Free His Eyes by Renee Carter

“You heard her. Your naval days are numbered. A4.”
    * * *
    The Saturday morning sky was slightly overcast. I stretched my arms as I pulled up to the Edmunds’ gate, which was closed. The night before, I’d gone straight to bed after three hours of Battleship and then I laid there forever while I tried to process everything that had happened. The ceremony, the dance, the...seeing.
    I wanted to come up with something fun for Tristan and I to do—something that we would both be able to enjoy, something special. However, my list of things I knew he would enjoy and things that would be risky was one and the same: riding horses. The problem was that I’d only ridden horses twice in my life, to little success, and, well, he was blind. But I just couldn’t think of anything else.
    Leaning out my car window, I pressed the call button. A minute passed and then a familiar boy’s voice crackled through the speaker. “What?”
    “Chris, it’s me! Open up!”
    There was a pause and then he replied, “ Sooo , what’d ya do last night?”
    “Beat a little cheater at Battleship,” I teased.
    “You did not!”
    “Did too!”
    “You guys only won once! I won the rest!” the boy huffed.
    “Only because you kept telling us we’d missed, when we’d hit your boats!”
    My comment was met by indignant silence.
    “Chris, come on !”
    There was a buzz and the gate swung open. By the time I pulled into the driveway, which was now empty of all the catering vehicles, he was waiting for me at the door with an evil little smile smeared across his face. I gave myself a quick pinch on the arm before exiting my car, just in case I’d really slipped into a Stephen King themed nightmare. I skipped up the stairs and tried to slip past him, but he blocked my way.
    “So, before I came in, what were you doing in Tristan doing?” he asked coyly.
    “Nothing. What were you doing snooping outside his room?”
    Chris raised his eyebrows. “Hearing you scream pretty loud.” I glowered and he casually kicked at the ground. “So, you and Trist are friends now?”
    I shrugged and fought the urge to tweak his smirking little cheeks. “I guess.”
    He blocked me when I made another move to get inside.
    “Wha’ch ya doing, today?”
    I glared at him. “ Something , okay?” I caught his shoulder and pushed him aside.
    “You’re gonna try to get him to ride Aeris, huh?”
    I stopped inside the foyer and spun around. The open door swung in the breeze, but Chris was gone. Creepy little kid. I turned back around and jumped. Tristan was standing in front of me, at the base of the staircase. I let out a small squeak and his face lit with a mind-numbing smile. “Nice to see you, too.”
    “I’m sorry. It was just your brother....” I sighed. “Never mind.” I walked forward and took his arm. “Let’s go.”
    Tristan walked with me, but asked, “Where are we going?”
    “Uh, for a drive,” I said evasively.
    He turned his head toward me, skeptical. “Really, Amy?”
    “It’s a surprise,” I said with a smile and swung the door shut behind us. I turned to see Chris sitting on the front steps. He jumped up when he saw us and, grinning at me, piped, “ I know where you’re going!”
    I swatted at his head, but he ducked out of the way. I eyed him. “Come closer, kid. I dare you.”
    He laughed and slipped back into the house.
    “What was that about?” asked Tristan as he climbed into the Camry.
    “Oh, nothing.”
    When I began to drive, I found that I’d forgotten to grab a cassette tape. I brushed my hair behind my ears, pondering turning on the radio, and then I realized that the silence between us was actually comfortable. A smile brushed my lips when I looked over to see Tristan’s perfect silhouette against the blue-gray sky. I found myself asking, “What are you thinking about?”
    He inclined his head toward me and I waited for his answer. Finally, he said, “Just surprised this car’s still running.”
    “ What ?”