Mail Call

"You're a handsome man."

She stroked his shoulders, arms and chest.

"Strong too."

"Well, I don't know about the handsome part. You're a pretty woman though."

Valerie blushed.

"That's what my mother keeps telling me but no man has ever told me that before. You have to meet my mother."

Valerie turned her head.

"Mom, come meet Mack."

Mack saw the woman who walked up beside Valerie was crying too. She dabbed at her eyes with a white handkerchief and then smiled.

"I'm Valerie's mother, Elizabeth."

Mack smiled back.

"It must have been you who typed all those letters then."

"Yes, Valerie told me what she wanted to tell you and I typed them for her. When you wrote back, I read your letters to her. I think I know you as well as she does, and I think as much of you too."

"You have a very wonderful daughter. You can't imagine how much those letters meant to me."

Elizabeth smiled.

"Yes I can. My husband always said the same thing to me. I know how much yours meant to Valerie for the same reason."

Mack touched Valerie on the cheek.

"Well, girlfriend, since you were nice enough to come meet me, can I buy you two dinner? I got paid all my back pay, so whatever you want is what we'll get."

Mack kept up his end of the conversation while they ate, but he was also thinking. He wasn't sure if he wanted to take his relationship with Valerie any further. He didn't know the first thing about blind people, what they could and couldn't do, if she'd be the same as any other woman, or if he could feel the same way about her now that he knew she was blind. He'd been polite and appreciative so far, but that was because he didn't want to hurt her feelings.

When he'd boarded the train in Chicago, he'd had thoughts of meeting Valerie and then seeing if they were a match or not. He wasn't so naïve as to believe caring for her because of her letters was enough to keep the relationship going, but he had hopes. Now...would he have to help her do everything, even getting dressed and fixing herself up?

He still didn't know when Valerie's mother drove them back to her house. He'd intended to get a hotel room for the next few nights while he looked for a job and a place to live, but Valerie's mother insisted he should stay with them at least the first night. She said she'd already made up the bed in their spare bedroom, so he couldn't very well refuse.

When Mack walked them both up to the porch Valerie asked if they could sit on the porch swing for a while and talk. Her mother said since the nights were getting cooler, she'd go make some hot cocoa and bring it out when it was done.

Valerie was quiet for a few minutes once her mother went inside. Then she felt for Mack's hand, and covered it with hers.

"Mack, I'm only nineteen, but when you're blind, you learn pretty quickly that people don't want to be around you. I know you're having second thoughts. I felt it in your face at the station. I don't expect anything from you. All I ask is that you be my friend and that you don't judge me just because I'm blind."

Mack thought for a minute before answering her.

"Valerie, I admit I'm a little confused. The girl who wrote to me turned into a woman I grew to care about a lot. I still do care about you. I just don't know..."

Valerie took off her dark glasses and wiped her eyes.

"I understand. Just don't forget about me really fast."

Mack put his arm around Valerie's shoulders and squeezed gently.

"How could I ever forget about you? You were the one there with me when the bullets were flying over my head and the mortar shells were hitting so close I could feel the heat. Valerie, you kept me going when that happened. You weren't really there, but your latest letter was in my pocket and when I read it I could think about being back in Louisville after the war and what we'd do when we met. I kept them all, by the way. They're in my duffel bag. I won't ever forget about you. You gave me a reason to stay alive and come home. What I don't know is...well..."

"If I'm going to be someone you have to take care of all the time. That's it, isn't it?"

"Sort of, I guess."

"You wouldn't have to do that. I can take care of myself, and I could take care of you if you needed me to. At the school I went to, they teach you how to do things for yourself so you won't be dependent on anybody. I can get dressed by myself, and as long as I know where things are in the kitchen, I can cook too. I can walk down the street by myself. I can read for myself if it's written in Braille, and I can write my name. I just can't write long letters because I can't see where my hand is. Would you let me prove that to you before you decide I'm not somebody you'd like to keep seeing?"

"I never said I didn't want to keep seeing you. I'd like to. I just don't know if it will lead anywhere."

"I don't know either, but I know I fell in love with the man I was writing too even though I never met him. I know that sounds like a silly young girl talking, but I'm not a girl any more and I still think that."

"I sort of fell in love with that young girl too, even though I wasn't sure she'd like me when she saw me."

"Why wouldn't I like you?"

"I'm not handsome like you think, and I'm not as smart as a lot of guys."

"My fingers tell me you're handsome, and a man who's smart isn't everything a woman wants."

"What does she want?"

"She wants someone who'll be with her when she needs him and who'll make her feel needed and wanted. She wants to be loved and to love her man back."

"Is that the young girl talking or the woman?"

"It's what I want and I feel like I'm a woman."

Mack looked at Valerie and then thought about what she'd just said. She didn't want anything from him any other woman wouldn't have wanted. She wasn't going to try to force herself on him just because they'd written back and forth for almost three years. Valerie was older in the way she thought than her age would indicate. Only a good, decent, and caring woman would be that way.

Mack decided however things turned out, he couldn't let Valerie's blindness blind him to the woman she really was. He put his hand around Valerie's shoulders, pulled her to him gently, and then kissed her. It wasn't much of a kiss because he'd not kissed many girls before. Valerie hesitated, then put her arm around his neck and pulled herself against his side a little tighter.

When he pulled back gently, Valerie smiled, then her face became serious.

"Did you really mean that?"

"I meant it enough I'd like to do it again, and I'd like to keep seeing you if you can stand being around a not so smart guy who's just ordinary looking."

"You'll always be handsome to me. Are you going to kiss me again now?"

He was starting to do just that when Valerie's mother opened the door, said, "Oops, I thought you two were done", and then closed it again.

Valerie giggled.

"Well, I guess we'll need to postpone that kiss for a while. I think our cocoa is ready."

The next day, Mack went to the Ford Truck plant and applied for a job. He was hired a week later. With all the men coming back from Europe and the Pacific, the women who had worked there were quitting to become housewives again. Only military trucks had been built there since the start of the war so there was a huge demand for new trucks and the plant needed workers. When he got his first paycheck, he rented an apartment so he wouldn't be imposing on Valerie's mother any longer.

It was still with some reservations that Mack asked Valerie out that first Saturday. He liked her personality and she was indeed a pretty woman. He was just still unsure about her handicap. That first night took away a lot of his fears. They had borrowed her mother's car since Mack didn't have one. When they started toward the car, Valerie put her arm in his and walked just like any other woman. She did the same when going into the restaurant. Except for the dark glasses, no one would have known she couldn't see.

At the restaurant, she asked him to tell her where on her plate the food was located. Once he did she ate about like anybody else. She did use a fingertip to find things once in a while, but other than that and sort of feeling for her glass when she wanted a drink, she looked normal.

When he thought about that word -- normal -- he realized it was a stupid way to compare Valerie to other women. She couldn't see, but he'd known a few women with perfect sight who still couldn't see what was right in front of them. Valerie memorized where things were, like the placement of her glass and location of the various food items, so she didn't need to see them with her eyes. She could see them in her mind. What was "normal" anyway except the way people usually did things? The way Valerie did things was normal for her.

As they ate and chatted about things, Mack decided he wasn't normal either. People in the restaurant were staring at them, and he found he didn't really care what they were thinking. The only thing that mattered to him was that Valerie was an intelligent woman with a sense of humor about herself, and that he was growing closer to her every day.

Those dark glasses did bother him until he asked her why she wore them.

Valerie grinned.

"They look really good on me, or so I'm told."

"Well, they do make you look a little like a Jane Russell pinup I saw once."

"You're just saying that to make me feel good. Mom says I'm not as busty as Jane Russell or any of those movie sexpots.

"Actually there are several real reasons. One is that I can't tell how bright the sun is or if it's shining in my eyes. The dark glasses keep my eyes from getting hurt by the sun. Another reason is that I can't see anything coming toward me that might hit my eyes so I don't automatically close them. The glasses stop most things before they can hurt me. They also tell people I'm blind, so they don't run into me as much."

Mack asked Valerie to take off her glasses. When she did, he squeezed her hand.

"You have beautiful blue eyes. It's a shame you have to hide them."

"Well, that's another reason for the dark glasses. You'll automatically look in the direction of someone talking to you. I probably won't, and that makes people uncomfortable."

Mack stroked her cheek.

"Even if they're not looking at me, they're still beautiful."

He could tell Valerie was blushing.

"You're turning all pink. Did I embarrass you?"

"No, well, a little. Nobody ever told me I had pretty eyes before."

"They're just part of what makes you beautiful."

Valerie laughed.

"And here I thought I was the only one of us who's blind."

"No, really, you are. You're so beautiful I want to kiss you again."

"Well, you have to wait until we're out of the restaurant. What would people think?"

"I don't really care what they think."

"Well, I do. You can kiss me twice on my front porch."

They couldn't go to the movies, but there was a club in Louisville that featured bands every Saturday night. They'd have dinner and then to go the club and listen to the music. The first time Valerie asked him to dance with her, he said no, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. They ended up just rocking back and forth on the floor in time to the music. Valerie seemed happy. Mack was happy just to be able to hold her close. After that, they danced to all the slow dances.

It took Mack six months to propose to Valerie. He was ready after three, but he'd used a lot of his military pay to buy a used car and had to save enough money to buy the ring. It was after a Saturday of dinner and music he took her hand while they sat in her mother's living room.

"Valerie, remember when I said I wasn't sure where this would go?"

"Yes. I said I didn't either."

"I figured it out."

"Oh. What did you figure out."

Mack slipped the ring on her finger.

"I figured out I should buy this ring and ask you if you'd marry me. The diamond isn't very big, but it's a real diamond and the ring is real gold."

Valerie felt the slim gold band on her finger, then reached for him. She hugged him tight enough he had trouble taking a breath. He felt her tears against his cheek.

"You're crying. Did I assume something I shouldn't have?"

"No. I'm just really, really happy. I didn't think this would ever happen to me. I really, really want to marry you."

The wedding wasn't a big affair because even though the war was over, most people were still accustomed to doing things without a lot of things to do them with. Valerie's aunt baked their wedding cake and Valerie wore her mother's wedding dress. Her bride's maid wore an ordinary dress instead of something fancy she'd never wear again. Mack didn't have a bridegroom because he didn't have a brother. Valerie's cousin filled that spot.

Mack thought Valerie was stunning in the white dress trimmed in delicate lace. She was walked up the aisle by her grandfather. When the minister asked who was giving the bride, he stood straight and said, "On behalf of her late father, her mother and I do".

The reception in the church basement seemed to take forever. After toasting each other, sharing a piece of cake, and opening some of the wedding gifts, Mack led Valerie down the steps of the church and then to his car while a storm of rice hailed down over them. They drove first to her mother's house where he and Valerie changed clothes. She giggled when she asked him to unzip her dress.

"Most of the time I don't wear things with zippers in the back. Now that I have you to zip me up and unzip me, I guess I can."

They drove to a motel in Elizabethtown, checked in, and then had dinner. Both were a little nervous about what would happen that night because neither had had the experience. When they got back to their motel room, Valerie asked Mack to turn around.

He heard her rummaging through her suitcase before she said, I'll be a few minutes. You won't go anywhere, will you?" Mack heard the tapping of her cane and then the closing of the bathroom door before he could answer.

Mack didn't normally wear pajamas, but he'd bought some just for that night. While Valerie was in the bathroom, he changed into them and then sat down on the bed. A few minutes later she opened the door and walked two steps into the room.

"Mack, I don't know where things are in the room yet. Would you help me?"

"No. I'm just going to sit here a look at the woman I married today."

Valerie lowered her face.

"Do I look all right? Mom said this would look nice on me."

"You're way more than all right. You're more than I ever dreamed about back on all those islands."

"I hope you'll think that when you take this off me."

Mack stood up and walked to where Valerie stood. He cradled her in his arms.

"I hope you'll think I'm half as good as I think you are."

Valerie chuckled.

"Are we going to talk like this all night, or are you going to let us both find out?"

Mack lifted the hem of the satin nightgown and when Valerie raised her arms, slipped it off over her head. He laid it carefully on a chair, then stroked Valerie's cheek.

"You have Jane Russell beat, Valerie, and all those other movie stars too."

"Even though I'm not as busty as they are."

Mack stroked the side of Valerie's left breast.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about in that department. They just wear tight sweaters and that makes them look big. I like you just the way you are."

Valerie felt his chest and then began undoing the buttons of his pajama top. When she undid the last button, Valerie slipped the top off his shoulders and then put her arms around his neck. Mack felt her nipples brush the hair on his chest and then the soft pressure of her breasts flattening against his skin.

Valerie kissed his shoulder, then stood on her tiptoes so she could reach his mouth. After she kissed him and then pulled away, she whispered, "I love the way this feels and I want to feel more of you."

Mack felt her slide her hand under the waistband of his pajama bottoms. Her touch was feather-soft, just like it was when she touched his face, and when she touched his cock, he felt a tingle race from there to his loins. Those tingles kept getting stronger as Valerie gently felt the head, then the shaft, and finally, after pulling the bottoms down, his sack. All the while, she was kissing his chest and holding him with her free hand.

She pulled her hand up, felt his belly, and then put her arm back around his neck.

"Make love to me", she whispered.

Mack picked her up and laid her gently on the bed, then pulled off his pajama bottoms and eased down beside her.

"I might not do this right."

Valerie felt for his cock again, and began slowly stroking it.

"We'll just have to practice a lot then, won't we?"

Mack did what his father had told him to do and Valerie seemed to like it. She moaned when he fondled her breasts and caught her breath the first time he stroked her nipple. With those touches and a lot of kisses, she was soon starting to make little moans with every touch, and her hips lurched a little from time to time.

Only when he traced her body from her breasts to the mass of hair on her mound did she seem to tense. Mack though he'd done something wrong.

"I'm sorry Valerie. I thought you would like that."

"I did. I'm just a little afraid. Mom said it would hurt the first time."

"Then I won't do it until you tell me you're ready."

"I want you to do it. Mom said if I have you use one finger first until I'm really excited, it won't hurt as much. Just go slow until I get used to it."

Valerie spread her legs then. She was still tense when he stroked her mound and then traced the separation between her lips with his fingertip. After a few more soft strokes, she began to relax. Mack chanced moving his fingertip deeper and found she was a little wet and slippery inside. He stroked between her lips until Valerie was moaning again, then moved his fingertip down until he felt her entrance.

She tensed when he pushed in gently, and he quickly slipped his fingertip back out and began stroking her inner lips again. He felt Valerie's hand on his and followed her gentle pull until his fingertip touched a little bump at the top of her lips.

"Right there", Valerie whispered. "Rub a little right there."

Mack was amazed at what his gentle strokes to that little bump did. One minute, Valerie was stroking his back and the next she gasped and rocked her hips into his hand. The more he stroked the little bump, the more she rocked her hips, and the gasps became panting breaths. After one strong jerk of her hips, Valerie moaned, "Oh...do it now, Mack", and pulled him between her upraised thighs.

Mack pushed his cock in until he felt resistance, then pulled it back a little. When he pushed in again, Valerie gasped, but didn't tense up. He pulled back then pushed in harder. Valerie jerked her hips and then yelped when his cock burst past the barrier and went deep inside her.

Mack couldn't hold back. The sensation of his cock sliding inside Valerie was too intense. He groaned as the first spurt flew through his cock, and groaned again at the second. He pushed as deep as his cock would reach just before the third, and groaned again. He was breathing hard when Valerie pulled him down into the cradle of her hips and thighs and hugged him tight.

For a while, neither one of them said anything. Valerie just held him against her flattened breasts and stroked his back. When he could breathe again, Mack kissed her then whispered, "I'm sorry if it hurt. I couldn't stop."

Valerie kissed his cheek.

"It hurt a little but it still felt good. I'm really a woman now."

For the first year, they lived in his little apartment. Mack was amazed at how Valerie coped with her blindness. Within a week, she knew how many steps it was from anywhere in the apartment to anywhere else, and she'd memorized where everything was in the kitchen. Once in a while he'd have to find something for her, usually something he'd put in the wrong place, but not often. Once he'd figured out where Valerie put things, he didn't have to help her much at all.