Welcome to Gaia! ::

Stephanie stepped over to his closet where he carefully ran his fingers over his clothing, seeking out the little braille tags attached to each piece. He eventually settled for a light blue cotton blend button up with a pair of Khaki slacks. Finally he checked each drawer of his shoe organizer to find his tan loafers. He wasn’t really certain he even remembered what those colors looked like any more; his sight had begun to dim when he was ten years old and by the time he was thirteen he could just barely register color some of the time. It had been so frustrating for him back then, but that was eleven years ago. Now it was just a fact of life.

Once Stephanie was dressed, he found his wallet and keys before moving to the front door. By the time he had reached it, his chocolate lab roommate was at his side, leash in mouth, gently nudging his hand with a cold nose. Stephanie smiled with appreciation and affection and gave the pooch a gentle pat on the head before accepting the leash. He had so few people that he could depend on in his life, he could count them on one hand, but Duke was definitely on that short list. He was always ready the moment before Stephanie was and the blind man could not have been more grateful.

Stephanie stepped out of his condo with quiet trepidation. Truth be told, he hated having to leave the house. The outside was loud, dirty, and unfriendly and he would prefer to have nothing to do with it. He had services to bring him most of his necessities and he put in painstaking effort to order most things to be delivered to his doorstep. But despite the best efforts and advertising Amazon had to offer, he could not always find everything he desired. And what he desired was the sequel to the novel he had just completed; he needed to know what would happen next. And of course Amazon was sold out of any copies in Braille; what was he to do, have Sir Reginald von Pawsworthy Duke of Kibbles read the book to him?

Duke was capable of many things, but reading and speech were not among them. The library was his best chance of finding the book any time soon. So Stephanie made his way reluctantly to a bus stop to play the embarrassing game of hoping he wound up where he intended to be. He was exaggerating, of course. Any bus driver would tell him if his destination was not on their route upon his asking. But some answered with annoyance and it bothered him. And some answered with pity which was just humiliating. They could at least try to hide it; he was blind, not deaf.

At least this time no one had tried to pet Duke, who lay across his feet while Stephanie tried not to think about what unpleasantness had probably graced his seat before his buttocks had. So often he had to utter the reminder that Duke was working and should not be distracted from his duties. Why could no one understand that? How would they like him to burst into their McDonald’s, walk behind the counter, and scratch behind their ears while they dunked frozen potatoes into hot oil?

Fortunately he made it through the mostly uneventful bus ride and strode quickly through the downtown streets, willing his nose to stop working instead of his eyes. It was always so vile in this area and there was a library branch closer to home, but this one was larger with a much better selection. It was worth it, he assured himself at least two more times before reaching the large doors of the main library and pushing through them. He allowed himself a quiet sigh of relief when the smells and sounds of downtown were replaced with the scent of many, many books and the sound of quiet footfalls. It was nirvana compared to outside, but he was still hesitant as he stepped forward. It had been a long time since he had to navigate this place and he hardly even remembered that visit. What was his plan now?

As Stephanie was hesitantly walking forward he was greeted with a soft, pleasant voice. He hesitated at first; he was not entirely certain that the words were directed at him and it was always a bit embarrassing to respond to a greeting meant for someone behind him. But there was no one behind him; he would have heard the movement if there was. That was especially true in the early morning quiet of the nearly empty library. So perhaps he was the intended recipient… and now he had waited so long to respond that it would be awkward to do so. But if he did not then it would be rude.

Fortunately he was offered a second chance in the form of that gentle voice asking if he required assistance in finding anything. Stephanie turned toward the voice with a small but grateful smile. ”Oh, yes. Good morning, I -” Stephanie had stepped toward the voice but stopped with a puzzled expression when he felt resistance on the leash.

”Come on, Duke.” Stephanie encouraged but received only a soft whuff in reply. The puzzled expression remained but Stephanie let the dog be. Duke was trained to act in his best interest even if it meant defying his orders; he could only assume that this situation fell into that category, though he could not imagine what he might have to fear from a librarian.

He turned his attention back to what he presumed from her voice was a young woman. ”Sorry. As I was about to say, I am looking for a Braille copy of “The Man in the Top Hat”. It is part of the Detective Collins mystery series.” Stephanie felt mildly embarrassed at his taste in books, but tried repeatedly to convince himself that a library employee was not likely to be judging him for it. It was not as though he had come in looking for the latest Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew. Not that he wouldn’t, mind, but not this day. Still, it would have been more impressive if he was reading nonfiction, perhaps something educational or enriching. But he hadn’t suffered through public transportation for educational materials; he wanted entertainment.

Stephanie heard a soft release of breath, a sigh of relief by his guess, and he felt a little relieved as well. He had not completely botched this interaction. He was still certain that his mother would have been appalled at his manners, but truthfully his mother could be appalled at the color of a set of new curtains. She really could cue the histrionics on demand. It was fortunate that she was not here.

When the young woman spoke again, her voice actually held a tone of excitement. That was honestly rather surprising for Stephanie, but the surprise was a pleasant one. She even knew the book; was she also a fan of mystery stories? Having expected to be shamed for his interest, Stephanie found himself feeling a bit excited as well even if it was perhaps not evident on his features.

”I have been interested in reading A. Miranda. Have you read any of them yourself? I am always open to recommendations.” His expression may not have changed, but there was a clear change in his tone. But then he caught himself when he realized that the library employee was actually quite nervous about Duke. He had not even considered that possibility and reigned himself in a bit.

”Ah, I apologize if Duke makes you uncomfortable. He will not harm you; he is here only to assist me. He will remain at my side as I walk to keep me from running into anything.” Stephanie hesitated before offering nervously. ”If it would help… Perhaps once we reach the Braille section I could instruct him to stay behind? I would need quite a bit more assistance in that case, you understand. But I would not wish you to be uncomfortable.”

Stephanie was honestly very glad when the young lady reassured him that Duke was welcome. He had come to heavily rely on the dog and was nervous at the thought of leaving him behind, even for a few moments. He did worry for the woman helping him, though. She had put on a more confident tone like slipping into a jacket to ward off the cold, but he still thought to himself it would be better if he did not linger too long in making his selections.

”Thank you.” He thought to say more, but what else was there? He could reassure her again that Duke would offer no harm, but the repetition wouldn’t help. In his experience, it only made people focus even more on what mishap they feared might happen. It would just have to be good enough that the young lady was willing to move forward. And, of course, that Duke was very well behaved and would not break his training to harass a kindly library employee.

When the young lady hesitantly explained that she wasn’t sure how to lead him, Stephanie smiled in understanding. She was not the first to express that confusion and he was prepared with a response. What he was not prepared for was the offer to take his hand. Mostly because he had the same thought when contemplating leaving Duke behind, but had quickly shut it down. He had not expected his thought to leap from someone else’s lips. Stephanie blinked, his cheeks flushing with pink as he temporarily completely forgot what he had intended to say.

”Oh! I… No, I…” Stephanie cleared his throat and tried again. Really, shame on him for losing his composure just because a lady offered to hold his hand. And only to lead him to a book! Anyone would think he’d never even spoken to a woman before. He was a little glad that he could not see her reaction to his fumbling.

”Forgive me; I was a little surprised. I can hear your footsteps, so following you will not be an issue. Duke’s job is to make sure I don’t manage to walk into every bookshelf, table, chair, and card catalogue along the way.” Stephanie smiled, hoping to make the comment a little humorous. Or at least he hoped it was only a joke that he would have otherwise run into everything in his path. Well, the whole point was that he would not have to find out.

”You are kind to offer, though.” he added a little more softly. It was still embarrassing, even though it shouldn’t have been. She was just offering to help him in the best ways that she could think of. Well, it didn’t matter; the confusion was cleared up and he would have a funny little story to ponder over later. ”Please, lead the way.”

Fortunately for Stephanie he had no idea that the library employee was staring at him. He was more than embarrassed enough already. But the young lady had been kind and patient thus far and he gave it no more thought than that; he was honestly grateful that she had not laughed at him. Or if she had, she had managed to smother it very well considering there was nothing at all wrong with his hearing.

”He is.” Stephanie agreed readily; Duke had always behaved very well, even under less than ideal circumstances. Some people thought nothing of trying to pet him or letting their children run up to him, a large dog in a work vest they did not know leading a man they also did not know. It was unthinkable to Stephanie, whose mother would have been horrified at him running up to any unknown dog as a child.

It was also unthinkable to him that he might have just proclaimed himself to be a good boy, as well. The thought never even crossed his mind. Stephanie chuckled softly when his attempt at humor was met with a playful reassurance that she would not have let that happen. ”Then perhaps we should have held hands after all. A missed opportunity; maybe next time.” This sort of teasing banter was far from Stephanie’s forte and he was still blushing as he made the silly statement. Would she think he was flirting? God, he hoped not. He was sure a nice girl like her dealt with more of that than she could stand on any given day and he was starting to regret not thinking more before he spoke. Should he apologise or would that just make the entire thing more awkward?

Stephanie would not have time to dwell on the misstep as it was not a far walk to the Braille section. Duke trotted sedately behind the library assistant and Stephanie followed without incident. Their steps echoed in the large, quiet space but it was a sound Stephanie found oddly comforting. When they stopped he waited patiently, Duke sitting obediently at his feet. He could hear the employee moving about, but was still mistakenly facing about where he suspected eye level would be if she was standing.

It was not until she spoke again that Stephanie tried to adjust where he was facing. He did like to at least seem as though he was looking at others when they were speaking. ”Yes. The Man in the Top Hat, if you have it.” he replied hopefully. He did enjoy the series and was looking forward to the next.

But in the meantime… Stephanie smiled as he waited for the completion of the sentence, still facing her but not at all reacting to the proffered book. His expression registered the faintest surprise when she took his hand, but he soon understood as she placed a book within it. Of course; he was silly to be so surprised when he knew that she was helping him to find a book. Well, two including her recommendation.

”Yes, very interested. Thank you.” Stephanie confirmed as he ran his free hand over the cover of the book, the leash hanging from his wrist. The young lady hadn’t pulled her hand away; it was impossible not to notice. He pretended not to notice, though. It was not as though he was bothered by it. And he was not about to admit that it was kind of nice. He had been teasing about holding her hand next time, but well… it really was nice. For his part, Duke seemed more interested in watching the other patrons of the library and remained where he was sitting, blessedly unaware of his owner’s awkward enjoyment.

”Stephanie.” The blind man responded eagerly. He had thought it might be awkward to introduce himself before, but perhaps he was just overthinking things. God knew he could overthink things. ”That is a beautiful name, if you do not mind my saying. Where does it come from?”

A promise? Stephanie was honestly a little surprised at those words. It was just continued banter, of course. They were being just a little silly in one another’s company, strange as that was when they had just met. But even with that excuse, was it not reasonable to assume that she might like him to return? Ah, what was he even thinking about? Really, he had one conversation with a pleasant young lady and his imagination was drifting off into the lands of tawdry Harlequin romance novels. Not that he had ever read any of those to know, but he imagined that was what they must be like.

”Consider it a promise, then.” Stephanie heard himself say despite his mental protestations. Aleithia withdrew her hand at last and for a moment Stepahnie redoubled his doubts at his own behavior. He couldn’t deny that he was flirting that time and he was a bit embarrassed. But was he entirely wrong to think that perhaps she was flirting as well? He had truly done himself a disservice by speaking to so few women in his life; he had no idea if they were mutually flirting or if it was all in his head. She could just as easily be encouraging him to come back to the library to check out more books.

No, that was silly. Wasn’t it? He clearly enjoyed reading already, so there was no need to advertise the library to him. But it was her job. God, he didn’t want to be one of those creepy men who didn’t understand when a woman was just trying to be polite. That was entirely too humiliating; he didn’t think he’d be able to step foot in this library ever again if that was the case.

Aleithia found the second book and brought it to him as she tested his name. And Stephanie smiled, though he felt a little silly for it. He supposed he did not hear his own name spoken to him very often, given that he lived in isolation. It was by choice, but the choice he had made was a lonely one.

Stephanie gave a soft, amused huff and his shoulders deflated slightly as he shook his head. ”Apparently my parents had something of a bohemian phase around the time I was born. Mother still insists that it is a unisex name “in some parts of the world”, but is quick to change the subject if I question what parts of the world she could mean. I considered having it legally changed, but by now I have come to accept it. I am used to it; it is my name.” And it had been many years since he was last stuffed into a locker for it. These days it was mostly awkward silences as people tried to think of a polite way to inform him that he had a girl’s name. It was a little embarrassing still, but Stephanie had long since stopped being offended.

”At least it makes for an amusing story, I suppose. It is always a little fascinating to me to hear just where parents draw inspiration for unusual names.” Stephanie blinked as a thought occurred to him. ”How fitting. I have come to the library to find ‘Truth.’ Hmn… please ignore that. I really should think more before I speak. I suppose it is a little because I am very much enjoying speaking to you. You must tell me if I am taking too much of your time; it is a bit rude of me to expect you to socialize at your place of work.”

Was it just his imagination or had they just shared a very awkward moment where neither of them seemed quite certain what to say next? Stephanie could think of nothing that would not have sounded a bit repetitive. He too looked forward to seeing her again, but was that not already obvious? Perhaps he should have asked for her schedule so that he could be certain to run into her again. But that was a rather personal question to ask someone that he had just met, wasn’t it? Oh, this was a predicament; what did he intend to do?

Fortunately they quickly moved on to conversing about their given names. Unfortunately that did not exactly solve the problem of his not really knowing when he should return if he wished to see Aleithia again. He supposed he could assume that if he returned on the same day at around the same time next week that she might be present. Was that how it worked for library employees?

Stephanie’s expression lit up with a smile when Aleithia asked the question he had not yet managed to ask. This was her normal schedule, she would be here if he arrived at the same time next week. Ah, that did make things much easier. Though he did have one concern, still. One that he would address now that she had reopened the topic and made it feel much less awkward.

”I would very much like to share my thoughts with you once I’ve read them. However, I wonder if it might not be better to meet outside of your place of work. If that isn’t a wholly inappropriate thing to ask; I just thought it might be nicer if you did not have other duties to attend to. It is wonderful to meet someone interested in the same genre that I am, so I look forward to it either way.” Hopefully he hadn’t overstepped and made it uncomfortable again. Better to just meet in the library than to have Aleithia avoid him in the future. But it was just a little too late to worry about that.

”If you are willing, maybe we could exchange numbers. But of course do tell me if I have come on too strong; I would be happy to return to the library if that would make you more comfortable.”