A Show of Hands

Nikki could not stop staring at the arms of the man at the gym. With each stroke on the rowing machine his muscles rippled and the look of determination on his face became more fierce, while her own legs seemed to lose the ability to ram another revolution out of the stationary bike's pedals.

It's not polite to stare, she reminded herself and tried to regain her focus and concentrate on her own workout routine. But her eyes would not be so easily tamed and for the next ten minutes she continued to ogle the man before he rose and carefully sprayed down and toweled off the machine and disappeared into the locker room.

As he stepped into the steamy shower Adam massaged his aching biceps. No doubt about it, he had definitely over worked it today.

You know better than to push yourself so hard. And besides, she probably wasn't even looking at you.

Adam continued the debate he'd been having with himself about the cute brunette on the exercise bicycle as he lathered up. It wasn't likely he'd ever see her again since he wasn't a member and was just using a co-worker's guest pass.

He was grateful to be the only one in the shower as his lustful thoughts of the comely lady produced a predictable result. For a brief moment he entertained the idea of bringing himself to a climactic relief, but as always his manners got the better of him and would not even consider following through with it.

He quickly finished his shower and dressed before walking briskly up the street to the television studio where he worked.

Nikki finished her workout and made her way to her own office. The sign in front greeted her with her own name: Dr Nicole Stewart, OD. She had come to New York at her uncle's urging to study at the College of Optometry at SUNY, where he had himself earned his degree.

To her considerable surprise she found that she thrived in the city environment, which was quite a drastic change from where she had grown up in rural North Carolina.

By the time she graduated from school her uncle presented her an opportunity that she could not pass up. He was ready to retire his optometry practice on Manhattan's upper west side, and proposed that she take it over for him. Dr. Melwyn Stewart spent a year transitioning his practice into the very able hands of Dr. Nicole Stewart, and she would be forever grateful that he had shown her such an amazing kindness.

Nikki was now in her fifth year of practice, and business was great. She continued to serve her existing clientele, but also found that her reputation made it easy to find new patients as well.

One morning she was scanning the day's roster as was her custom. She always wanted to make note of new patients and referrals, and on this particular day she saw an unfamiliar name: Adam Parks. She glanced over his personal information, noting that his residential address was in Queens, a bit of distance from her office, but not entirely unusual. She also noted that under "occupation" it stated simply "independent contractor".

There was also an atypical request for a noon-time appointment. Ordinarily Nikki's office closed for the lunch hour, but for new patients she almost always made an initial exception.

When noon rolled around, Becky, Nikki's receptionist, grabbed her purse and headed out as was her daily habit. Nikki reminded her not to lock the door because a new patient was coming in.

"Oh, that's right. I'll take a short lunch today so I can get back and help with anything you might need."

"Thanks, Becky. I appreciate that. Especially if the new patient is a creeper."

They both shuddered and laughed at the memory of a select few patients who had proved to be just a bit on the creeper side.

Only about three minutes after Becky had left the door chime alerted NIkki to come from the back office to greet the new patient. When she saw him she stopped dead in her tracks, dumbstruck for words. It was the hunky guy she had ogled on the rowing machine a couple of weeks prior.

He was similarly stunned into silence as he recognized the bouncy brunette from the exercise bike.

Adam forced himself to speak, if only to break what was threatening to become an uncomfortable silence.

"Hi, I'm Adam Parks. Thanks so much for making a noon-hour appointment for me. I have a crazy-weird work schedule these days."

"No problem," Nikki said, summoning her professional doctor's voice. "We try to accommodate our patients whenever we're able to."

She quickly went into "business mode" and led Adam to the examination room and set about conducting her usual intake interview.

"So, what brings you in today?"

"Well. I've never worn glasses or anything before, but lately I notice that things aren't as clear to me as they ought to be."

"I see. Well, how did you first become aware of this?

"I think it was on the subway platform when I realized I couldn't read the signs as easily as I could when I was younger."

"That's actually quite common. Let's run some tests and see what we can find."

She began the usual preliminary examinations, glaucoma test, etc.

She situated him to look into the autorefractor and she switched it on. Suddenly all the lights in the room went out completely.

"Oh no!" cried Adam. "I've gone blind!"

Nikki laughed easily at the silly joke and excused herself to see if she could find out what had happened.

As she stepped into the reception area the door swung open and a man came bounding from the hallway into the room. His shirt bore a logo reading "Filmore Electric".

"Sorry, ma'am. My bonehead apprentice just sliced through something he wasn't supposed to. But luckily we know how to fix it. Shouldn't be in the dark for more than about ten minutes or so."

"Oh. OK. Thanks for letting me know," Nikki said with a sigh.

She made her way back to the exam room and peered inside. Adam was sitting in the dim room, his caramel-colored hair catching the little bit of light that leaked in through the heavily shaded window.

Well, at least he's definitely not a creeper! she thought to herself as she re-entered the room. She explained what had happened and apologized for the delay.

"I hope he can fix it quickly, "Adam said. "I have a very strict schedule I have to keep at work."

"What exactly is it that you do, Mr. Parks?"

"Please. Call me Adam. I work for WCD television. We're shooting today, so there's a lot of people to coordinate."

Nikki was intrigued. She imagined that he was perhaps a carpenter or perhaps a lighting technician by the bulging biceps that peeked so tantalizingly from beneath his short sleeves. It was turning her on to imagine what sort of work would lead to such sexy arms.

"So, do you build sets, or do lighting or something?" she asked as innocently coquettishly as she could.

"No, I'm not one of those guys."

It was odd she though that he stopped there without volunteering what it was he did.

"Are you a sound man?"

"No ..." Adam shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"You mean ... you're an actor?"

"Kind of. I'm ... I ..."

"Oh, come on, Adam. It can't be anything to be ashamed of now, can it? Please tell me what you do."

Adam took a deep breath. It was not easy to explain to most people what he did.

"I'm a puppeteer."

He waited, watching Nikki's face to see what reaction this news would bring.

"You mean ... that's a real job? Waving stuffed animals around in the air?"

Adam looked at his watch.

"Look, I'm sorry. I have to get back to the studio. They're going to be starting soon and I have to be there otherwise the whole production is stuck at a standstill."

He scurried out of the office as quickly as he could without being rude.

Nikki was standing slack-jawed when Becky came into the room.

"Wow! she said. Was that hunk who just shot out of here your 12:00? Oh, I hope he wasn't a creeper. I got back as fast as I could."

"No, Beck, he wasn't a creeper. And I'm afraid I was rude to him. I didn't mean to be but now I think I'm going to have to do some damage control."

Adam strode briskly up the street toward the WCD studios, hands jammed into his pockets and head slung low.

Sometimes I just think I should quit, he thought. There's just no way to tell anyone, let alone a pretty woman that you play with puppets for a living. They just immediately assume that you're and idiot or you're immature and have some sort of a Peter Pan complex.

He made his way onto the set without speaking to anyone. Darla, the puppet wrangler, brought him the large lavender-furred puppet that millions of children knew as Chunky-Chuck. She could sense that something was awry.

"What's wrong, Adam? You don't seem too happy right now."

"Just questioning my career path right now, Dar. Seems pretty dumb sometimes, you know?"

Darla became very serious and stepped deliberately in front of him. She looked him squarely in the face as she slid the furry puppet onto his hands.

"Look, Adam. You know as well as I do that Chunky-Chuck is an incredibly important part of the lives of the kids who watch us. What was it you called him when we developed him in season one?"

Adam looked up for the first time. Darla's questioning eyes expected a specific answer.

"A friend to the fatherless," he half whispered.

"And don't you ever forget that, Mr. Parks".

The floor manager called for quiet as the bell rang twice calling for a rehearsal pass to begin.

Chunky-Chuck played his scene with Miss Dewlap as earnestly as he had ever played anything. The production staff who were all watching laughed heartily throughout the sketch, but when the moment of pathos arrived to bring the scene to a conclusion there was a silence that was quieter than quiet.

Sam, the show's director, called "Cut!" and a long single bell rang. He ran to where Adam was concealed behind a set piece for the scene.

"Geez, Adam! I wish I was rolling tape on that one! Please tell me you've got another one just like that inside you, 'cause that was magic!"

Adam began to come back to the things that made his job significant. He knew that he could never just quit. But he did heave a sigh at the notion that he would never be able to explain it to people outside of the industry, especially beautiful optometrists.

Several days later Adam was in the break room between setups. He was looking over the script for the next scene when the floor manager's voice crackled through the intercom speaker.

"Adam Parks, you have a delivery at the front desk."

What could this be? he wondered as he ambled through the corridors toward the reception desk.

"This just showed up for you, Mr. Parks," said the receptionist, handing him a small cardboard box.

Adam opened the box and found a card in an envelope on top of some wrapping tissue. He opened the card and saw the front of it was emblazoned with the words, "I'm sorry". He opened the card and read:

Mr. Parks,

Please accept my sincere apology for my reaction to your profession at your examination earlier this week. You see, I have never met a puppeteer before, and I'm afraid I simply didn't know how to react. I realize that I must have come off as being quite condescending, which was certainly not my intention.

As a token of apology, please feel free to reschedule your examination appointment at your convenience, and there will be no charge.

As a further expression of how sorry I am, please accept this gift. Winter will be here soon, and you need to take good care of those hands!

Regards,

Dr, Nicole Stewart

Adam pulled the crumpled tissue from the box and found within pair of exquisitely handsome leather gloves. A smile crept across his face, not so much because of how expensive the gloves must surely have been, but because the beautiful lady he had first lusted over at the gym had shown a kindness and courtesy that was even more beautiful than her outward appearance.

****

The following Tuesday at noon, Adam found himself once more at the entrance to Dr. Nicole Stewart's office. He was nervous to see her again, but excited too as he entered the reception room.

Becky must have been told to expect him. She shot up to greet him.

"Hello, Mr Parks! Dr. Stewart will be with you in just a moment. I'm afraid I'm just on my way out, but please have a seat. I'll grab you a cup of coffee or tea, if you'd like."

"Nothing for me, thanks," Adam smiled feeling slightly giddy. "You just go and enjoy your lunch break. I'm not in a rush today. I'm not on call for the rest of the afternoon."

There seemed to be something knowing in Becky's eyes as she smiled and made her way out the door. Before long Nikki greeted him and commenced the examination. She kept the conversation professional, yet relaxed. As she was winding down the exam she felt the need to address the elephant that was still in the room.

"Adam, I feel I need to apologize once more for last week."

"Water under the bridge-," Adam began.

Nikki could not simply let it go however.

"No, you see, I did a bit of research on line about you and your show, Chunky-Chuck's Place. I knew about the show because one of my nieces, Wendy, watches it every week. She's only seven, but two years ago her dad was killed by a drunk driver. I used to watch the show with her and she reminded me that Chunky-Chuck had told her that if a kid didn't have a real dad anymore, that he would always be there for them. And that he would always remember to tell them that he loved them.

"To her, it's incredibly real. She talks back to the screen during the show, and at the end of every episode when Chunky-Chuck is in his pajamas and tells the kids he loves them, she always says, 'Thanks, Chunky-Chuck! I love you too!' Sometimes she even tries to hug the screen.

"So I must apologize for not connecting the dots. For not realizing that there is a man behind the puppet, who must bring an awful lot of the kindness that surely is within himself to make a real difference in peoples' lives.

"I get that now. I get that being a puppeteer is no mere job, but can be an important calling. And I want to not only apologize for my behavior before, but to thank you for the service you've provided specifically for my family."

Adam just stared at her for several long moments. Just when the silence started to overwhelm him he gently placed a hand at the back of her neck and pulled her in for a slow gentle kiss, which lasted for several long seconds.

"I guess I'm the one who needs to apologize now, for being so forward. But I'll tell you something, Dr. Stewart. The first time I saw you wasn't here at your office. I saw you on a bike at the gym one day, a gym that I'm not even a member of and I just prayed that somehow I would get to meet you.

"I've never been grateful for something like poor vision before, but the moment I came in here and saw it was you... well, it was like an answer to that prayer."

"Awwwww. That's so sweet," Nikki sighed. "But I'm afraid that I've got some bad news for you."

Adam lowered his eyes and steeled himself for the rebuff that was sure to follow.

"I''m afraid that ... you need glasses, Adam."

Adam laughed out loud, mostly at the relief of not being in trouble for having kissed his optometrist.

Nikki continued. "But now for the good news. I have already cleared my schedule for the rest of the day and I'm going to go with you to pick out some frames. I have friends in the business, you know, and I can get you a good discount!"

They strolled down the street and hopped a downtown subway to Greenwich Village. NIkki took Adam by the hand and for the first time felt tangibly just how strong his hands were.

"Come on, this way!" she called out as she darted her way through the typically crowded streets of New York.

Before long they were inside a store pretentiously named The Phrame Shoppe.

"I don't think I can afford this place, Dr. Stewart," Adam whispered sheepishly.

Who's Dr. Stewart? My name's Nikki, and don't you forget that, OK?

And even though this place is kinda pricey, it really isn't too bad when you know the owner!"

Just then a nattily dressed gentleman whisked around the sales counter taking Nikki y the shoulders and planting two enormous air kisses to the sides of her cheeks.

"My little Nikkita! How are you my darling? You never come to see us any more!"

"Hello, Jules! I'm here on business today. This gentleman here is needing glasses for the first time, so I told him I'd see to it that he got nothing but the best treatment!"

They spent the next hour or so poring over the many styles of frames, searching for the perfect pair that would be a good balance between style and functionality. Adam was all about functionality; Nikki was all about style.

She grabbed what seemed like the hundred and twenty-sixth pair of frames and slipped them onto his face and spun him toward the mirror.

"What do you think of these? I think they look pretty sexy."

"Well, they feel pretty good. I don't feel qualified to have an opinion on the looks. I mean other people will be looking at them while I'll be looking through them."

"OK, Jules! I think we have a winner! He likes the fit and I like the looks!"

Adam looked at the tiny price sticker on the inside. $599.00.

"Whoa! Hold up there, Jules! I don't think we can declare a winner just yet!"

Nikki took the frames and stepped aside with Jules to quietly confer with him for a few moments. She returned to Adam with a beaming smile.

"Jules says he can let you have them for $199.00. He'll still be making money, just not his usual exorbitant markup. Trust me, you won't find this good a price, even at the big box stores.

They filled out all the necessary paperwork for the prescription and were told they would be ready in about three days.

After saying their goodbyes to Jules they stepped into the late afternoon bustle of pedestrians making their way through the great city.

"I don't know how to thank you, Nikki. You've really helped to make this a very smooth process."

He drew a deep breath, hesitating slightly to broach his next idea.

"Would you let me buy you an early dinner? You can name any place you'd like to go in the city."

Nikki studied Adam carefully. He was just a bit shy, and really seemed as though he was laying his last hope on the line, and was desperately fearing a rejection.

"Well, I really like the Hourglass Tavern on Restaurant Row. Would you like to go there?"

"Yes! Sure! Absolutely!" came Adams reply, perhaps just a bit too eager, which made him all the more endearing.

They made their way uptown and enjoyed a leisurely dinner, during which they got to know one another on a more personal level.

During the meal Nikki's eyes just wouldn't stop settling on Adams substantially muscled arms. She hesitated for a moment before summoning the courage to ask him the question that she had been harboring.

"So Adam, I don't want to pry, but I have to ask you how it is you have such massive arms."

Adam chuckled slightly then sat back in his chair.

"I'd like to say that they come from some great diet or exercise routine, but the truth is they got that way from years of holding puppets in the air over my head. You'd be surprised how many hours are spent with my hands over my head, and sometimes the puppets are kinda heavy. I think my record was seventy-five minutes holding a puppet up during a live appearance. It's really a lot more strenuous than most people would realize."

Adam glanced at his watch and furrowed his brow sightly.

"Oh, I'm afraid I have to get back to the studio."

"So late? Isn't that unusual?"

"Not really. The actress who plays Miss Dewlap on the show is also a semi-regular on one of the Law and Order franchises. I think she plays a judge or something. Anyway, the Chunky-Chuck producers have arranged to shoot around her other schedule, so sometimes we do an evening shoot. It's not that bad, really. Usually just one or two scenes."