Soon the bandages came off. Michelle wore a pair of black sunglasses and carried a small cane. It was time to go back to school. John dropped her off and the teacher promised to keep an eye on her.
After John left, Michelle went and tapped a chair. "Is this seat taken?" She asked.
"No." A boy said back.
She sat down and opened a book. She felt the bumps and formed words in her mind. She had learned very quickly. "What are you doing?" The boy asked.
"I'm reading Braille." She said. "I have to read like this because I can't see."
The boy was quiet. "I can't see either."
She stopped and turned her head towards the voice. "I'm Michelle. What's your name?"
"Lewis. How old are you?"
"I'm five."
"I'm six. Can I see what you look like?"
"Okay. Let me too." They felt each other's faces and hair.
"Your hair is soft. Will you be my friend?"
"Okay." She sighed. "I don't have many friends. People make fun of me for having two daddies."
"People make fun of me for having two mommies."
They started to talk greatly after that. The teacher noticed and it warmed her heart. She made a mental note to introduce the two sets of parents…
John and Fin went to pick up their daughter together. She saw them reading Braille with another boy in sunglasses. "Michelle?"
"Hi, Daddy Fin. Lewis, this is Daddy Fin."
"Hi, Michelle."
"And that's Daddy John."
"I'm Lewis. Nice to meet you." He reached out his hand. John and Fin shook it warmly.
Two women came up. "Hi, Lewis. Who's this?"
"Hi, Mommy Vicki. This is my friend Michelle, and her two daddies." He touched Michelle's shoulder. "This is my Mommy Vicki. And the other one is Mommy Sandy."
They looked to John and Fin and smiled. "I see our kids have become friends. Nice to meet you."
They shook hands, getting a good vibe from the two women. "Hi. John Munch."
"Fin Tutuola. This is our daughter, Michelle."
"Vicki Ross."
"Sandy Delanie. This is our son, Lewis."
They smiled at the two children. "Daddy John, can Lewis come over and play?"
He looked to the mothers, who nodded. "That sounds fine."
They sat in the den as the two children worked on their Braille at the dining room table. John turned to them. "What are the odds our children would find each other?"
Vicki laughed. "It is an odd coincidence."
Fin reached for his soda. "Was he born blind?"
Sandy sighed. "No. A man attacked him two months ago."
Fin nearly dropped his soda, but caught it in time. John looked at them in shock. "That happened to Michelle a month ago."
They gasped. "Have they caught him yet?"
"No, but our friends are on the case." Fin flashed his badge. "We're Detectives with the NYPD special victims unit."
"Vicki is a nurse, and I'm a librarian." Sandy told them. "We're trying to find him as well."
They looked to the kids. "Michelle is a very nice girl."
John sighed and nodded. "She loves to read. She's been very brave about this whole thing."
"I'm sure she has. Lewis and her will become great friends."
They all nodded. It was almost as if some sort of fate was involved…
-TO BE CONTINUED-