3.
~ Daniel felt his brother grow restless beside him. He was used to sitting through the ballet with his family. The little narration box at his ear detailed the story for the visually impaired. It was mostly used by the elderly and good for those who couldn't read the programs provided and wanted to understand the story.
Daniel was sure he was the only blind child in the audience. Sometimes, it felt the whole world was going on without him. He didn't even try to keep up. When people spoke about colors and seeing the ballet dancers, he let them talk. He didn't feel left out, for how could he feel left out from something he didn't understand?
He knew his sister was a good dancer. She often used him for practice. He would hold her hand as she used him for balance. According to Darcy, Daniel was a much better partner than Dominic. It was easy for him to dance sometimes. He was so attuned to others moving around him, sensing them, feeling them, hearing them, it wasn't hard to guess where Darcy would move next.
But Daniel didn't care for dancing the way she did. Dominic would laugh at him and say he would have to wear purple tights. Daniel guessed purple wasn't for boys by the way Dominic said it.
"How long is this thing?" Dominic hissed next to his brother.
Daniel was listening to his little box describe Peter sneaking into Wendy's room. How TInkerbell was hiding in the drawer and they dancing around each other, trying to look for the fairy.
"It's just the first act." Daniel told him. Dominic was a year older, but somehow much more unfocused and immature.
"It's boring. When are they going to fly? I didn't even recognize Darc." his older brother said fitfully.
"She was one of the fairies. She danced already." Daniel said.
"I'm bored."
"Shh!" Daniel hissed.
The younger brother suddenly realized he had to go to the bathroom. Normally, it wasn't a problem, home and school, he knew how to get there. But he had only been to the theater a few times. He didn't want to ask his mother to take him. It would be one more reason for her to coddle him. His father was talking to grandpa and Eames was already snoring.
Dominic was moving with the music and didn't notice his younger brother slip away. Daniel was almost out the door when a lady hissed.
"Where are you going, handsome?"
It was Sadie, he had forgotten about her. He sensed her bend her long body over Eames and knew she was looking sharply at him.
He could smell a spicy perfume that was so unlike mother's. A perfume that wasn't clean, but almost electrical. Like she was advertising something that was stinging and painful.
"Bathroom." Daniel hissed.
"Can you find it?" she whispered back.
"Yes." he lied.
"Ok." she whispered. "You know, you're so good at getting around, I always forget you can't see."
He felt slightly pained by that comment. He didn't like to be reminded he was blind. he knew it better than anyone. Yet, he realized as he walked out of the balcony and took a left, Sadie meant it as a very sincere compliment.
He hugged the wall, like he had been taught in school. He kept expecting the wall to come to an end and hear the ding of the elevators or the sounds of their movement.
He strained his ears and heard nothing. He kept walking till he heard doors open.
"Excuse me, I forgot where the bathrooms were." he said and lowered his face. He didn't want whoever was there to see he was blind.
"It's across the lobby over there." A man's voice said.
Daniel knew he must have pointed in some direction and didn't know the child couldn't see.
"Strait ahead?" Daniel asked, but the footsteps of whoever it was, was fading and he was left alone again.
He could hear and feel the orchestra playing again. He was still close to the theater. Bathrooms were a ways off. He could find it on his own. Papa would be proud, and so might mommy. Dominic would be impressed. His older brother could never find anything on his own.
He would find it, then find his way back.
He felt the wall end and felt a rush of pleasure that he might be in the lobby.
He took a deep breath and reached out for something to help him. Something to help guide him. A bannister, a chair, a plant, a column. He had touched them all before and knew they were in the lobby.
Nothing. He felt nothing but air.
He kept walking and suddenly his foot slipped and the ground wasn't there.
'Stairs.' he thought as his body fell helplessly down. He couldn't stop it. Couldn't find the railing to grab hold of and the carpeted stair case was too steep. He groaned when he finally hit the floor and was grateful that he wasn't hurt. He had fallen down the stairs many times and had learned the hard way how to fall. Another thing they taught him in school. The teachers all saying it would prepare him for the worst. He had fallen down three flights of stairs before, not counting this one. The worst was at school and they had called Papa to go to the hospital. Daniel was glad it wasn't mommy because she would have been upset.
But Papa had only told him to be more careful. That all the pretty girls liked boys with scars, that he fell down plenty of stairs when he was a lot older than Daniel and didn't have the excuse of not seeing.
That had made the child feel better. Especially when his papa had taken the rest of the day off work and they had gone for ice cream. His father saying mommy could never find out about the stairs.
Just now, Daniel didn't feel good at all. He had stupidly forgotten that they had a balcony seat and the lobby, with it's large echoing bathrooms, were on the ground floors. The elevators always took them down, but Daniel hand't heard them.
He should have asked where the elevator were. Now, he was on the floor, he wasn't exactly sure which floor he was on, and which direction he was facing.
The smart thing to do, would be to find those stupid stairs again, climb up them carefully, and get back to the balcony seat. He hand't kept a good count of the steps he took, but knew their seats were close to the stage, therefore, close to the music. The closer he got to the music the closer he would be to his family.
He would would have to admit defeat by going back. Whisper to Papa to take him to the bathroom and let mommy know he couldn't do it alone like he thought he could.
The idea of surrender was horrible, but he could think of no other way.
"Are you alright, son?" a voice came and Daniel sensed someone was standing over him.
"Can you help me?" the child asked hopefully.
"I saw you fall down the stairs." the man said.
"I fell. I'm clumsy." Daniel tried to explain and he sat up and tried to look at the man's face.
Normally, he would show who ever was talking his ear. That way he could hear them. But sighted people didn't do that. Dominic told him that people always knew he was blind by the way he never looked at them. So, Daniel fought his nature and tried to face the man's voice.
"Can you just point me in the direction of the bathrooms?" he asked.
"Sure. But you're sure you're alright?" the man asked and the child felt a hand take his.
"Fine." he promised.
Once he was in the echo filled bathrooms, he wanted to stay here. Papa and Dominic would find him here when they noticed he wasn't in his seat. He just didn't want mommy to know he had failed in his quest.
He used the toilet, washed his hands, and bravely embarked to find the elevators. He knew they had brail on them and that his family was on the third floor. From there, maybe another usher would help him.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if he found his way back on his own and surprised them all? He smiled at the idea.
"Need help, son?" the voice was back.
"Elevators?" he asked.
"Sure." the man said and clasped his hand in his own. "I seen you here with your parents. Is your sister in the ballet?"
"A fairy." Daniel said and didn't like the way the stranger was gripping too tightly to his hand. "Just point me in the direction, please. I can make it on my own."
"I can take you." the man said and Daniel felt his feet cross over onto the metal floor of the lift.
He reached his hands out for the buttons. Papa always made him push them so he could practice his real world brail. But the man stopped him.
"Third floor." Daniel said worriedly. He didn't like this man in the elevator with him. He might take him back to his parents and tell how he had fallen down the stairs. Then, mommy would be mad and Dominic would laugh at him.
"Right. That's where we're going, son." the man said.
Dominic knew instantly they were going down.
"No, third floor." he said feeling sick with worry. "Not the ground floor."
"We're going to the third floor." the man said.
Daniel felt the elevator go down further still and opened int he garage.
He knew it was the underground garage because of how cool it was here. How it smelled of gasoline and mechanical things like oil. It was a place where Papa parked the car and made all of them hold hands to walk through.
"My dad is looking for me." Daniel said at last. He pressed himself to a corner of the elevator.
"My dad knows I went to the bathroom and will be looking for me. He'll be angry." the child said.
A deep, horrible crush of fear moved over him. It felt like it punched him over and over in the chest. He had never been so terrified in his life.
"It's okay now." the man was saying. "We're on the third floor."
So, I've been asked about the Texas bill that wants to essentially ban abortions. I think if you read my work, you know I'm pro choice and very liberal. Texas is not a sea of republican red. Most people I know are very liberal but don't think they can overcome the conservatives of Texas. It take people like our brave filibusters to send Rick Perry pissing in his pants like the little pussy his is.
I hope that not everyone thinks Texas is such an conservative place just because the most arrogant people are in power and that they use that power to abuse others.