Chapter 10

Having Fiona around to help was nice, but it quickly became constrictive. She took him out on walks and to the mall when he got tired of staying inside, and one day she and Michael took him to the beach. Walking across the sand was sensory heaven for him. He always loved the sensation of shifting sand beneath his feet, but now, he swore he could detect every single grain as its own entity. The ocean breeze smelled of salt and fish, and the waves crashing made him want to wade into the ocean, but without Fi beside him, not even his little toe would get wet. She was becoming worse than a mother hen, and it grated on him.

It didn't help that the night before Barry called after Fi was gone, and he told him that one of his clients was able to get Sam a dog by Friday. He would have to spend time training with the dog, but after that he would have the ability to go out on his own and move about his home without Fi tracking his every move. He had to tell his friends. He knew Fi wouldn't like it, but he hoped that Michael would be supportive.

"Sam, Michael went and got some frozen yogurt," Fiona said as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "You want some?"

"Sure." He held out his left hand and she placed a cup in it. "Thanks, Mike." He moved it to his right hand and his left hovered until he found the spoon. He expected Fiona to lead his hand there, but she didn't. Maybe she was starting to get the idea that she was doing too much for him, so she backed off.

"You know, Sam, you've been making amazing progress." Michael said as he scraped his spoon across the mound of yogurt. "I suppose I really shouldn't be surprised. You worked with Fi, so you have a lot of this down already."

"Yeah, that and I'm determined to hack it on my own. No offense, Fi. I love ya like a sister, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. For me, that's be on my own."

"I understand, Sam, but are you really ready?"

He smiled. "I won't mind if you want to do the laundry for me, but as far as everything else...yeah. I think I am." He paused, deciding now was the time to spring his surprise. "Barry helped me get a seeing eye dog. I have to go train with it for a couple of weeks up in Boca, but after that, I'll really be able to be on my own."

"Wow, Sam." The tone of Michael's voice shocked Sam. It wouldn't have sounded more astonished if he'd suddenly sucker punched him.

"Yeah, Mikey, little Sammy's all grown up and he can take care of himself." He chuckled. "Not that I didn't appreciate everything. It's just..." He sighed and turned toward the ocean breeze. "It's really important for me to live as much like I did before, so that if things change, you know, I get my sight back...then it won't be so hard to transition."

"Sam, it's only been a month. My blindness didn't last that long."

"And that's my point. Fi, I've got damage. Yours was just from a swelled brain. Even the doctor won't give me odds that I'll get it back without surgery and treatments." He shook his head. "No, it's time for me to plan for the long haul. I need a guide dog."

"We understand, Sam." Michael placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "When do you have to go to Boca?"

"Friday."

"Okay. I'll drive you up there."

Sam choked back a lump of emotion. "Thanks, man. I'm really glad I didn't screw things up with you."

"Me too." Michael couldn't imagine what Sam would have done without him and Fi. He supposed that Jesse and Maddie would have helped. But no one had the insight that Fiona had. Some of the setups she devised in Sam's apartment were ingenious. He never would have thought of them. As much as they wanted to help, Michael also understood Sam's need for independence. He would have felt the same if he were in his friend's shoes.

In the two weeks Sam was gone, Fiona was restless. Every day, she fought giving him a call to see if he was okay. But it wouldn't have mattered, because he was told to leave his cell phone at home. No distractions. Just him and his dog twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. By the time they came home, they would be like an extension of each other. For some reason, that made Fiona a little jealous.

Michael went to pick him up, and when they pulled into the courtyard, Fiona and Maddie waited with big smiles, even though he couldn't see them. Sam was grinning as he opened the door, got out and pulled the seat back. A light yellow lab with friendly eyes and a big doggy smile hopped out and sat beside Sam's feet. Sam put the seat back into place, took a couple steps back as he grasped the harness, and slammed the door. Then he and the dog came around the car to where the two women stood.

"Welcome home, Sam!" Maddie reached out and embraced him with both arms, and he wrapped one around her.

"Fi?"

"I'm here, Sam. Welcome home." She hugged him, and then they stepped apart. "Michael took your bag to the apartment. I'll worry about your laundry later."

"Thanks, Fi." He gripped the harness, glanced down to where the dog sat on her haunches, and said, "Ladies, I'd like to introduce you to the new woman in my life. Her name is Tana. Tana, this is Fiona, and Maddie."

Tana looked up at the two and smiled, her tongue lolling to the side.

"Sam, she's so cute!" Maddie exclaimed and stooped down to pet her.

Fi stopped her with a hand. "Uh, Maddie, no. When she's working, she shouldn't be petted."

"Oh, it's okay when we're stopped like this. But if she's leading me somewhere, no, she should be left alone. Although, she's a pro, so there shouldn't be any issues with her getting distracted. Her previous owner was a woman who had surgery on her eyes and she regained her sight. She could have kept Tana, but she didn't think it was fair to keep a guide dog when someone else could use her." He smiled. "I got lucky."

"You sure did, Sam. She's adorable."

"Well, I better take Tana inside and show her around. Then she needs to go for a walk." He grinned. "So do I."

"Do you need someone..." Fiona stopped and shook her head. "Sorry, Sam. It's going to take some time to get used to the fact that you can go alone, well, with Tana, anyway."

"Yeah, I know." His face lit up for the first time in months. "I'll see you later!" He gently tugged at the harness. "Okay, Tana, let's go home."

Fiona and Maddie stood with Michael and watched Sam confidently stride across the courtyard to his apartment. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his keys, and was able to find the right one through his sense of touch. Then he unlocked the door and went inside with Tana.

Fiona squinted. "Why do I suddenly feel so useless?"

"I never thought he would adapt this well, and so fast," Michael remarked with admiration.

"That's our Sam." Maddie pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "I don't know about you, but I'm going to go shopping. I'll see you all later."

Sam showed Tana the lay of the apartment and went through the mental checklist of everything he was supposed to do when he got her home. His head hurt a little, but he took something for the pain and decided he couldn't wait. He had to take Tana out for a walk. As he put the bottle of aspirin back into the medicine cabinet, he silently thanked Fiona again for her sense of organization. Tana was trained to provide her master with direction to the correct medications, but because of Fiona's thoughtfulness, he didn't need that kind of help.

"Come on Tana, let's go outside."

Sam walked with her to the corner and turned right. When they reached a curb, she stopped, waited for traffic, and led him across the street. They'd practiced this many a time in the past two weeks, but it still amazed Sam at how fluidly she worked. Some kids darted in front of him coming off an alley and rode their bikes on the sidewalk, and Tana stopped him in time to avoid being hit.

"Good girl, Tana." He gave her a pat on the head and continued walking.

The humidity made him sweat, but the sun felt too good to stop walking. He listened to all the sounds around him. They neared the coast, and he marveled at how many things he missed because he was too concerned with seeing. As he walked along the street where Carlito's was, he heard people talking about everything imaginable. There were even a few comments about his dog from women. He smiled. Yes, Tana was his ticket to freedom...and romance. Sam knew when he'd arrived at Carlito's; the aroma of lime, salty chips, and Cuban sandwiches filled the air and he realized that he never really paid attention to that before. His stomach grumbled, reminding him that he hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast, so he decided to go in and try his hand at having lunch with his new buddy.

"I'm sorry, sir, you can't bring that dog in here."

"What?" Sam looked puzzled. "She's a guide dog."

"I don't care, mister. There are laws against animals in restaurants."

Sam leaned over and caressed Tana's jawline. "Oh, it's okay, baby. She's not insulting you, really." He leaned closer to the woman and whispered. "She doesn't know she's a dog. Does that make it okay?"

"I..."

"Melinda, what seems to be the problem here?"

"This guy thinks he can bring his dog in here, Mr. Sanchez."

"Sanch! Hey, it's Sam. Sam Axe." He held out his hand and grinned.

Sanchez took it. "Sam! I haven't seen you with your friends for awhile." He directed his next words at Melinda. "Go take care of your other tables. I'll handle this."

"Well, we had a parting of the ways for awhile, but I'm back now. I, uh, just have this little problem." He put his thumb and index finger together. "I'm blind."

"Blind? What happened?"

"Gunshot, a boot to the head, and a guy tried to choke me to death. It all adds up to nerve damage. Don't know if I'll ever see again, so I'm making the best of it." It was way too easy to be casual about it even though it still troubled him inside.

"Wow. So this is your guide dog then."

"Yes. Her name is Tana." He hesitated. "I thought by law you had to let guide dogs into restaurants, bars, places like that."

"Oh Sam, there's no problem here! Melinda's new, she doesn't know." He gently took Sam's upper arm and turned him toward the tables. "Come on, have a seat at your table. You know where it is, don't you?"

"Oh yeah. Tana will get me there." He tightened his grip on the harness. "Tana. Take me to the table." The dog followed Sanchez.

"Now, I'm afraid we don't have any menus in Braille..."

"Which is fine because I can't read it yet, although I can play a mean game of poker with a deck of Braille marked cards." He grinned. "I'll just have my usual."

"Okay. I'll have Melinda put that order in."

"Thanks, Sanch."

While Sam waited for his meal, he sipped on a mojito and listened to the conversations around him. The dog was getting a lot of airplay again. This is pretty cool. Then he heard a voice he never thought he'd ever hear again.

"Hello, Sam."

"Ver...Veronica?" Sheer astonishment showed on his face. "What are you doing here? I thought you moved upstate."

"I did, but I came back. I missed Miami. I missed...never mind. I just saw you here and thought I'd say hello."

"Would you, um, like to join me? I've already ordered, but I could hold it off if..."

"No, it's okay." She smiled at him seductively as she sat opposite him. He looked just as handsome as ever, but there was something different. He had an air of peacefulness about him. Before she could ask, she heard a snuffling and a sigh.

"Good girl, Tana." Sam reached down to his right and then straightened.

"Sam, who are you talking to?"

He smiled warmly. "Just Tana. My guidedog."

Veronica snickered. "Guide dog. Are you training her?"

"No. I use her."

If only Sam could have seen the look on her face, but he didn't have to, because he knew Veronica well. He'd dropped the biggest bombshell of her life in her lap, bigger than when he told her he couldn't marry her because he already had a wife somewhere. "You're blind?"

Sam removed his sunglasses so she could see the proof. She looked into those gorgeous brown eyes of his and immediately turned away. "Long story on how it happened. I'm hoping it's only temporary, but until things change, I couldn't just sit around moping. I'm trying to regain as much of my life as I can."

"I see...I mean, I understand." She fiddled with her hands on the table. The server came with a drink for her and a salad she'd already ordered, and Sam's server showed up right after with his sandwich. "Do you need any help?"

"No thanks, I'm good."

Veronica hated herself for staring as Sam dropped the napkin in his lap, picked up half the sandwich, and took a bite. Just like any normal person.

"Oh man, I missed these! Before I went blind, I was away for about six months. Up in DC mostly. But it's all classified, so I can't talk about it, as are the circumstances to how I got this way, so, sorry, I can't talk about that either."

"It's okay, Sam." She picked at her salad. "Does your wife know about your blindness?"

"No. After you and I broke up, I tried to find her. I had some leads, but nothing solid. Then I just got too busy with Mike and Fi, and I forgot about it." He took another bite.

"So you forgot about me."

He heard the implication in her voice. Despite his blindness and his eyes being hidden behind his sunglasses again, he directed his unseeing gaze toward her. "No, I never forgot you, Ronnie. Never will, either. You're the one I regret letting get away."

She took in a deep breath as she placed a hand over her chest. "Sam, do you really mean that?"

"Yes, I do. I love you, Ronnie." It was so much easier to say without sight, and he felt like a coward hiding behind his handicap to say something he should have said a long time ago.

"Oh, Sammy!" She reached across the table and took his hand, caressing it, remembering the coarseness of the pads of his fingers and how they felt on her skin. "I still love you, too. I told myself that if I ever got the chance to get together with you again, I would take it and never let you go."

"But that's changed, hasn't it." He lowered his head. Suddenly, he wasn't hungry anymore.

"No, nothing has changed. I love you, Sam. And I still want you."

He raised his head and smiled. Then he raised his hand and called, "Check, please!"

Veronica's only had one request, that the dog stay out of the bedroom. Sam was happy to oblige, and that applied to Fiona as well. His acute hearing picked up her banging on the door and her voice.

"Sam. Who is that?"

Sam kissed Veronica and rolled her to her back as his hands roved freely. "Just Fiona, Mike's girl. Don't worry...about...her." He covered Veronica's throat with kisses, getting her mind off what was happening outside the room. The only thing that was important was happening inside the room, and inside her heart. She was deliriously in love with Sam Axe again.