My Life is You Ch. 07

The silence was uncomfortable. Dillon didn’t know how many people were there, but none of them were speaking. Occasionally, there was an uncomfortable cough or the sound of rustling as someone squirmed in his seat, but other than that the room was still.

The tapping of a cane against the doorjamb broke the quiet. Slow deliberate footsteps told of a new person entering the room. Whoever it was laid something heavy down on a desk or table. Dillon heard the quiet snick of briefcase locks being opened. The class teacher must have arrived.

"I always find it interesting that on the first day of class, no one is ever talking to each other," a tenor voice with an eastern accent said. "The reason I say this is because I also teach this class for non-blind students and on the first day of class they’re always talking up a storm, getting to know each other.

"As blind people, for some reason we enter a room and isolate ourselves. We stand or sit there and say nothing, do nothing. It’s like there’s this thought going through our heads: if I don’t attract any attention, no one will notice I’m different.

"Well, I’m here to tell you, you are different. You’re blind and there’s no going back. It just doesn’t work that way. You can, however go forward and continue to have a life very similar to the one you had before you lost your sight.

"Braille is a huge tool in helping you to enter the world again. It’s going to let you communicate effectively, not only with other people, but also with yourself. It’s going to show you that you can walk into a room again and get to know those around you without someone else making the introductions."

Dillon squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. That was exactly what he had been doing; he’d been waiting for someone to let him know who the other people in the room were. It hadn’t occurred to him that prior to the accident, he would have taken care of that himself.

"First, though, we’re going to have to deal with a common misconception. Braille does not make you blind. You’re already blind, so Braille isn’t changing that.

"Second, Braille will not make you more noticeable as a blind person. In fact, it will decrease that noticeabiltiy since when most people look at you, all they’ll see is someone reading a book.

"Finally, Braille is not a whole new language. If you were literate before, than you are now. You’ll still be using the same letters, the same words, the same language; the letters will just be formed differently. Once you learn to think of an 'E' as two diagonal dots instead of four lines, you’ll be well on your way to reading Shakespeare or Tom Clancy, whichever you prefer.

"Now, placed in the middle of each table are some large boards. I want everyone to grab one and we’ll begin our lesson."

**

Dillon placed the last plastic egg in his final egg carton. Skimming his fingers over the cartons, he compared the letters he had made with the ones on the primer he had been given at the beginning of class. A smile spread across his face as he confirmed that he had just spelled his name in Braille.

"Everyone should be finished now, so I’m going to go around and meet everyone. This is why I didn’t let any of you tell me your names at the beginning of the class. I wanted you to use Braille to introduce yourselves to me."

Dillon heard the tapping of a cane and then the instructor said, "Hello Maria, it’s nice to meet you. Let me introduce myself, but please don’t say my name aloud." There was a brief silence before a woman responded, "Hello, it’s nice to meet you too."

Once again the cane briefly tapped its way across the floor and another person introduced himself to the instructor. This continued until Dillon sensed the man standing next to him.

"Ah, Dillon, it’s nice to meet you as well. You are the last student, so once you read my name, please feel free to call me by it."

Dillon nervously reached out and ran his hand over the stiff cardstock that the instructor held. He used his fingers to feel the raised dots several times before being sure he had the right name. "It’s nice to meet you too, Paul."

**

The class was over and people were slowly standing up. The sound of many canes tapping on the floor gave off an irregular beat as the students worked their way toward the door, being careful not to run into anyone or anything.

Dillon hesitated when out in the corridor. Nurse Sterning hadn’t identified herself and he didn’t remember how many steps down the hall he would have to go before reaching the main hallway.

There was a babble of voices as family members and caretakers claimed their charges. Some of the students were talking excitedly about all they had learned, while others were more subdued.

Dillon would have fallen into the former category, but he had no one to share his exuberance with. So instead he waited for Nurse Sterning to arrive, being careful to stay back against the wall, out of the way of the crowd.

The hallway quickly cleared, the last of the people headed for home. Still he waited. He was sure Nurse Sterning had said she’d be back at the end of the class. Where could she be?

"Who’s still here?" Paul’s voice questioned.

"It’s Dillon," Dillon replied. "How did you know I was here?"

"I could hear you breathing. Isn’t anyone coming for you?"

"Yes, I have a live-in nurse that should be here any moment. I don’t know why she’s running late."

"Maybe she’s waiting for you at the front door," Paul said, moving to stand next to Dillon. "Why don’t we go up there?"

"I take it you know how to get there," Dillon said.

"Oh yes, I’ve taught this class in this classroom for four years now," Paul laughed. "I could tell you exactly how many steps to any place in this building, including both bathrooms, the cafeteria, the front door, all the fire exits, and my office."

"I think you have it covered!"

"Here, take my arm. You don’t have anything against the blind leading the blind, do you?"

**

A heavy book was spread open on Dillon’s lap. His fingers were running slowly over one of the pages. Dillon laughed as he read the first sentence, "See Spot Run." Well, I guess I have to start somewhere, he said to himself.

The doorbell rang just as Dillon was turning to the next page. He put the book aside and grabbed his cane. Standing, he moved out of his bedroom and into the hall. Before he could reach the upper landing of the stairs, he heard the front door close and footsteps moving away from it.

"Who was there?" he called out.

"Just girl scouts selling cookies," Nurse Sterning replied before walking back to the kitchen.

"Oh," Dillon said, turning to go back into his room. He had been hoping for company. It had been a while since any of his friends had visited and he actually wanted to show off his reading, even if it was children’s book about a dog.

**

"It’s great that Dillon is getting out more," Dave said to Jeremy as they turned away from Dillon’s front door. "Still, it would have been nice if he had let us know he couldn’t come today instead of just skipping out on us."

"Well, I never actually spoke with Dillon," Jeremy reminded Dave as they climbed back into the car. "I just left a message with Nurse Sterning that we wanted to take him to the Sting concert tonight and that he should call if he couldn’t go. Maybe something got screwed up and he thought he was only supposed to call if he was coming."

"I suppose that’s possible," Dave admitted as he started the car. "You think Scott will want the extra ticket?"