning toward the chair.
    “I didn’t, actually,” Gordy began, and Howard realized someone else had sat down in the chair. He really disliked it when people sat next to him and didn’t say anything. He was wearing dark glasses and holding a white cane. It wasn’t that hard to figure out, and it was only polite. Howard turned away from whoever had sat down. “My friend Kyle was coming alone and asked me to be his plus one. I figured things out when he told me who was throwing it. And then since I knew you were going to be here, I began to look forward to it even more.” A chair scraped over the