Open Your Eyes Ch. 05-06

"It can be a little scary but I'm not completely on my own. My parents still insist on visiting me at least twice a week to make sure I'm doing okay. Plus, there are always tons of people that are willing to help me out when I need it, you know that."

"Yeah I know that you value your independence. Just try to be safe okay? And you need to take better care of yourself. You're getting too thin." Jackie's usually bright expression was a bit stern as she tried to emphasize her point.

"You sound just like my mom you know that?" April said, and they both laughed. "I have my meal preps but sometimes I just forget to eat them. There are also times when I'm not always in the mood for healthy food and I don't always feel like venturing out to buy food for myself," she confessed.

"I never understand people who 'forget' to eat. You know I'm eating food like 24/7." Jackie said, stuffing some eggs into her mouth. This caused April to smirk as she could obviously tell that Jackie was stuffing her mouth while speaking to her.

"So when do you think you'll be back? I know it's like a two hour drive but you need to visit me more often throughout the school year!" April said with mock seriousness. She knew that Jackie was very busy with classes and various clubs that she was a part of and she didn't really expect her to come visit her often. However, this was just their customary way of telling each other they would miss each other.

After they had eaten and Jackie had packed up, they hugged deeply and said their goodbyes.

"Don't forget April, you have to call me and let me know how it goes with this Bobby guy. And if he doesn't call you, or if he makes you cry or hurts you in any way, you let him know I will drive back first thing to kick his ass!" Jackie said, maybe a little too loudly. April was so thankful to have someone like Jackie to watch her back and she always missed her terribly when she went off to school and left her.

It wasn't until after Jackie showered and had gotten through most of her weekend homework that she received a call from Bobby. Her phone alerted her by loudly calling out "Bobby, Bobby, Bobby," in a somewhat obnoxious voice.

April got really excited, and then decided she should take a short moment to compose herself. She lightly cleared her voice before answering the call.

"Hi, this is April." she said softly.

"Oh hi, this is Bobby. I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time," he said. "I wanted to know if you were still free to go on that date tomorrow." He sounded hopeful and nervous at the same time, which made April giggle a bit. She found it amusing how bashful he sounded when he spoke.

"Yes, I'm still interested. What did you have in mind?" April asked. She wondered how serious he was about this date. She figured she would find out soon enough."

"Oh ok, great. Um well let's see. I don't want to ruin the whole surprise," Bobby said. He sounded excited. "I thought we could start off the day early by having a little picnic at the park. Afterwards if you have time, I figured we could go on a little adventure,"

"Oh, now you have me excited. I really like surprises," April told him, laughing. "A nice picnic at the park sounds wonderful. What time can I expect you tomorrow?"

Once they finished their phone call, April called her mom to let her know about her date. On Sundays, her mother usually picked her up after breakfast and they usually spent some time together as a family. After she described to her mother how she had met Bobby, and what she thought of him, April's mother was very exciting about her date. In fact, she seemed even more excited about her date than April did. She promised her mother that she would call her first thing when she got home to let her know that she was home safe and to tell her all about how the date went.

After what seemed like an eternity on the phone with her mom, April walked over to her closet and rummaged through her clothes to pick out her outfit for the next day. After some time of finding and narrowing down her choices, she had finally decided on a light summer dress. It was a navy blue spaghetti strap dress with white floral print. She had bought it with Jackie last year but had never found an occasion to wear it yet. She also picked out a dark yellow cardigan and matching flats that she thought would go well with the outfit.

She went to bed that night excited and hopeful. It really had been way too long since she had been on a date.

******

Bobby woke up early on Sunday morning. It was so early in fact that it was a couple hours before his alarm would go off. He tried in vain to go back to sleep but gave up after 15 minutes. He was far too excited to go back to sleep.

It was so early that the sun had not risen yet. He wasn't really a morning person and he was rarely up to see the sunrise. He figured he should take advantage of the situation and go for a quick jog. He always told himself that he would jog more in order to maintain a healthier lifestyle but it usually didn't end up happening.

The weather was a little brisk outside in the early morning but he really enjoyed watching the sunrise and working up a bit of a sweat to start off the day. After a quick shower, he slowly went through the picnic supplies he had gathered and tried to think of anything he had forgotten or could add to the basket.

After he finished preparations, he had nothing to do so he turned on one of his favorite shows, Scrubs, and started to do some cleaning around the living room and kitchen areas. As he was enjoying a particularly funny interactions between two of the characters JD and the janitor, his mother returned from her night shift.

"Oh hey mom. How was the shift?" Bobby wasn't always awake to greet his mother when she returned from work and so this was a nice change of pace. Their conflicting schedules meant that most days they didn't have much time to talk with one another.

"Oh it was okay. It was a little busier than usual around midnight but it mellowed out a lot afterwards like it usually does. What are you doing up? You're never up at this hour," his mother joked.

"Oh, I guess I never got the chance to tell you. I'm going on a first date with this girl I met in creative writing class. I'll tell you all about her and the date later," Bobby explained. His mother was quite surprised because Bobby was not usually the type that asked a lot of girls out. She was very curious as to what kind of girl she was.

"Alright Bobby. You can tell me all about her when you're ready. But don't keep this old mom waiting too long or she may die of curiosity," his mother joked.

"I promise to tell you all about her soon. Oh by the way I had some leftover sandwich supplies so I organized them in the fridge so you can eat it when you wake up," Bobby replied.

"Oh you're an angel. Why are you always taking such good care of me? Aren't I the one that's supposed to take care of you?" She asked as she gave Bobby a hug. "Just be yourself and I'm sure this girl you're going out with will grow to appreciate you the way I do," his mother added as she went upstairs to get ready for bed.

Time seemed to crawl by slowly as he waited for his date. Even his favorite television shows and scrolling through instagram for the usual funny and cute posts didn't help time to pass by much faster.

He ended up leaving 15 minutes early and then waited for another 20 minutes in front of April's apartment complex. He didn't want to rush her so he waited until calling her and letting her know he had arrived. She buzzed him in and told him to come up to her apartment door.

As April opened the door for him and smiled he was speechless. She did a little twirl for him and asked, "So, how do I look? Anything horribly out of place?"

"Um...You look...You look absolutely stunning." Bobby answered, clearing his throat. He stood with his mouth open a bit. His heart was beating significantly faster than it had a moment earlier. He tried to hide his nervousness as he walked her towards his car. Bobby had never been good at this initial awkward introductory phase of any relationship. He never knew what to say or how to act. It was probably why he didn't have more experience with women.

They didn't speak much during their short ride to the regional park. Bobby still had a bit of trouble believing that he was actually on the date and it wasn't all just one big crazy dream. He was trying to formulate his many thoughts into comprehensible words.

As it was a Sunday, the park was bustling with families and people of all ages. Many of them had set up at the barbeque stations and the air was filled with the smell of grilled meats.

"Here take my arm April. It's going to be a short walk to one of the less crowded areas of the park. Hopefully it won't be as loud there," Bobby said. As she leaned in and grabbed his arm, he could smell the subtle scent of her strawberry shampoo.

"I used to come to the park with my mom on Sundays as a kid. There's this large tree up on a hill that we would always eat under. It's a bit up the hill and there are no benches in the area so it's usually relatively free of foot traffic. If you don't mind a small climb, do you want to eat up there?" Bobby asked.

"Sure that sounds lovely," April responded.

"Ok, we have to get off the paved path here so hold onto me and we can take it slowly," Bobby explained. The area was relatively free of people, just as he had remembered. He found a shaded area under the tree where he set up the blanket. There was a light breeze and they could hear the melody of birds chirping in the background.

It had been a few years since Bobby had visited the park and he was momentarily filled with nostalgic thoughts of his past. He had some great memories playing in the park as a kid and spending time with his mom, whom he didn't get to see nearly as much as he would have liked.

"Thanks for bringing me here," April said with a smile. "I can't remember the last time I came to the park to relax like this. The weather is so great today. It's really quite peaceful here under this tree. I can feel the gentle breeze and I can hear children laughing in the distance."

Bobby had been debating where he should take April and he was wondering if he had made the right choice, or if they should have just stopped by at a restaurant. Bobby was relieved to see how much she was enjoying it so far. As they sat down on a blanket, Bobby started to tell April about all the great memories he had at the park.

"There is this large pond here in the park, and I used to love feeding the ducks and the turtles with my mom. She thought it was odd that I loved feeding and watching them more than running around in the playground with the other kids." Bobby reminisced about his past as he stared at the pond. He used to gross out his mother by running around and catching little frogs and insects, but he thought it wise if he left that little detail out.

"Being a single mom, she didn't have much free time to socialize. She always worked so hard to provide for us. But I remember, no matter how tired she was, she would always keep her promise and make time to spend with me on those weekends. Now that I think about it, I'm sure there were a lot of times when she just wanted to relax and stay home instead of coming here, but she still prepared everything and drove us out here because I loved it so much."

April smiled at Bobby and he was suddenly a little embarrassed that he had started to talk too long about himself.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to blab so much," Bobby said, blushing a bit.

"No, don't be. I really enjoy hearing your stories about when you were younger. Your mother sounds like a wonderful person. I want to meet her one day," April said. Bobby had not shared stories or talked about his feelings with many people and he was surprised how easy it was to talk with her.

"So are you hungry? Oh, I forgot to ask, but you're not a vegetarian are you?" Bobby asked, realizing that he should probably have asked her before he had prepared the picnic supplies.

"Sometimes I choose to eat vegetarian but I'm not averse to eating meat every once in a while," April said.

"Honestly, I don't even know how people survive on vegetarian diets. I just love meat way too much," Bobby confessed. "For today's course I have prepared a nice turkey avocado sandwich with a side of chips along with some green tea," Bobby explained as he assembled the sandwiches on a plate. He had packed the separate components in different containers so that the sandwiches could be assembled fresh.

After taking a bite of her sandwich, she was genuinely surprised and asked, "Oh my god, Bobby what's in this sandwich? Did you really make this? It's delicious!" April said. "I can't remember the last time I ate a sandwich that tasted this good!"

Bobby was glad. "My mom works two jobs and also works night shifts, so I've had to take care of my own cooking for many years. I'm also quite picky about what I eat so I taught myself watching cooking shows and using internet cooking sites."

"Oh I'm always jealous of people that can cook well. My mom never really let me stay around the kitchen so I'm completely lost when it comes to cooking," April admitted. "What's in this sandwich that makes it so good?"

"The secret to good food is choosing the best ingredients. I picked up some fresh sourdough at my favorite bakery last night. I also added some fresh basil and a high quality Dijon mustard, and a little bit of cayenne pepper to give it some spice. Also you'll notice that the turkey is different from the regular thinly sliced turkey that is used for sandwich meats. I think it makes all the difference" Bobby explained. He was proud of his cooking and he was glad that she appreciated it.

"Mmmm you need to cook for me more often. This is delicious," April said as she took another bite from her sandwich. "Now that you mention it I can really taste the basil, and I really love the avocado too!"

"How about next time, you can pick a dish and I will teach you how to cook it all on your own," Bobby offered. April seemed to light up as he mentioned teaching her and Bobby was already going through a list in his mind of dishes that she could pick up easily and cook on her own.

Bobby noticed that April had a bit of sauce that had gotten on her cheek. He took a napkin and dabbed it off for her. She brushed her hair behind her ear and blushed, thanking him.

Bobby was taken aback yet again with how beautiful she looked to him. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was just something about April that he just found so attractive. He took a moment to study her face for a bit. She didn't wear much makeup, and he felt that she didn't need it. Overall her face was on the smaller side and she had soft features, with a small round nose and slightly chubby cheeks that he thought was extremely cute.

It wasn't just about her looks though. He thought it had to do with her personality and character as a whole. She seemed so genuine and honest. He felt like most people that he met these days were so preoccupied with superficial possessions and social standing, that they had little time or interest in anything else. Bobby felt like April was different and that was probably part of the attraction he felt for her.

Once they had finished eating, Bobby could tell that April wanted to ask him something, but didn't seem quite comfortable asking it.

"Is there something you wanted to ask me?" Bobby asked. "It's okay, you don't have to be afraid to ask me."

"Hrm..." April hesitated for a bit. "Is it okay if I feel your face to get a better idea of what you are like?"

"Oh, so that's what you wanted," Bobby realized. "Sure I don't mind." Bobby wasn't quite prepared for this and he was a bit nervous. He slowly drew closer to her and allowed her to place her hands on his face.

April laughed softly, sensing his nervousness. She slowly used both of her hands to brush along his face using her fingertips. She stopped for a moment to explain the process to Bobby.

"What I'm doing now is called spatial mapping. I'm using my sense of touch to map out the three dimensional shape of your face. Although it might be quite different from the way you perceive and see objects, once I do this I can picture the object in my mind and describe it to you. Maybe sometime later I can guide you through the process and show you how I see," April offered.

"I would like that a lot," Bobby smiled. "I've always wondered how blind people view the world, and that actually makes a lot of sense to me. Oh there was another question that I wanted to ask. Is it true that because you're blind your other senses are a bit heightened?" Bobby hoped he wouldn't offend her but he was genuinely curious.

April laughed. "I think that somebody has been watching too many cartoons." Bobby was embarrassed that he had brought the question up.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be insensitive," Bobby apologized.

"No don't be. You're not the first person to ask me and I'm willing to venture to say that you won't be the last. To answer your question, I don't think it's entirely true but there may be a little truth to that statement. I am much more sensitive to sounds, smells, and especially touch. I think it may be due to the fact that I am not overwhelmed with visual distractions, but I've noticed that I pick up on subtle smells and sounds more than the average person. I also rely heavily on my sense of touch. For example, when I am reading braille, I'm able to rapidly process the sensation from my fingertips into words without too much effort," April explained.

April slowly resumed her exploration with her fingertips. She lightly brushed along with both hands from the top of his forehead, down his face. She slowly traced along his nose, down to his cheekbones, lips, and his chin. The process was intimate and she could tell that Bobby was slightly embarrassed. She could tell he was trying his best to stay still during her exploration, and she smiled to try to ease his nervousness.

"You know Bobby, you never told me how handsome you were," April said with a smile. "You have nice cheekbones, and your nose seems like it's the perfect size for your face," she added.

Bobby was about to respond when she leaned in and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. It wasn't a sexual kiss. It was more of an exploratory kiss, like she was saying hello.

Bobby was surprised and didn't respond at first. But after the initial shock, he brought his hand to lightly cup her right cheek and he kissed her back. Her lips were a bit moist and slippery. He could taste the subtle hint of strawberry lip balm. She must really like strawberry, he thought.

He slowly brought his other hand onto her leg as he stroked her thigh lightly. There was something about this girl, Bobby thought. He just couldn't keep his hands off her. He lightly sucked on her upper lip and began to introduce his tongue gradually. Bobby loved how she tasted and felt on his lips, and he couldn't get enough of her.

Bobby snapped out of his trance like state and slowly pulled away from April when he heard his phone ringing. He took it out and saw that it was from his grandfather.

"Sorry, I have to take this. It's regarding the next part of our date," Bobby explained. He accepted the call and confirmed with his grandfather that they were indeed going to be there in about an hour or so and hung up.

"So, what is this secret that you have planned for us on our first date?" April asked. She was smiling and blushing slightly from their first kiss that they had just shared.

"Oh, it wouldn't be a secret if I told you would it? You're just going to have to wait and find out," Bobby said. "Speaking of the secret, it's time we should get going. It's going to take about an hour or so to get to our destination," he explained.