Chapter 8: BELA

Tory chuckled. Lee had a sense of humor and he didn't seem to view his blindness as an untouchable topic. They came to the curb marking the end of the block and Tory abruptly stopped walking. "Okay, in about three steps from here we're going to come to the curb."

Lee's lip curled in amusement.

"Thank you, Tory. Just take the step first and I'll follow." She did and smoothly he followed. She gave him an impressed look.

"What?" He asked, turning to her.

She was speechless. Sometimes like this, it was like he could really see her. "How did you know that I was looking at you?"

Once she had guided him back to the next curb and stepped onto the walk, he stopped and turned to her. "Close your eyes." She did, after a slight hesitation. "Are they closed?"

"Yes." He didn't speak. She concentrated on the darkness. Then she felt something move past her face and her head flinched back a fraction of an inch.

"Did you feel that?"

Tory opened her eyes, "Yeah. What did you do?"

"What did it feel like I did?"

She thought for a moment. "You waved your hand in front of my face."

"Munte bom!" He said. "Very good. That's exactly what I did."

"Moon-te..." She tried to repeat.

"Munte." He corrected her pronunciation. "Moo-in-two bom. Very good."

"Munte bom," she said.

"Very good, bela."

"Bela?"

"Beautiful."

She grinned shyly.

"It's the first thing a person wants to do when they find out you're blind," he continued. "So, to answer your question...if you could sense that after being blind for five seconds imagine how much I can sense after being blind all of my life."

"Wow." He took her arm and gently wrapped it around his and they continued walking.

"Tory?"

"Yes?"

"Why do you run for the bus every day?"

She laughed. He was not letting that go. "Because...I'm a procrastinator. Okay? Time seems to slip by me despite my good intentions. Besides," she continued shyly. "If you didn't hear me breathing heavy in the morning you'd have to rely on the hoochie Mama from the bus to titillate you."

He chuckled. "Or I can just wait for the bus driver to take off real fast and cause you to fall into my lap again."

Tory squeezed his arm in good humor and he sighed. "Tell me about yourself; everything. I want to feel like I know you--more than I already do."

As they walked the remaining eight blocks, arm in arm, Tory explained about being an only child. She thought he was so lucky to have such a big family. She hadn't really been anywhere exciting, not much further then the same city where she had been born and raised. Her job was pretty boring which made it tedious. She spent all day on the telephone doing customer service and filling orders for a major department store. And her love life...well she didn't even bring that up.

Lee was the one to stop when they got to the bus stop; Tory had been so preoccupied answering his questions that she had forgotten all about leading him and it seemed that it was he that was now leading her.

"Tory, I can't believe that you've never been further than Kentucky!" He led her to the bench and they sat down. She winced. Her feet ached and her body was tight.

"Not having a car has made that difficult." He just raised a brow.

"When will your bus arrive?" She dug into her bag for the bus schedule. "Less than ten minutes." He reached for her hand. "Tired?"

She smiled shyly. "Yes. This is quite a walk for me." She looked at her hand in his; hers brown and his much paler.

"You were limping near the end. Maybe next time we can meet...some place closer?"

"Oh." She tried to stay very cool but her heart was beating a mile a minute. "Like, where?"

"Well, I don't go out all that much. But I do like live music. Club Kat is right across the street..." She glanced where he gestured. She could hear a live band playing. It wasn't what she would normally listen to but the beat was hard and it made her want to move her body. She turned to him in time to see an expectant, hopeful look on his face. Was that a look of insecurity? How is it that a man as sexy as him could ever be insecure? She gripped his hand.

"That sounds like fun, Lee."

He seemed to relax. "Tomorrow is Friday; how is that?"

"Can I ask you a question first?"

"Certainly."

"What's your full name?"

He gave her a twisted smile. "I'm so sorry. I've asked you out for a date and you know nothing about me." The bus rounded the corner and Tory's smile dropped. "Let me introduce myself before that bus whisks you away. I'm Leandro Eduardo das Torres...or just Lee Torres." He frowned and cocked his head, standing with her hand still clasped in his. So, give me your phone number and I'll call you later tonight."

"Just call it out to you?"

"Yes." He smiled. "I have a great memory." She did as he asked and watched him repeat it once before nodding his head. The bus pulled up in front of them and she reluctantly slipped her hand from his grip.

"Bye, bela."

Her body tingled at that word. "Bye, Lee." She climbed onto the bus and watched him until the bus rounded the block. A date. Oh God, a date with the sexy man from the bus; Leandro Eduardo das Torres! She closed her eyes, collapsing back against the seat.

Tory got home and didn't know what to do with herself. He said he'd call tonight. She changed out of her work clothes—especially the shoes, putting on her furry slippers. Then she sat curled up in her armchair with her cell phone right at her fingertips. She replayed her entire evening with him, blushing when she said something foolish, tingling when he did something sexy.

"Bela..." She said quietly and then the phone rang. She jumped, sending it falling to the floor. "Oh no!" She leaped up and went scampering for it, hoping that it hadn't shattered! It rang again and a relieved gust issued from her lungs.

"Hello?" She said, trying to sound calm.

"Ola, Tory."

It was him! "Ola, Lee."

"Were you busy?"

"No." She started pacing nervously. "I was just relaxing." She sat down quickly and pretended to relax.

"Thank you for coming out. I enjoyed spending time with you."

"Thanks for inviting me." She said shyly.

"Tomorrow, meet me at the club. I'll be outside waiting for you. Is that okay?"

"Okay. That sounds great."

"Did you want to meet right after work...or did you want to go home first...?"

"Umm. How about right after work? Then there's no chance of me missing the bus and leaving you waiting." He chuckled.

"Sounds like a plan."

"Then I should see you a few minutes after six."

"Okay. Adeus, Tory."

"Adeus, Lee." She hung up the phone and shook her head, a smile still on her face. She could not believe how things had worked out.