I'll Be Seeing You Read online

  "How many bunches would you like?" she asks.

  "Um, what size is a bunch?" My smugness takes a hard hit

  "Well, if you are sending these to your girl, then I would suggest three bunches. It's not too much, but not too little either, and the aroma will not be overwhelming, but just right," she explains.

  "Perfect, that's what I want."

  "Where are they being delivered?"

  "Radiant Audio. Ms. Joy Johnson," I answer.

  "Ah, yes, Ms. Johnson. Honeysuckle is her favorite."

  They are?

  "You know her?" I ask, sitting up in my seat.

  "Well, yes. Ms. Johnson is a regular customer here. She likes to purchase Honeysuckle for her home. This is the first delivery we've made to her work though. I will have these delivered to her on Thursday," the woman advises.

  "Why not today?" I ask, wanting her to have them today.

  "Well, she’s only in the office on Thursdays, sir. Who is this, may I ask?"

  I smack my forehead forgetting that Joy said this morning that she worked from home. How could I have forgotten that so soon?

  "This is Dr. Matthew Davis. I would like them delivered to her home today then, please."

  "Oh, absolutely, Dr. Davis. What would you like to say on the card?"

  "I will prepare it. It needs to be in Braille." I say.

  "Yes, sir. We create cards in Braille."

  "Oh! Perfect. Then I want the card to say 'Please, tell Conrad I enjoyed our conversation this morning and can't wait to continue tomorrow'," I recite.

  "All right, Doctor. I will print the card and have them delivered to her this afternoon. My name is Betty if there is anything else I can do for you. Would you like to set up an account with us?"

  After giving her my billing information, I have that feeling of accomplishing something good today. Turning in my chair, I clasp my hands behind my head, look out my corner office window, the return of smugness apparent.

  Getting back to work, I take the files Krista placed on the corner of my desk and move over to the sitting area. Placing them on the coffee table, I walk over to the small refrigerator for a bottle of water and get to work. Upon opening the last folder, I glance at my watch and realize that haven’t made my afternoon rounds yet. Quickly slipping into my lab coat, I head toward the elevator.

  A short while later, while focused on making notes on a patient's chart, I’m startled when I receive a hard thud to my back, causing me to gasp for air.

  "Damn, Jess, not so hard," I say between coughs.

  "Did you do it?" he asks.

  "Yep," I reply, continuing to write my notes while heading back to my office.

  "Well, how'd it go? And don't make me drag every single detail out of you, or I’ll march my ass down there tomorrow, introduce myself and ask her on a date," he threatens, knowing full well he’d do it.

  "It went very well. We sat and talked for about forty-five minutes and she asked me if I was coming back tomorrow. When I told her yes, she asked me to stop by to say hello. I told her I would and left." I smile, there, the details without the details. As soon as the elevator comes to a stop, I hurry out the door hoping he won’t follow.

  "Are you going to ask her out?"

  “I’m not sure. I think It's too soon. She's very cautious. Besides, I think I’ll be satisfied with just talking over coffee for the time being," I reply, signing off on my reports.

  "Well, listen, I have a couple babes that want to meet up at the club this weekend. Are you game? You haven't dipped your pickle in a while. It's time, buddy."

  "Jessie, please do not refer to my gun as a pickle. You make it sound as if I have a gherkin and I do not have a gherkin," I scoff, raising my brow at him and then glance toward Krista before we enter my office.

  "Whatever it is you have, you need to dip it. You’ve been testy these past few days. Is it because of the blind girl?"

  I turn to face him and scowl. "Her name is Joy."

  "Joy? That's a cool name to be calling out in the dark, isn't it?" he says, pissing me off, talking about her like that. I throw my arm across Jessie's chest, stopping his entry into my office.

  "Jessie, listen, Joy is not some tramp in a bar you pick up, take home and fuck. She's a good girl, and I don't want to hear you talk about her like that again." I stand in front of his face, daring him to say anything further.

  He backs away, holding both hands in the air. "Hey, Matt, I'm sorry. I didn't know you felt that way about her."

  "She's a nice girl and doesn't deserve to be spoken about like that, okay?" I caution, turning around to sit back down behind my desk.

  "Okay. Um, how about lunch then? I'm starving," Jessie asks, changing the subject.

  Feeling hungry since I skipped breakfast, I grab my suit coat, this time remembering to pull my cell from my lab coat pocket first.

  "So, Mattie, you coming out with me to the club Friday? Those girls are sure things." He walks ahead of me, rubbing his hands together wickedly at the possibilities.

  "I don't know. I'm thinking maybe I’ll ask Joy out."

  "All right, Matthew, you need to spill the beans here, pal. I want to know what's going on with you and her."

  Jessie’s my best friend, and he has an insatiable need to know everything about my love life.

  "Let's go, and I'll tell you about her."

  "Julia's?" he suggests.

  "Sounds good," I reply, praying he won’t drill me on the short walk to the diner.

  As soon as we sit down, I open my menu and it isn’t long before Jessie starts in on the questions.

  "So, what's going on Matthew?" The server that comes to take our order delays my answer.

  "Hello, doctors. Matthew, it’s good to see you again."

  "Hello, Kathy." I reply, smiling. "I'd like the Ahi salad, a bottle of water and an iced tea please."

  "I'll take the fish tacos, sweet potato fries and a Sam Adams please," Jessie says in a hurry to get rid of her so he can get my answer.

  "Sure thing, Matthew," Kathy says in a fake, overly sexy voice before she leaves.

  "Did you get at that, Matthew? I swear to God if you did, I'm going to kick your ass."

  "Sorry, Jess, and I won’t talk about it; you know I don't do that.

  "Okay, so what's got you all twitterpated today?" he asks before my cell phone vibrates in my pocket. As usual, I answer without looking, regret it as always and end up cursing myself for doing it again.

  "Shit! Am I going to get the details or what?" he curses angrily at the many interruptions to his inquisition.

  "Dr. Davis," I answer.

  "Hello, Dr. Davis? This is Joy Johnson." I hear her sweet voice and sit up in attention. Looking over at Jessie, I do not want him knowing who is on the phone.

  "Yes, hi. Hello," I answer nervously, immediately glancing at Jessie again.

  "Did I catch you at a bad time? I thought if I called at lunch, you wouldn't be with a patient. I just wanted to say thank you for the honeysuckle," she says quickly, sounding as if she’s ready to hang up.

  "No! Don't hang up," I nearly shout into my phone, getting up. "Jess, I need to take this call, I'll be right back." I hurry to the front of the diner and find a quiet corner.

  "I'm here. I'm at lunch with a colleague, and I didn't want him to overhear our conversation," I explain. "So you got the flowers?"

  "Yes. I love them. They’re my favorite. How did you know?" I hear her smile through the phone.

  "I didn't, actually. I just thought you would like the aroma. It's one of my favorite fragrances," I say, nervously putting my hand in my pocket and sneaking a peek at Jessie. I roll my eyes at him because he’s watching my every move.

  "And your card? Um, Conrad says he can't wait to see you tomorrow too."

  Smiling at her hidden meaning, I start pacing the floor.

  "That's great, Joy. I’ll see you at the same time then?"

  "Yes. I’ll see you then," she says sweetly before hanging up.
/>   I feel like a sixth grader asking a girl out for a glass of Kool-Aid.

  "Spill, Matthew. You know how relentless I am. I’m not giving up because I’ve seen you like this only once." He leans over the table when Kathy brings our order.

  I hear him stifle another cursive at yet another interruption.

  "Here you go, Matthew," she coos, placing my plate in front of me. As she bends over to whisper in my ear, I can’t help but notice the deep cut of her blouse.

  "Call me sometime. I would love to see you again." I look over at Jessie, and he raises an eyebrow at me.

  "I can't, Kathy. I'm seeing someone right now, but thank you for your offer." I focus on my salad, just waiting to hear what Dr. Montgomery has to say.

  Looking across the table, taking my first bite of salad, I know he’s waiting. He knows not to press me; otherwise, I will clam up and not say anything at all.

  "Her name is Joy Johnson," I say simply, stabbing my salad for another bite. Jess continues to watch me as he fills his mouth with sweet potato fries.

  "She's beautiful, Jessie." The floodgates open, and he knows it. He leans in for all the details.

  "What does she look like?" he asks, curious. "Give me the details, Doctor," he says, sitting back with a grin.

  "She has the most beautiful eyes you've ever seen. Her eyelashes have to be an inch long. Her skin is porcelain white, and her lips are full and naturally red, making you want nothing but to kiss them. She’s not too tall nor too short. She’d fit perfectly under my arm."

  As I explain in detail, l pause at the thought of her. "She's blind," I say at last, taking a large bite of salad so I won't have to answer his next question.

  "Matthew, are you playing Dr. Fix-it again?" he asks sitting back in his chair.

  "See, Jess. I wanted to tell you about her. I wanted to tell someone about her but you had to go and say shit like that." I’m angrier than I’ve been in a long time and get up from the table and start walking back to the clinic. I don’t feel guilty leaving him with the check either. I don’t know if I’m angry because I don’t like him talking about her like that or if it’s because he’s right.

  I can hear him running up behind me, out of breath, but he soon falls into step with me.

  "You need to get to the gym more often," I say, listening to his heavy breathing from his jog.

  "Screw you, Matthew. I go every morning, and you know it. You can't have a bod like this and not work out," he says, laughing as he flexes his arm muscles for me.

  "Hey, Matt, I'm sorry, man. I can tell you really like her. I didn't mean anything by what I said. I just don't want you to get hurt again. Okay?" I listen to his apology and hit his arm accepting it

  Just as we are turning the corner, Jessie bumps hard into a woman that’s rounding the corner at the same time.

  She lets out a very unladylike "Fuck."

  "Matthew, look what you did," Jessie yells at me when he sees her.

  I stand there in shock with my mouth hanging open as he accuses me of his own clumsiness. As we help pick up her packages, about a dozen pair of lace panties spill out of the small, flat boxes. I quickly drop them, but not Jessie. He’s staring at her, practically begging her with his eyes to model them right there on the street corner.

  "I'm so sorry, Miss. I apologize, but the culprit is this one," I say, pointing at my stupid, drooling friend.

  "Jessie?" I say. "Jess?" I say louder. He doesn’t respond because he's in a trance. I’m about ready to buy a shovel to scoop his tongue off the sidewalk and shove it back in his mouth.

  "Jessie, you’re making this young lady nervous staring at her and her purchases like that."

  She’s just as entranced with him as he is with her, so, dropping the boxes I have in my hands, I leave them to their mental copulation.

  Once I get back to the office, I pull my cell phone out of my pocket and program Joy's phone number in it.

  I have Joy's phone number.

  Please tell me I did not just sing those words in my head.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Having lived in Seattle all my life, moving to this neighborhood and discovering this small café directly across the street was a blessing. It was that first day I heard his soft and gentle voice. It’s when he ordered his double Espresso with a 'dollop'.

  He orders the same thing every day and then takes his seat across the room. Sometimes he reads a newspaper, other times, I hear him shuffle papers as if he is working.

  He’s late today, and I’m becoming more and more disappointed. Then, as soon as the door opens in a way that is totally his own, my heart pumps blood throughout my body so fast my fingers tingle. A breeze floats his unique scent in my direction, and I take a deep, long breath, inhaling it into my lungs. I also recognize his walk from the way the heels of his shoes connect with the tiled floor. I’d know his walk anywhere. He has a long gait, which means long legs, which means he's tall. He has somewhat of a heavy foot, as if he puts his weight on the heel with each step and now those familiar footsteps start heading my way.

  When he asks if he can give Conrad a treat, I inwardly giggle because it is so typical of other men that have tried to talk to me. As soon as they find out I'm blind, however, they disappear. Like a Seeing Eye dog sitting at my feet isn't a clue. Some stick around and talk for longer though, thinking I'm blind and stupid.

  When he introduces himself as Matthew Davis, I nearly fall off my chair. The Dr. Matthew Davis? The miracle doctor?

  He’s very easy to talk to and feeling this comfortable so quickly with someone is unusual for me. My senses heighten when I feel him staring.

  After a very pleasant visit with him, I’m disappointed when he says he has to leave. As we say our goodbyes, he slides something across the table toward me. Picking it up, I read the familiar pattern of Braille and smile. It’s his business card. Reading the information for a second time and detecting his scent on it, I can’t resist raising it to my nose. Spice with a hint of musk. My senses heighten again, making me smile — I know he’s looking at me.

  I don’t know what this feeling is that I have, but it’s making my stomach happy. I don’t stay long after he leaves because I’m meeting Laura at my apartment. She's going shopping for me ... again. Luckily for me that she's the District Manager for Femme, because I get the latest fashions. Today she’s bringing me lingerie that she insists I need. I’m not sure why, seeing as I have three drawers full of lace that no one will ever see.

  Once inside my apartment, Conrad goes straight to his bed and while I wait for Laura, I go into my office to start my next book. After the transcript is scanned into the computer, I print it out in Braille, and then the door downstairs buzzes. I know its Laura and curse that she refuses to use her key.

  "Laura, I wish you would use your key," I say with exasperation into the intercom.

  "But my hands are full, Joy. Let me in, dammit," she growls. I can hear the bags rustling in the background and know she has gone overboard again.

  As soon as I let her in, she drops the bags and immediately goes into a story about how a handsome doctor bumped into her today.

  "You should have seen him, Joy. He’s gorgeous. His name is Jessie. He’s about a foot taller than me, and you know that's a bonus in my book. He must work out every day to have pecs like that," she rambles while fussing with the paper bags. "His friend was trying to help me pick up the packages I dropped, and you should have seen the look on his face when he touched your panties. As soon as he saw what they were, he dropped them so fast as if they burned his fingertips. I couldn’t help but laugh at him. Jessie just held them up and inspected them."

  "Laura! That man saw my underwear?" I yell. Covering my mouth, I can’t suppress my giggling until we both burst out laughing.

  "Jessie thought they were mine until I told him I was getting them for a friend. He particularly liked the black ones." The heat rises up my neck into my hairline.

  "Anyway, he said he was going to the club on Friday an
d asked if I would be there. I told him no. I can't because I have a weekend date in Vancouver. Plus, he looks like he might be a player and lord knows I don't need any more of those. I'm tired of that type," she continues to ramble.

  "Here, I'm taking the price tags off of these and replacing them with the Braille clothing tags and putting them in the laundry for you."

  "Thanks, hon,” I say, so grateful for her.

  "So, did you see your mystery man today?" Laura asks as she continues to remove the price tags.

  "Yes, and he actually talked to me, using Conrad as the conduit of course. Why can't a man just walk up and talk to me?"

  "Joy, you don't know how beautiful you are. That intimidates men. They think you’re unapproachable, and they need an icebreaker," she explains.

  "Hey, what are these?" Laura asks, surprising me with the quick change of subject.

  "What?"

  "This beautiful arrangement of Honeysuckle and baby’s breath all wrapped up in a pretty yellow bow."

  Smiling, I’m happy that she’s describing the arrangement for me. I spend a lot of time trying to guess what color the bow was. Yellow is a pretty color.

  "Um, those were delivered today from my mystery man," I say with a grin, feeling the heat rise again from my chest to my cheeks.

  "Are you kidding me? There's a card, what does it say?"

  "It says that he enjoyed meeting Conrad today and can't wait to talk to him more tomorrow," I recite, giggling at his choice of words.

  "Oh my god, Joy! He likes you!" she exclaims, jumping in front of me.

  "No, he’s just being kind," I say serenely, secretly hoping she's right.

  "A man doesn't send flowers just to be nice, doofus. A man sends flowers to say something. In this case, he was thoughtful. He wanted you to enjoy them in the only way you can, with your sense of smell. That, my friend, is very thoughtful, and if he didn't like you, he wouldn't have done it," she admonishes me.

  "Really? Do you think he does?" I ask, feeling the excitement building in my chest.

  "Call him then, Joy. Make that next move," she advises eagerly. I can hear the enthusiasm in her voice.

  "I already did," I confess sheepishly. "I told him that Conrad couldn't wait to see him tomorrow as well."