Love Comes in Darkness Read Online Free PDF Page B

decking, bringing it closer. Howard hoped it was Gordy. “I hope you didn’t have any more trouble with the ex.”
    Howard scoffed. “He rearranged the furniture in my living room so I wouldn’t be able to get around. Patrick got the key back from him and probably put the fear of God and everything else into him.”
    “Do you need anything to eat or drink?” Gordy asked. “There’s beer and soda, from what I understand, as well as a table full of food.”
    “Anything is good,” Howard said, and he heard Gordy get up. Someone else sat down. Howard knew because he heard Gordy’s chair move, but again the person didn’t say anything. He was about to address them when he felt Patrick’s hand on his arm.
    “Are you having a good time?” Patrick signed on his hand.
    “Yes.”
    “I see Mr. Goo-Goo Eyes from yesterday is here , ” Patrick signed. It took Howard a few seconds to figure it out, but he did. “He seems very nice and he’s watching you now. ”
    “This isn’t high school. He’s a nice guy, that’s all,” Howard said. Maybe Lizzy was right. Even though she said she hadn’t meant it the way it sounded, maybe she was on to something, and expecting someone to be willing to give up a normal life to be a part of his was too much to expect.
    “Do you know you’re wearing one red sock and one blue sock?” a kid asked loudly from near where Howard was sitting.
    “Angus, that’s Uncle Howard. He can’t see, so he goes by the feel colors, not the real colors,” Hanna said to the child. “Come on, we’re going to play hide-and-seek, and you’re it.” Hanna sounded bossy, and Howard had never been more grateful for it. But even Hanna’s friend had a point: Howard couldn’t even match his socks without help. He’d honestly thought they had been matched.
    “I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I brought you a bit of everything.” Howard heard Gordy’s voice and felt him handing him a plate. Howard placed it on his lap, and then Gordy handed him what he presumed was a fork. “There’s macaroni and cheese right in front of you, then a hot dog. I put a little ketchup and mustard on it. There’s a few potato chips, and I have a bowl of coleslaw for you too.”
    “Thank you,” Howard said, wondering how he was going to eat all this.
    “There’s a small table just off to your right,” Gordy told him and guided his hand to it. Howard set down his plate and pulled the table where he wanted it. “I can bring you something to drink when you’re ready.”
    “You should get something for yourself,” Howard said, and he heard someone sit down next to him. He really hoped it was Gordy.
    “I’m fine,” Gordy said. “I have a beer and I got a good seat, so I’m cool.”
    Howard picked up his fork. He was always a slow eater. If he wasn’t careful, he ended up with food sliding down his front, and there was nothing worse than people making tsking sounds at the blind guy.
    “Do you always eat so carefully?” Gordy asked, and Howard set down his fork. “I’m not making fun of you, I promise. You’re just so methodical.”
    “When I was growing up, my mother had a close friend. Her name was Renee, and she used to have my mother over for lunch. I went along a few times because Mom didn’t want to leave me home. I was fifteen, and while I was there it came time for lunch, so we sat at the table, and I can remember Renee putting a big cloth around my neck. ‘That’s so you don’t have to worry about slobbering,’ she told me. Like I was some kind of dog. I was so embarrassed, and I learned Mom was mortified.”
    “It’s Renee who should have been mortified,” Gordy said.
    “Yeah, well, I sat there and didn’t eat a thing the entire meal. I never picked up a fork, and when I figured they were done eating, I took off the thing round my neck and got up to leave the table. I’d been there a few times, so I knew the exit path, but of course I took a bit of a detour and accidently knocked