Charlie

When Bob left, I had an idea.

"Could I take her to the beach?" I asked Dad. "She could use the fresh air, and it'll be fun!"

"I don't know..." Natalie said.

"There's lots to hear and ..uh..feel at the beach" Dad told her, and soon she relented.

"But go at three, make sure she doesn't take off her hat, and put on sunscreen!" Natalie said warningly.

"Of course!" Damn that woman was a pain! Why does she begrudge me my time with Rach??

"We don't we all go out to lunch?" Dad suggested. We went to his favorite seafood restaurant. Natalie ordered Rach some pasta dish they had for kids.

Finally at three, Rach and I were on our way! Don got called during desert and couldn't join us.

Walking on the sand was tricky for her. I had her hold two fingers, as Bob suggested it. I would have taken her for a dip in the water, but it was too cold for her. She looked around. Guess she was curious about the sound of the waves. The wind felt good against the warm sun. I then put down a wheely toy for her. Happily, my sister pushed it forward, veering slightly to the left. Sometimes, I tried to help her go in a straighter line. Bob said that it was important for her to learn that skill. Unfortunatly, she knocked down the budding castle of a young boy. Angrily he began to sign at her. I picked her up and tried to explain to the kid by pointing to her, my eyes, and then shaking my head.

A man got up from his chair, and sighned at the boy, who angrily explained with sighn language.

"Your daugther knocked down my son's sand castle" he said gruffy, while Rachale squirmed nervously at the tone.

"She's uh...can't see" I said lamely, not able to say the word blind. "And is only one!

"Oh...okay" he nodded as if in understanding after looking Rach in the eyes. He soon explained the circumstances to the kid.

I apologized, walked a bit, and put Rach down. I pushed her empty stroller Then, my cell rang.

"Hey Charlie! How are you guys doing" Natalie asked, as I groaned inwardly.

"Great! Rach is quite happy." I told her politly.

"Did you remeber the sunscreen, and hat?"

"Yeah I did." I rolled my eyes. Why couldn't she trust me?

"It's just that she's got sensitive skin."

We talked a bit more, and finally she hung up. Then, I went to take Rach for some ice cream. I got her a small cup of strawberry, her favorite. I noticed that we got a very generous serving. I got the feeling it had to do with Rach's...eyes...

Soon, I was feeding it to her. She loved it.

Before I knew it, I had to take her back. I joined Rach, Dad, and Natalie for dinner.

Sometime after we started, while my sister had a snack, Dad remarked. "I was thinking of taking her on the bus sometime this week"

"The bus?" Natalie repeated hesitantly

"Nat, unless Rach gets rich enough to hire a chauffer, she'll have to use public transportation. " Dad explained, and then added. "And we can't drive her around forever."

"But she's so little..."

"I'll be there." he reassured her. "She needs to get used to being in buses."

"You're right, but it might frighten her at this stage." Natalie countered. To be honest, I kind of worried about that too.

After a while, Dad smartly talked her into it, but she wanted to come too.

"It'll be a nice family outing!" he happily agreed. "We all can go downtown or something."

"Can I go with you guys?" I asked.

"yeah sure!" Dad smiled widely. He loved seeing his kids get along, and having his family together.

We ended up going the following saturday. Natalie carried the baby bag, while Dad pushed the stroller. When we saw the bus we wanted arrive, Dad quickly took Rach out of the stroller, which he gave to me.

Then, he helped my sister put some coins in,

"This is money. You put it in here to ride the bus" he explained, putting it in her hand, but firmly making sure she put it in the slot and not her mouth.

Then, he sat her down near the driver.

We all sat near her.

Dad began. "You can use the bus to get places."

She just sat there, bewildered at the roaring of the bus' engine.

"It's okay baby!" Natalie assured her, while holding on to the kid. Public buses had faulty suspension systems most of the time, causing the ride to be bumpy.

"We're here to protect you" Dad added, and gave her the puppy, which she put in her mouth.

After a stop or two, we had to get out of our seats because a wheelchair bound woman entered the bus. Thankfully we found seats at the back.

Our relief ended when a man, started to yell at an empty seat.

TBC