Thanks for reading. This started as a simple idea but has grown a lot. Rated M for later chapters. Please feel free to leave a review.

The morning sun was shining brightly, though it didn't help to warm the air. A cool breeze came off the waves and tousled her unkempt hair. The color of the sun itself, the wild red curls fell down her back in strands. They sat on the beach, facing the ocean and the beautiful rising sun that she couldn't fully appreciate. Her focus was on the sand. She was digging her fingers and toes into the dirt playfully as he focused his attention on stroking her hair. She giggled while taking a fistful of sand and letting it flow through her fingers back onto the ground.

"Ms. McGarry would be agast," she laughed and said in a mocking tone, "Proper young ladies do not sit in the dirt in their Sunday dress. Have you no shame?"

He smiled quietly as she continued to trace shapes in the sand. He knew the answer to that question though it did not need to be said. A curious lack of shame and proper ladylike manners were qualities that he'd enjoyed in her from the day they met. She'd said they'd faded along with her sight.

"Your mother would be so disappointed in you Lily," she continued to mock the inevitable disapproval of her caregiver. Ms. McGarry had taken Lily under her guidance when her biological mother had passed. It had only been a year since she'd been gone but Lily had adapted to living alone rather well, with help of course. Ms. McGarry, the head of the Women's Temperance League had been a good friend of Lily's mother, Helen. Protective to a fault, Helen had sheltered Lily for most of her 20 years.

Doctors discovered a degenerative eye disease when Lily was a teenager. They didn't know how long she had left at the time, but the darkness had come quickly. Afraid of what dangers the world held for a blind girl, Helen rarely let Lily out of the house, much less alone. The months since she'd passed were the most freedom Lily ever had. Though she would never speak it aloud, Lily relished the freedom. And Richard's company.

They'd met when he'd moved into the adjoining flat where Lily lived, near the boardwalk. He was gone often but they'd spoken pleasantries in passing. Ms. McGarry had warned her to stay away from this "strange man" as she'd called him. Her obvious disapproval had only made Lily more curious about him. She demanded to be told everything about this new man. He was tall with a medium build, dark hair, a polite yet awkward disposition and deep gravely voice. In hushed tones, Ms. McGarry had told Lily of Richard's condition. Though the war had not taken his life it had taken much from him. He'd lost his left eye and a portion of his jaw, leaving scars hidden under a crude tin mask fashioned by the army's doctors to cover his face. He'd been a handsome man at a time, though anyone who would know of it was far away and from a time he rarely spoke of.

His condition and the resulting discomfort of Ms. McGarry fascinated Lily. She was keenly aware of what it meant to make others uncomfortable in your presence. Though she could not see it, she could hear the awkward silences and uncomfortable shifting as she was introduced to new people who did not know if they should shake her hand when offered. She knew what it meant to be pitied. And she knew that she hated it.

"We should be going back now," Richard said as he rose, taking Lily's hand to walk her back home.

"No!" she said playfully pushing him away. "I want to stay."

"I like it here," she said in a more quiet and wistful tone. "I miss the ocean. I miss watching the waves come in."

Richard sat back down next to her as she put down her head, taking in the smell of the ocean and the sounds of the waves. Knowing he wasn't going to change her mind, he conceded and wrapped her shoulders in his jacket. He wasn't going to get this stubborn and willful woman to leave until she was ready, but he could at least make sure she was warm. Giving in to a moment of self-pity wasn't something that happened often for Lily, but it did happen. With a suddenness that surprised him, she tucked her head under his arm and wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling her head into his chest as they sat. He gently patted her shoulder as he felt her breath on his chest. Her hand, pressed flat against his chest, took in the softness of his shirt, the smell of the fabric and the sound of his beating heart. The closeness and intimacy of her touch made him uncomfortable, as it often did. For so long it had seemed that no woman would so openly desire being this close to him. He'd still not gotten used to it, even in the months they'd known each other.

She had become very tactile as her sight had gone and her freedom with touch often extended to people with whom she felt affection. As time had passed she'd become rather clingy with Richard. "Proper young ladies" of the time, as Ms. McGarry would say, didn't offer themselves to hug and caress quite so often, especially not in public where people may be watching. But what did Lily care of glances from strangers that she did not see?

With a sigh, she pushed away and stood up, dropping his coat to the ground. He scooped it up and took her arm. He looked into her distant green eyes as she stared blankly toward the ocean. Richard found her strikingly beautiful. Pale freckled complexion to go with wild ginger curls and perfect cupid's bow shaped lips. She was much shorter than him and had a curvaceous figure under her modest dress.

"I wanna go in the water," she stated as a matter of fact.

He smiled and laughed at her declaration, brushing a stray curl out of her face.

"I mean it. Don't laugh at me." She pulled away with a playful indignation.

"I'm not. I'm not laughing at you," he assured in a comforting tone. "But you cannot go in the water. It is freezing and you are not in the proper attire. Let's go home, okay?"

"No."

She smiled and bolted away from him, running straight ahead toward the water with no regard for what might be in her path. Bare feet kicked up sand as her long skirt flapped in the breeze. She hit the water's edge with a splash and didn't stop running until she was waist deep in the waves. Without hesitation or fear she held her breath and dove into the water to swim. She'd loved swimming as a child but hadn't been allowed near the ocean by her mother for many years. Not thinking she'd actually go very far, Richard had not given chase until he saw her go under water. A panic swept over his chest as he threw down his jacket and went into the ocean after her. But before he could get very far, she splashed up out of the water and stood soaking wet and totally lost for direction.

"Richard?" she said in a small voice.

"I'm here," he assured as he took her hand to escort her out of the water.

She began laughing at herself and the absurdity of the situation. Pulling him close she clung to him like a beacon of security in the dangerous waters. Breathing a frustrated sigh of relief, he held her shivering and stifling giggles into his chest.

"You are a very silly girl, you know that?" he asked.

"I think you can take me home now," she said grinning as water streamed down her face. He walked her to the beach, holding her shoulders as he followed behind her. An older couple gave the pair a sideways glance as they passed. Richard smiled awkwardly and nodded as to show that everything was under control. He'd do anything to protect her, whether she knew it or not. Richard had few personal pleasures in his recent life, and every moment with Lily counted among them.