Chapter 3

Ginger stepped out of the bathtub and put on the robe that Shadow had hung over the shower rod. The robe was soft and smelled like the outdoors. She smiled to herself at the thought that he must have hung it outside to dry instead of using dryer.

Two weeks into her blindness and she was only now coming to grips with it. People had said that when one sense was removed that the others become more developed. She could honestly say that was true. Her senses of smell, hearing, and taste had all improved. Of all her senses though, it was her sense of touch that had developed the most.

An amazing revelation was how much her life depended on being able to see. Nothing in the house could be moved or she would trip over it. Dressing was far more difficult than she thought possible. Shadow made it easier by making sure that her clothes were right side out, but she still found herself putting on her panties backwards on occasion.

She felt guilty about how hard Shadow worked to make her comfortable. He not only cooked the meals, but he cut them up and fed them to her as well. From sunrise to sunrise, her needs came first. He watched over her like a hawk, often anticipating her desires before she even had a chance to express them.

Fumbling for a moment to find the belt of her robe, she tied it and reached out to locate the handle of the bathroom door. Finding it, she opened the door and went to step out of the room.

Shadow’s hand caught hers as he asked, “Where to?”

“The living room,” she answered. “I’m not ready to dress yet.”

Shadow led her to the living room while giving her a running commentary about what to watch out for as she walked. Watch out for the edge of the sofa, be careful not to trip on the rug, and other little warnings were standard fare while moving through the room. She smiled at the care he was giving her. She had come to enjoy the sound of his voice.

When they reached her chair, she settled into it. For a moment, her robe opened giving Shadow a good view of her upper body. Catching a glimpse of the gentle swelling of her breasts, he looked away feeling guilty about his actions. Lusting after her body was tantamount to taking advantage of the fact that she couldn’t see. It just didn’t seem right to him.

Adjusting her robe with a casualness that suggested she had no idea what had been shown, Ginger said, “You’ve never asked me what I did for a living. How come?”

For a moment, her question puzzled him. He answered, “I guess I never thought about it. Living on the street, you just don’t think to ask people what they do for a living. If you ask a wino that question, you’ll be the subject of jokes all day.”

Ginger laughed as she realized that he was right. She replied, “I guess it would be a funny question to ask of a wino or a bag lady.”

He liked her laugh. Even more than that, he enjoyed the chance to talk with someone on a regular basis. Now that Ginger was settled in her chair, Shadow sat down in the chair that he normally occupied when they chatted in the living room.

After a minute, he asked, “So what did you do for a living?”

“I was an exotic dancer,” answered Ginger wishing she could see the expression on his face at her answer.

Years spent living on the streets had eliminated the kind of judgmental reaction that most people would have to that announcement. The sex industry was just another business and one that hired mostly women. Men earned a living with their bodies by lifting and carrying. Women earned a living with their bodies by removing their clothes. He didn’t see a difference between the two.

He replied, “I tried to go into one of those places once, but the bouncer wouldn’t let me in. He said I would scare the girls.”

Ginger had never heard of such a thing. Bouncers kept the men out only after they had spent all of their money inside the club, not before. In a strip club, money talked and all else walked. The fastest way to get the money was to get the man hard and the easiest man to get hard was an ugly man.

She said, “That’s ridiculous.”

It wasn’t ridiculous and he knew it. He hadn’t been turned away once, but a dozen times in a dozen towns. He looked out the window of the house, realizing that night had settled and he had not turned on any lights in the house. He debated turning on the lights and decided that it didn’t matter. He was used to the darkness and she couldn’t see the light.

“I’m getting fat.”

Shadow looked across the room at Ginger and shook his head at her announcement. She had gained five pounds over the past few weeks and they actually looked pretty good on her. It gave her a softer gentler appearance.

Sighing, he replied, “No you’re not.”

“I’ve got to start exercising. If my figure goes, I’ll never make enough money when I get back to stripping,” replied Ginger ignoring his denial of her weight gain.

Ginger knew that if the average housewife understood how demanding of a job it was to dance on a stage with no clothes, that they would treat exotic dancers with much more respect. It was tough enough walking, much less dancing, in six-inch heels. The pole dance required muscles most people didn’t even know they had. It took a very fit woman to do the kind of physical activities that the job demanded. Adult women were not meant to do splits and high-kicks.

On second thought, she decided that housewives did understand how much work it was, and hated strippers for the fact that they worked so hard to get money from their husbands. It was a pitiful amount considering how hard it was. In one night, they might be able to get a hundred dollars from a man, but the wife got the rest of the paycheck. More often than not, all the husbands received from their wives for their money was constant nagging to change for the better. Maybe that was what the husbands needed, but the strippers provided what the husbands wanted.

Shadow was quiet as he thought about it, wondering what he could do so that she could exercise. Sit ups, push ups, and other exercises wouldn’t be much of a problem. Jogging and some of the other exercises that required her to move would be a problem.

He grunted and then said, “I don’t see a problem with exercising. Let me see if I can clear a spot for you to work out.”

“I usually move all the furniture to the side of the living room,” said Ginger.

“I’ll have to mark where everything is, so that I can put the room back to the way it was.”

“I’ll change my clothes while you are doing that,” suggested Ginger.

Looking over at her, he asked, “What do you want to wear?”

“My sports bra and gym shorts,” she answered. That was all that she normally wore when working out around the house.

A sports bra? Shadow stared at her wondering what a sports bra was and why she would wear only a bra while working out in front of him.

Clearing his throat, he asked, “What’s a sports bra?”

With her help, he managed to find the clothes that she had requested. The sports bra didn’t look anything like a normal bra. It didn’t look anything like lingerie, but more like a heavy-duty stretchy tank top. He could imagine her wearing that in front of him without being concerned by what he would see.

While she changed clothes, he pushed the furniture in the living room to the side. He had marked the spots where the individual pieces had been set with some masking tape. At least he could move the furniture back so that she wouldn’t have to learn where everything was all over again.

He had just finished pushing her favorite chair over to the side when he heard the bedroom door open. Rushing over, he said, “Wait. Let me lead you to the area that I’ve cleared.”

“Thank you,” she replied.

Ginger waited for him and then allowed him to guide her into the living room. It wasn’t a long trip, but if she had tried it alone she would most certainly have tripped over a piece of furniture. It only brought home how much she had come to rely on Shadow. He did everything for her, but asked nothing of her.

Shadow watched as Ginger started her warm-up stretches. Since it had been several weeks since she had exercised, she was very stiff and it took her a long time for her muscles to stretch. He watched amazed at how limber she was. Her leg splits were the most extreme that he had ever seen.

Her workout lasted almost two hours. Throughout, Shadow watched over her to make sure that she didn’t move out of the cleared area. During her little breaks, he provided bottles of water when she asked for them. The time flew by for Shadow. It was a great pleasure to sit back and watch her move her body. This was the first time that he really had a chance to see her body without it being covered by oversize t-shirts and baggy pants.

Ginger enjoyed the workout. It was the first time since she had become blind that she had moved around. Her body reacted with more than normal complaints at being put through its paces, but that was countered by the sudden freedom that she felt. She had often said that she could go through her dance routine with her eyes closed. Now she knew that it was true.

The end of her exercise period included major portions of her dance routine. Shadow had watched unable to believe that a woman could move with such grace. He was disappointed when she finally ended her workout.

“That was amazing,” said Shadow when she finally stopped her routine.

“What? My workout?”

“Sure. You move with so much grace that it almost takes my breath away to watch you,” answered Shadow.

“You liked watching me run in place?”

“Sure. Now I imagine that you are ready for a shower,” said Shadow.

The thought crossed his mind that it would be nice to watch her. His upper brain overruled the desire to make that comment.

“That sounds real good,” replied Ginger thinking that a massage would feel even better.

Shadow went about the business of preparing the bathroom for a shower. He had to make sure that her robe was hung up in the right spot, fresh towels were in place, and all of soaps, shampoos, and body washes were set out. When all was done, he went back to the living room.

“The bathroom is ready,” said Shadow.

“Thanks,” replied Ginger while she stood and held out a hand. She noticed the slight trembling of his hand when he grasped her hand, but didn’t think anything of it.

Shadow led her to the bathroom and then returned to the living room to return the furniture back in its place. He thought about removing the tape from the hardwood floor, but realized that she would probably want to exercise every day. It would be best to leave the markers on the floor. She wouldn’t see them.

The knock on the door took Ginger and Shadow by surprise. Standing, Shadow said, “I’ll get it.”

Upon opening the door a crack and looking though the narrow space so that the person outside would not be able to see him, Shadow was surprised to see Harry standing there. He opened the door the rest of the way and moved so that the disfigured side of his face was not visible.

Harry said, “Hello, hello, hello. I see that beauty and the beast are still living together.”

The comment took Shadow completely by surprise and he found himself laughing before he had a chance to react negatively to the joke.

Stepping back, he said, “Come in, Harry. I’m sure that Ginger will want to talk to you.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” replied Harry as he stepped into the house and handed a sack to Shadow.

“What’s this?”

“Oh, just some things that I thought you might need,” replied Harry with a smile as he moved into the living room.

Ginger had heard Harry’s voice and called out, “Harry! How are you doing?”

“I’m doing wonderfully well. Life, when you take the time to experience it, is really a grand thing indeed,” answered Harry with his typical upbeat tenor to his voice.

Shadow stepped into the kitchen to leave Harry and Ginger alone. It was obvious to him that Harry had some news to deliver to Ginger. Rather than inflict his ugliness on Harry, he made a pot of coffee. Once it was done, he slipped into the living room, and set a mug of coffee on the table next to Harry. With his normal care, he directed Ginger’s hand to her mug. Ginger just smiled in his direction in recognition of his care.

Harry said, “Shadow. I’ve got to take her to the doctor’s office. Do you want to go?”

As he slipped back into the kitchen, Shadow answered, “No. I hate doctors.”

Harry laughed and said, “I’ll take her there and bring her back. You stay here.”

Shadow watched from the window as Harry led Ginger to roach coach. Harry was taking excellent care of Ginger. He frowned as he thought about what might happen when they returned. He wondered if her vision was returning. Once the vehicle disappeared from view, he straightened up the mess left in the house. He stocked the shelves with the supplies that Harry had brought with him. After that task had been completed, he packed his gear in case he had to leave.

It was several hours later when the roach coach returned. After standing at the window for more than an hour, Shadow watched as Harry helped Ginger step out of the truck. A sigh of relief escaped his lips when he saw that she still had bandages over her eyes. He set his gear down in a corner of the room.

Harry led Ginger into the house. Shadow, standing in the darkened room, asked, “So how did it go?”

Ginger answered, “It went well. I still can’t see, but the doctor said that my eyes were getting better.”

“I’m glad to hear that your eyes are getting better,” answered Shadow. He wondered how much longer he would be able to stay here.

Harry transferred care of Ginger to Shadow before pausing to look around the room. His eyes lighted upon the small collection of personal gear stashed in the corner of the room. He frowned and looked over at Shadow. The disfigured man wouldn’t look him in the eye. Instead of commenting on the gear, Harry asked, “Why is it dark in here?”

Ginger asked, “Is it dark in here?”

“We don’t need to run up her electricity bill. She can’t see and I don’t need lights,” answered Shadow from a spot across the room from Harry.

Shaking his head, Harry stared at the man standing in a dark corner of the room. His features were hidden from view.

Smiling, he replied, “So you say.”

“Yes. I say.”

“She’s got a fusion cell powering this house. That means she doesn’t have an electricity bill.”

“Oh,” replied Shadow feeling as if he had made a fool out of himself.

Ginger had listened to the discussion in confusion. She didn’t understand all of the conflict over turning on the lights in the house. If she didn’t need them and Shadow didn’t want them, then why bother?