“What do you like to listen to?” I asked.
“Comedy shows, mostly. Some podcasts.”
“Nice.”
He turned his body toward me. “So, who are you?”
His question amused me. He’d sat through an entire dinner with me, and he was only now asking this. But the truth was, no one had explained shit to him, other than to say I was Eden’s friend.
“Who am I? That’s a fair question.”
“Like, where did you come from? How do you know my sister?”
I gave him the same line I gave my dad. “We met online.”
“That’s kind of creepy.”
Touché.
“Yeah. The Internet is really only for adults, and even then, sometimes you have to be careful. But if you’re lucky, you can meet some great people you never would have met otherwise.”
“You came all the way here just to see her?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I did.”
“Why?”
At his age, I suppose it made no sense. “I think she’s very…nice. I wanted to meet her in person.”
He looked almost troubled when he said, “You’re not gonna take her away, are you?”
Shit. “Of course not.”
“Because if she went away, I wouldn’t have anyone to take care of me.”
Damn. I could only imagine how scary it was for him to imagine that. She was all he had.
“I haven’t known you very long, Ollie, but I can tell you with a hundred-percent certainty that your sister isn’t going anywhere.”
“How do you know? My mom died. How do you know nothing bad will happen to Eden?”
Fuck.
How am I supposed to respond to this?
“Okay, nothing is guaranteed in life. I know. But she would never willingly leave you. I promise you that.”
I thought I had it bad when I lost my mother. It must have been scary to have lost your mother at such a young age and then to not be able to see on top of that. As he looked in my general direction, but not at me, I was really curious about whether he could see me even a little.
I hoped I wouldn’t offend him when I asked, “Can you see anything at all?”
“I can see with my eyes like you see with your butt.”
Once I processed his answer, I laughed. “I think I get it. Good analogy.”
“What’s that?”
“It means…good example.”
“I can’t see anything.”
“Gotcha.” Some awkward silence passed until I rubbed my hands together and asked, “So how are the kids at school? They treat you okay?”
He smiled. “The kids at school are pretty nice. They’re all blind, too, so it’s not like they can make fun of me or anything.”
The mere thought of anyone messing with him angered me. “Why do you say that? Do other kids make fun of you?”
“Not really.”
“Good.”
“The only thing people really tease me about is my last name.”
“Your last name? Why? What is it?”
He flashed a wicked grin. “Guess.”
“Um…I’m gonna need at least a little clue.”
“Can I touch you?” he asked.
His question made me pause. “Yeah.”
He then reached for me and started to feel around my face and my shirt.
“You’re wearing it. My last name.”
“I am?”
Ollie snickered. “Yeah.”
I wracked my brain. Colón...like cologne, maybe? I figured that was a good guess since his father was from Costa Rica.
“Colón?”
“No.”
Then I remembered the father wasn’t even in the picture, so why would Ollie have his last name? Duh.
“You’re gonna make me totally guess, aren’t you?”
“Yup.” He giggled.
I’m wearing it.
“Pants?”
“Nope.”
“Shirt?”
“No.”
“Watch?”
He shook his head. “Uh-uh.”
Boxers?
I snapped my fingers. “Boxer?”
He laughed. “No.”
There really wasn’t much else that I was wearing. Jesus. What could it be?”
“I’ll give you a hint…”
“Alright…”
“You were close when you said ‘shirt.’”
Shirt. Shirt. Shirt.
“I’m coming up empty, Ollie.”
“It’s the kind of shirt you’re wearing.”
“The kind of shirt…oh…black! You’re last name is Black.”
His giggle grew louder. “How would I know what color your shirt is if I can’t see?”
Damn it. Good one, Ryder. Fucking brilliant.
Okay, it was something he could feel. I looked down at my shirt. “Cotton!”
“Nope.”
I smacked my head. “You’re killing me here. Put me out of my misery.”
Ollie finally said, “It’s Shortsleeve.”
Shortsleeve!
Shortsleeve?
“You’re last name is Shortsleeve?”
“Yup. Eden’s, too.”
Eden Shortsleeve. No kidding.
“Wow. That’s a very unique name. I’ve never heard it before.”
“Me neither…other than us. And Mom.”
Eden peeked her head in. “Can I steal Ryder away, Ollie?”
He shrugged. “I guess.”
“As you can see by his neutral reaction, I’ve been riveting company.” I rustled his hair. “We’ll hang out again soon.”
“When are you going back to California?” he asked.
I looked over at Eden and said, “I don’t know, buddy. I haven’t figured it out yet.”CHAPTER TWELVE* * *RYDERI looked around, noticing that Eden had cleaned up all of the dishes while I was with Ollie. The vague noise of Ollie’s iPad in the background was the only sound that registered as I found myself alone with her for the first time in a while.
Our bodies were close as we stood before each other in her kitchen. Every inch of my skin was aware of her.