Chapter 12
Sam was getting so confident in his day to day living that he was able to help Veronica in the kitchen as she prepared supper for him and his friends. He stirred the pasta, skimmed a bunch of noodles off the top and found one hanging. He snagged it and tested it.
"Watch it, you're dripping," she chided him as she skirted past him, her hand flitting over his backside.
"Hey, you keep that up, I'll have this all over the floor." He picked up a spoon and tested the sauce. "Oh, needs more oregano."
"Wait a minute, let me check that." She took the spoon from him, tried it, and let out a breath. "You're right! I'm jealous of those taste buds of yours! I knew something was missing, but you hit the nail on the head!" She bumped her hip playfully against his. "Having a blind guy around the house is pretty handy sometimes." She giggled and reached up to kiss his cheek.
"I wonder if I'll lose all this again if I get my sight back." He nibbled on some steaming veggies. "I'm really liking the effects, you know?" He held out a fork with a carrot on it, and she took it from him.
"None of this 'if' talk, Sam. It's when. Keep thinking 'when', not 'if'." She placed her hands on his hips, laid her chin on his shoulder, and was about to put her arms around him when they heard a knock. Tana barked. "Company is here. Want me to get it?"
"Sure, Ronnie." Sam turned to his right and picked up a baking sheet that sat on the counter, searched for the bread basket, and tilted the pan to dump the bread into it.
Jesse, Fiona, Michael and Maddie entered and looked around for Sam. None of them expected to see him in the kitchen. He rinsed his hands, wiped them on a towel hanging directly below the sink, and turned with a smile for them.
"Hey, who's all here?"
"Everyone we invited, Sam."
"Is there anything we can do," Maddie asked as she handed Veronica a bottle of wine.
"No, we've got everything under control. Thanks for the wine, Maddie! Let's have this with dinner." She sidled up to Sam. "You wouldn't happen to have an ice bucket, would you?"
"Oh yeah, it's right next to the champagne glasses, darling."
"Sam!" She swatted his behind and laughed at him. They were so comfortable with each other, it was if they were in their own little world for a moment. It wasn't lost on their guests, who took places at the table that was extended with leaves and two chairs that had been kept in the corners of Sam's bedroom.
When they were all assembled and well into dinner, Sam gave them the rundown on his appointment, and the upcoming tests. They all voiced their pleasure and hoped that it went well. Then he told them about the options for treatments, and how he might have to go out of state, depending on the outcome.
"Sam, I think you should do whatever you need to do to get your sight back," Jesse spoke with conviction. "That's what I'd do, man. If I had to go to Mexico or Europe or something, I'd go."
"So would I," Michael agreed. "We want you back on the team, Sam. If it means lots of expensive treatments, we'll chip in whatever you need. Even if it's just plane tickets, a hotel stay, whatever."
Sam let out a relieved breath and raised his glass. "I want to toast you guys. I don't know what I would have done without your help. I know it would have taken me a lot longer to get my act together, that's for sure." The corner of his mouth tipped up. "I'd probably be living in some dive somewhere close to the hospital, getting mugged every time I went out to the minimart. So thank you."
"It's no problem, Sam." Fiona clinked her glass with his. "I feel like I owe you for what you did for me, but you've also become a real friend, and, well, friends do things like this for each other."
"Very well put, Fiona." Veronica praised her as she clinked glasses with Sam and Fiona, but she noted that the smile on the other woman's face dimmed at the contact. If she expected to stay around for Sam, she needed to confront Fiona and discover what her problem was. She couldn't understand why the woman didn't like her, when everyone else seemed to accept her presence.
"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Maddie took a sip of her wine. "You just need to let us know what you plan to do, and we'll figure out our roles after that."
"I thought it would be easy. I just wanted everyone to know what was on the table."
"Well, I think we all learned the hard way that withholding certain kinds of information for the wrong reasons, no matter how well intentioned it may seem, isn't a good idea." Michael glanced at his mother.
She just gave him a narrow eyed glare, and everyone laughed except for Sam. He couldn't see the look, so Veronica leaned over and whispered into his ear. He smiled, the joke already passed. That was something he couldn't get used to, missing visual cues and teasing that passed among the members of their group. He looked forward to the day when he could see again and he would no longer be left out.
As he lay awake in bed listening to a late night thunderstorm, the sounds were so vivid. He wasn't sure if it was because of his heightened senses or the fact that it was a big storm. Veronica shifted against his side. No matter what happened with his sight, one thing was certain: he had to find his wife and divorce her. It wasn't right to keep her hanging out there, and give Veronica the hope that one day they would tie the knot if it could never happen. The fact that she was willing to take him sight or no sight convinced him that she was worth fighting to keep. He loved her, there was no doubt about that, and he was willing to do whatever it took to get his sight back and have her by his side forever.
He wondered what time it was. Carefully, he pulled his right arm out from under her neck and felt for the watch face. He loved the custom made Rolex that she bought him. Thanks to her, he never had to exist in a temporal vacuum or ask someone what time it was. His fingers played over the dial and felt the hands. It was 12:45. He folded his arms behind his head, let out a deep breath, and tried to go to sleep. Sometimes when he closed his eyes he saw colored spots, like the sparks that flew off of a sparkler. Tonight, they were dancing around behind his closed lids. The doctor said that was normal, and a good sign that things were progressing. To him, they seemed like cruel taunts, enticing him to want to see all that much more.
Tana came up to the bedside and whined. Sam mumbled. "What?"
The dog placed a paw on the bed. He reached out and petted her head, and she whined again.
"Aw man. Didn't I take you out a couple hours ago," he whispered. "Besides, it's pouring out there!"
She put both paws on the bed. He grumbled, sat up, and swung his legs off the bed. Overhead, the air crackled as if it were splitting just before a big boom that caused the building to shake. "You owe me big time for this, pooch!" He put his robe on and trudged to the door with Tana trotting happily alongside.
"Last chance, Tana. Are you sure you want to go out there?" She cried and put her front paws up on him, which he'd learned in training was a big no-no. "Down, Tana!" She returned to four paws on the floor. Carefully, he hitched up her harness, slipped into some flip-flops near the door, and grabbed the umbrella. She waited patiently for him to get it open before going outside with him. The music at the club still surged through the pouring rain, but the usual crowd noise outside was absent. Whoever didn't make it inside before the storm probably left. Sergei has to hate nights like this!
Tana led him around to the side of the apartment to do her business. "I wonder if I can teach you how to use a litter box at night, huh, Tana?" That thought made him laugh. "No comment. Probably best that way." He turned and headed back to the apartment.
He came into the courtyard and heard footsteps on gravel. "Where's Westen?"
"Huh? Who wants to know?"
"My name doesn't matter." The stranger stepped close enough for Sam to smell his cologne. He knew that overpowering spicy scent from somewhere in the past. "I have something to settle with him."
The guy had an accent. Eastern European, if Sam wasn't mistaken. He smoked cheap European cigarettes, and he tried to mask it with mint gum. Keeping cool, Sam responded. "Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just the neighbor. I don't have Mr. Westen's schedule, and well," he chuckled, "Unless it's in Braille, I can't read it anyway."
"Smartass," the man muttered.
In German, one of the man's cohorts said, "That's Sam Axe, Westen's friend."
"Shut up! I know!" He turned back to Sam and spoke in English. "Tell me where Westen is. No more lies."
"Seriously, I have no clue." Tana growled, and he hushed her.
"I don't have time for these games you play." With lightning quick speed, his fist flew and caught Sam under the chin, sending him to the ground.
Sam lost his grip on Tana's harness, and the umbrella fell away somewhere that he couldn't reach. Otherwise, he would have tried to use it as a weapon. He heard the unmistakable sound of a semi-automatic, and he froze. Without being able to see where the man was, trying to kick it out of his possession was impossible. Tana barked and growled at his attacker. He heard her cry and her body landed near him, but then she was up on her feet again and the man screamed for his cohorts.
"Get her off! Get this dog off me!"
"Don't hurt her! Please!"
"Sam? Sam, what's going on out here!"
The man grunted, and he heard feet splashing, retreating.
"Ronnie, get inside!"
"No!"
Tana still barked and growled until the courtyard gate squealed and shut behind the men. Then she sat on her haunches in the rain, guarding Sam. Veronica came out to his side, knelt on the wet pavement, and held him in her arms. "Oh Sam, what did they want? Why'd they do this to you?"
"They didn't want me, Ronnie. They wanted Mike."
"Oh honey, come on. Can you get up?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Tana. Where is she?" Sam got his feet under himself and stood. He gently probed his chin. He was going to have quite the bruise there tomorrow.
"She's right here, Sam. Come on, Tana, sweetie. Everything's okay." She picked up the harness and handed it to Sam. He took it in his left hand and walked with Veronica clinging to his right side.
All three were soaked to the skin. When they entered the apartment, Tana shook herself, sending droplets of water everywhere. Since he and Veronica were already wet, they didn't care. She turned out of his grip and her hand caressed his jawline down to his cheek.
"Ow, Ronnie! That hurts!"
"You've got a little cut there, Sam. Come with me to the bathroom, and I'll get that taken care of."
It took awhile to fix up Sam's face. While Veronica volunteered to take care of Tana, Sam got on the phone. "Call Mike."
Michael picked up. "Hey Sam, kind of late to chat, isn't it?"
"Where are you, Mike?"
"On a stakeout. Why?"
"Is Fi with you?"
"Yeah. What's going on, Sam?" By the concerned tone of Mike's voice, he knew whatever was happening at the other end was boring, but the tension was high. He hated stakeouts, and those were the worst kind.
"I had some uninvited guests. They were looking for you, but I told them I didn't have your schedule so I couldn't help them." He paused, mentally recalling all the clues and putting them together into one mean package. "Mike, it was Heinrich Mueller."
He knew Heinrich. He never gave his name; usually he left his calling card, a bullet at close range to the heart. "Did he...did he shoot you, Sam?"
"No, I was lucky. Between Tana and Ronnie, he had enough distractions and a witness, so he and his buddies just took off."
"Are you certain it was him?"
"I didn't need to see him, let's just put it that way. I heard his voice, and I smelled him." He paused. "Remember that big clunky ring he always wore? He still wears it. I know, because it cut me when he clocked me good on the chin."
"We must be getting warmer with our investigation, Sam. Heinrich's getting scared." He held back a yawn. "You okay there tonight?"
"Yeah, I doubt they'll bother us anymore. I think maybe Tana took a good chunk out of him after he bashed me in the chin."
Michael's amusement rang over the line. "Give her an extra dog biscuit for that one, Sam. If you don't, I will."
"No problem, Mike. Veronica's giving her the royal treatment, getting her all cleaned up and dry. Well, I just wanted you to know you had company, and to keep an eye out for Heinrich."
"Will do. 'Night, Sam."
"Yeah, you too, Mike. Try to stay awake, and keep your eye on the stakeout and not Fi."
"Very funny." Michael broke the connection.
"Well, Tana is all dry and happy now." Veronica snaked her arms around him. "Now, how about us?"
Sam set his phone down where he always kept it on the night stand, wrapped his arms around Veronica, and kissed her until she nearly melted into him. "Let's go, baby." Without Tana's help, he knew where the bathroom was. Veronica giggled and followed him. She had no choice, because he held her hand in his and wouldn't let go.
They were at the hospital on Thursday, earlier than the requested time of 7:30. Veronica tried to get Sam to eat some breakfast, but all he had was a cup of coffee. She tried one last time by taking him to the cafeteria, but he said he wasn't hungry.
"Sam, you should eat something."
"I can't, Ronnie!"
"Why not?" His stubbornness could really irritate her sometimes.
He swirled the coffee in his cup before replying softly. "I'm scared."
"Scared? Of what, Sammy?" She caressed his cheek, and he captured her hand and held it in place.
"I know it's not going to hurt. I'm just afraid that after all this they won't see any progress, and all these sparks I've been seeing are my mind playing tricks on me, and I'll never get my sight back." He swallowed. "I've been trying to take this all in stride and pretend that I'm okay with it...but I'm not. I don't want to stay this way! I want to see again, dammit!"
Veronica's chair scraped across the tile as she situated herself next to him. With one arm around his shoulders and her hand cupping his face, she held onto him. He dipped his head into the crook of her arm and stayed that way for some time. Finally, he raised his head, and his sunglass covered eyes turned toward her face.
"Ronnie, will you really stay with me if this doesn't work out? Can you honestly say you'll live with a man who can't see, who has to rely on you to be his eyes?"
"If I'm just going to live with you, no. But if I am going to be married to you, yes. My offer still stands, Sam. It's up to you to free yourself so that you can make the commitment." She smiled into his cheek where she knew he could feel it. "So the question is not whether I'll stand by you. The question is, will you do what it takes to stand by me as my husband? I won't accept anything less."
"Yes, I will. Just help me get through today."
"I will." She kissed his lips tenderly. Over his shoulder she saw the clock on the wall. "We need to get up to the fifth floor right now, Sam."
"Okay. Let's go."
