“Because I wanted to get you a kitten, but I have no idea if you long ago grew out of that desire or if you’d welcome that kind of a gift. A kitten is for life. A goldfish is something you can flush in ten seconds.”
She gasped. “I wouldn’t flush her.” She was a pretty goldfish. Not that you could form a relationship with a goldfish, but she was Georgia’s first ever pet. She wiped at her eyes. She was such a dope, the thing would probably die in the plastic bag before she got it home.
“That’s good. I won’t have to return the tank and fish food.”
“You bought me a tank and fish food?”
“I didn’t think you’d have that stuff hanging around.”
“I don’t. I.” She stopped to steady her voice. He’d be able to hear her emotion. “Why did you do this?”
He inclined his head to one side. “I need a reason?”
“Most people don’t buy other people who are awful to them goldfish.”
“You were awful?”
She nodded, then shook her head. It was so hard to remember he was blind. “I was.”
“You weren’t awful, Georgia. And I don’t want anything from you. Can we just be easy with each other?”
“You bought me a fish.”
Damon laughed. “She’s a cool fish, but I don’t really know if she’s a girl. I forgot to ask. Would you like to get started?” He fiddled with his earpiece. He was ready to work.
She looked at the fish. “Yes please.” Fluffy skimmed her mouth over the surface of the water, the tail working to keep her upright.
“I haven’t driven a car since I was fifteen. That’s something I miss.”
A fish and fish accoutrements, and another offering of himself. She looked back at him. “You were young to be driving.”
“I figured I should get a taste of everything possible while I still had sight. My parents were on board with that.”
“Everything?”
He dropped his head, but not before she saw his wide grin. “Yeah, I put my own foot out and tripped over that one didn’t I? Yes, everything, including things not necessarily fully clothed.”
Her eyes weren’t misty anymore, but other parts of her body reacted to that, tensing, tightening. What would he have been like as a teenager, knowing he was going blind and trying to fit everything he needed sight for into the time he had. “I can’t compete with that.”
“It’s not a competition, and I’m not asking for your sexual history. Just one thing about you I can hold onto while I’m in here on my own.”
She had no idea why he wanted that. Why he was so persistent. “I bought burnt fig, honeycomb and caramel ice-cream last night. I like it too.”
Damon smiled, dimple and all. He’d given her so much of himself and a goldfish, and she’d given him a grocery review.
“I came home to make a fresh start. I was married. It wasn’t good. I’m not seeing anyone either, and um, that’s the plan, to um, be on my own.”
“Georgia.”
She held her breath. Now she’d said too much. And she didn’t want to have to answer his questions. But that’s all he said, as if he was the one wanting reassurance.
“Yes, Damon.”
“I’m ready when you are.”
He meant to record, obviously, and for that she was thankful, but while she set his levels and he started on the script, it was hard not to imagine what it would be like to have a friend in Damon Donovan.
At the end of the day, Fluffy rode home in her plastic bag on Georgia’s lap in the bus, but the fish much preferred her tank with its little porcelain bridge and fake ferns. Georgia watched her swim in circles then hide under the bridge. That’s what she’d been doing with Damon, swimming in circles around her feelings and hiding in plain sight and for as much reason as the fish had.