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 Love Is Blind

   A Story of Young Love by Gil Gamesh   Chapter Eight

   Why?  That was all I could think.  Why?  I had said I'd never hurt Alex.
Maybe Fate or God or something had thought I was arrogant and wanted to
teach me a lesson for my hubris.  If I needed a lesson for being arrogant,
why punish the woman I loved?  She's innocent.  She's been hurt enough.  I
tried to fight the pain in my body but the pain in my heart and in my head
was worse.  I took a few more deep breaths, trying to get control of
everything.  I thought: Fuck you.  Fuck you, Fate or fuck you, God.  It
won't work.  I'm going to beat you at your little sadistic game.  She's
going to be OK and so am I and we're going to have a good life together.

   I tried to sit up but I couldn't.  Pain like a bayonet shot through my
back and I screamed.  I couldn't stand the pain and I couldn't breathe and
I almost panicked and I wondered if this was what dying was like.  Then the
pain in my back lessened a little and I could breathe again.  I sucked in
through my mouth to try to get some air again and then I tried to get up
but that brought the pain back even worse.  I gasped for breath and tried
to calm down a little.  I was frowning from the pain and panting for breath
and I couldn't keep my eyes from squinting.  I tried to change my face back
to normal so it didn't show the pain I was in but I couldn't.  I managed to
turn my head and saw Margaret kneeling over Alex.

   "Margaret!  Is she OK?  Don't let her die!  I love her, Margaret! 
Please don't let her die."

   She scrambled over to me, put her fingers over my lips, brushed my hair
back off my face, and smiled down at me.

   "Hush, Mike.  I think she's OK.  She bumped her head but she's breathing
normally.  She's going to wake up in a minute and then she's going to want
to know what happened.  I'm going to tell her you're hurt but you're OK. 
Do you understand?"

   I looked up at her and nodded.  "I love her, Margaret.  I'm sorry I fell
on her.  I said I'd never hurt her and now I have.  I..."

   She put her fingers over my mouth again.

   "Michael, I saw what happened.  You stepped in front of her and took the
blow for her.  You didn't hurt her.  You tried to protect her.  It was just
an accident."

   I heard the kid crying.  "Is the boy OK?  He was just trying to get away
from that dog!  He was scared and he didn't see us until too late!"

   She looked to the other side and I did too and I saw a woman holding the
boy.  He looked like maybe eight years old.  He was looking at Alex and me
and crying and his face was full of tears.

   "Tell him I'm not mad, Margaret.  I saw that damned Rottweiler trying to
bite him.  It wasn't his fault.  I don't blame him."

   "He heard you, Michael.  Now I want you to shut your eyes and try to
relax and don't move.  You may have a spinal injury.  EMT will be here in a
few minutes.  I need to call your mother and tell her to meet us at the
emergency room at University Hospital."

   "OK.  Please, Margaret, don't let anything happen to Alex.  Take care of
her.  I love her, Margaret.  I want to marry her."

   She put my hands together on my chest and that hurt like hell too.  She
saw the pain on my face worsen and looked down at my left hand.

   "Michael, the back of your hand is badly abraded and your thumb looks
like it might be broken or dislocated.  Let your hand rest on your chest
and don't move it.  Try to relax.  OK?"

   "OK."

   She moved back to Alex and held her hand and whispered to her.  I saw
Alex lift her other hand and then I saw her eyes open.  I immediately
relaxed.  I knew she wasn't dead.

   "Michael, Alex is trying to regain consciousness," Margaret said. 
"She's going to be very confused for a while.  Remember I'm going to tell
her you're injured but you're OK."

   I shut my eyes and surrendered to the pain but it was only in my back
and in my hand.  It wasn't in my heart anymore.

   I heard the EMT siren and a minute later, a man and a woman were
examining me and Alex.  The guy knew Margaret was a nurse and the two of
them talked so low I couldn't understand what they were saying.

   Then I heard Alex say something and Margaret immediately went back to
her.  The EMTs quickly moved me to a stretcher and strapped me down, chest
and arms and legs, and even immobilized my head.  Then I couldn't see but I
assumed they were doing something with Alex.

   Just a few minutes after their arrival, Alex and I were in the back of
the EMT van and on our way to the hospital.  The EMT guy said he wasn't
supposed to let anybody else but him and the patient ride in the back but
since he had two patients and Margaret was a nurse she could go with us. 
He looked at my left hand, saw it was injured, and then used my right wrist
to start an IV.  I couldn't move my head but I heard Margaret talking to
Alex and she replied like she was drunk or sleepy.

   At the hospital emergency room, they wanted to put me and Alex in
separate rooms but I protested and asked them to keep us together.  They
refused but I threatened to scream.  Margaret told them Alex was blind and
I was her fiancée and we didn't want to be separated.  They put us in the
same little room.

   Within a minute, two nurses, a woman and a man, started examining us. 
He asked me about my pain level, 1 to 10, and I told him it was a 10.  He
put something in the IV tube and I felt something strange flush through me
and then the pain eased a little.  I didn't even protest when they stripped
me naked and put a hospital gown over me.  My head was still immobilized
and I couldn't see Alex but I heard them putting a gown on her too.

   I listened to the nurse examining Alex and she didn't seem too worried
about her.  Margaret told her what happened and the nurse said I probably
knocked the breath out of her when we fell and then she hit her head and
the combination probably made her unconscious for a few minutes.  Alex was
awake but not making much sense and the nurse said that was normal for
someone who had been unconscious.

   A few minutes later, they took me and Alex to the X-ray room.  Margaret
said they were going to X-ray Alex's skull and my spine and hand and for me
not to worry because everything was going to be alright.

   After that, they rolled us back to the little room and a doctor came in
and looked at our X-rays.  He told Margaret that Alex's showed no signs of
bleeding in her skull and he thought she would be fine but he wanted her
kept in the hospital overnight for observation.  Then he read my X-rays, a
bunch of them, and said he saw a nice straight spine and he couldn't see
any damage and my pain was probably caused by a bad sprain.  He said my
thumb was dislocated and he was going to fix it.

   Then I heard Mom asking where I was and Margaret went out of the room
and I heard them talking.  Gianna came in the room and kissed me on the
forehead and just stood looking at me and rubbing the side of my face and
smiling at me.  I felt better because her eyes told me what she didn't want
to say with the nurses in the room, that she loved me.  Mom came in and
kissed me on the cheek and held my right hand, the one with the IV in it.
The doctor stuck me with a needle on my hurt hand, my left one, and tried
to pull my thumb off and then the nurse put ointment on my hand and
bandaged it and taped my thumb in place.  Then they removed the stuff
holding my head and I was able to look at Alex.  Margaret was holding her
hand and they were whispering.

   I heard Aiden talking outside and a minute later he came in, rubbed my
cheek, and said "Thanks, Mikey." He spoke to Mom and then turned and spoke
to Alex.  She called him Dad so I knew she was about back to herself.

   After a few minutes, Aiden went outside and Azee came in.  One asked me,
"Whassup, Mikey," and I didn't feel like talking but I smiled.  The other
said something to Alex and I heard her call him Anthony and then Zorba said
something to her too and she called him by name.  I felt like I was
swimming through Jell-O but I felt better because I knew Alex was OK.

   I heard somebody talking about finding a two-bed room and a little later
a couple of guys came in to take us to a room.  Dad was coming in just as
we started to the elevator and both families squeezed in the elevator.  I
wanted to talk to Alex but I couldn't think right.

   Mom and the nurses moved me to another bed and the nurse told me that I
should not try to sit up and I should stay flat on my back.  When she asked
if I was comfortable, I shook my head no.  She stuffed a pillow behind my
knees, asked again, and I nodded.  I felt like saying whoopee but I didn't
want anybody to think I was drunk.

   After a while, the nurse came back with a huge ice pack and said she
wanted to put it under my back.  She and Gianna and mom slowly and gently
rolled me over on my side and even that hurt so bad I struggled not to
scream.  I realized the damned hospital gown had fallen to the side and my
dick and balls were all hanging down for everybody to see but I didn't
care. I thought maybe I might charge admission to see the show.Then they
eased me back down on the ice pack and I felt the cold from my shoulder
blades to my butt.  Mom covered my good parts again and smiled down at me.
I tried to calm down and relax and gradually I did.  Later, they rolled me
to the side again and removed the ice pack.  This time, I held the gown
over my privates.  I didn't want to let anybody see the show for free.

   Still later, Mom raised the head of my bed a little and Azee and Gianna
fed Alex and me some stuff.  I probably drank too much liquid because later
I had to piss and I did not like what happened then.  A cute nurse came in,
chased everybody out, and put a catheter in my dick.  I wanted to crawl
under the bed but she was a cute girl and I smiled back at her.  My dick
didn't even think about getting hard.  I'd never had a catheter before but
I suppose it did its job because the urge to pee subsided.  I was glad the
nurse stood between me and Alex so she couldn't see.  Then I remembered
that Alex couldn't see no matter what was done to me and I knew I still
wasn't thinking right.

   I heard our families talking outside and Azee and Gianna begging to stay
in the room with us first and our parents finally agreed.  I felt better
and I talked to Alex some and with Azee and Gianna but I was sleepy and not
making much sense.  Alex had to go to the bathroom and Gianna pushed her
buzzer and a nurse came in and the nurse and Gianna took Alex to potty.

   Then another nurse came in to ice me down again.  Azee and Gianna rolled
me to the side and the gown slid off my hip again.  I was tired and I
didn't care if everything was showing.  She put a hypodermic needle full of
something in the IV tube and I felt it flush through me again and I wanted
to say whoopee again but I didn't.

   The nurse talked to Azee and they played with her about getting confused
as to which was Anthony and which was Zorba.  I didn't say anything because
I couldn't think right.

   Finally our parents left and we were with just Azee and Gianna.  I asked
them to do something and Gianna called the nurse.  A guy came in and she
put on her best sexy girl act and asked him, using her sultry voice and her
smile and her eyes on him, if we could push both beds together.  He helped
Azee and Gianna do it.  He even took my hand in his, the one with the IV in
it, took Alex's hand, and put our hands together.  He smiled at me and then
shook his head.

   "Alex, three little words," I said, as soon as he left.

   "Yes, Mikey, three little words."

   "I think I'm going to sleep.  May I hold your hand?"

   "Yes, Mikey."

   I wish I could say that was all I knew until the next morning but it
seemed like every few minutes somebody was checking on me and Alex.  At
least twice more I was iced down again and I wondered if I was pissing ice
cubes into the catheter bag.  I complained about being cold and somebody
put a warm blanket over me.  Once I complained about hurting and they
squirted some more stuff down my IV tube.

   Azee and Gianna sat on one side of room and whispered and giggled a lot
but they also wiped my face with a cold washcloth and talked to me and held
my hand and kissed me on the cheek, Gianna, not Azee.  Azee did hold my
hand for a while.  He squeezed a few times and I squeezed back and he
smiled at me.  Maybe I smiled back.

   When I woke up the next morning Margaret was sitting in a chair reading
something.  I asked if I could hold Alex's hand again and she put our hands
together and smiled at me.  Alex and I talked and I told her what had
happened and she seemed back to normal.  Maybe I was too in my head but I
still couldn't even think about sitting up.

   Mom came back and fed me breakfast.  Margaret fed Alex and our two moms
talked back and forth over us.  After a while Margaret made me turn loose
of Alex's hand and they moved our beds apart.  She said the doctors would
be making rounds in a few minutes.  They finally came and poked and prodded
me and asked me and Alex lots of questions and then told our moms that we
would be released shortly.  The nurse came in and removed the IV in my hand
and the damned catheter in my dick and that made me feel lots better. 
Margaret and Mom put my old robe and some socks on me and I was naked and
they both saw me but I didn't care.  It hurt a lot to move but it was more
of a sore hurt and not so much a bayonet in the back hurt.

   It seemed like forever but finally they put us both in wheelchairs and
took us downstairs.  Our families were waiting with different cars and I
thought that meant I was going home with my parents.  The nurse helped me
in the front passenger seat and Dad reclined it and I shut my eyes.  Then
Mom said something about me being home and I opened my eyes and I saw
Alex's house and her parents helping her in the door.

   Dad and Aiden almost carried me in the house and took me straight to
Alex's room.  Before they put me in Alex's bed, they helped me into some
black exercise shorts and then took off my robe and helped me get a t-shirt
over my head.  Then Margaret and Mom helped me lay down on the side of the
bed.  The pain wasn't too bad as long as I let them move me without using
any of my muscles.  Alex crawled in her bed, shorts and t-shirt and white
socks just like me, and cuddled up to my side.  I felt like I really was
home then.

   I heard Mom and Dad and Margaret and Aiden talking outside the room and
I understood what they wanted to do.  I was to stay with Alex overnight and
my family was coming back for lunch Sunday and then I was going home with
my parents.  Azee and Gianna must have been with them because I heard Azee
begging Gianna to stay too.  Gianna and Azee promised they'd be good,
whatever that means to sixteen year-olds, and my parents let her stay.

   Later that morning, Margaret came in with another big ice bag.  I tried
to turn on my side but that wasn't what she wanted.  She and Azee and
Gianna turned me like a flap jack and Margaret pulled my t-shirt up to my
shoulders and my shorts down below my butt.  They all stood there looking
at the big bruise for a while and talking about it.  I shut my eyes and
tried to relax and let them look.

   Then I felt a warm soapy washcloth on my back and I opened my eyes.  It
was Gianna.  Margaret told her to be very gentle and I suppose she was. 
She even rubbed down in my butt crack a little.  She didn't hurt me so I
shut my eyes again.  Next I felt somebody rubbing my back with some lotion
so I looked again.  It was Alex and I thought maybe I could get to like
this.

   That day, Saturday, I ate lunch with Alex, sandwiches, flat on my back
in her bed.  Azee and Gianna waited on us.  Afterwards we took a nap with
Alex lying half on me and her head on my shoulder.  I woke up feeling much
better except for a full bladder.

   I needed to pee but Margaret wouldn't let me get up even to go to the
bathroom.  She left, came back with a plastic urinal, and told me to call
Azee when I was done.  Then Alex and her mother left me alone so I could
pee in privacy.  I finally managed to get the urinal down between my legs
and stuff my dick in it and then grunted until I pissed.  Azee took it
half-full, brought it back empty, and sat it on the nightstand next to me.

   After dinner Margaret gave me another ice treatment and a gentle
massage. That's how I ended up naked on my stomach with a towel over my
butt, at least part of it, with Gianna and Azee watching, giggling, and
making obscene suggestions and trying to guess which part of Europe the
bruise on my back looked like.  Alex told them about the port-wine stain on
my butt that looked like Africa and they looked at it and everybody agreed
it did and asked her how she knew.

   Margaret wanted Gianna to watch so she could give me the same treatment
once a day for a while.  After she finished, Margaret didn't bother to help
me put on my shorts and shirt again.  She just pulled a sheet over me up to
the waist and I turned over.  I was naked in Alex's bed and Alex was
cuddled up to me and I knew her mother approved of me being there.  Gianna
and Azee probably wanted to play video games or something else and they
left.

   Alex started squirming and I watched as she took off her t-shirt and
panties and she was as naked as I was.  She cuddled up to my side again,
both of us naked, in bed together, her head on my shoulder, one leg over
both of mine, and one arm over my chest.  Margaret was watching but she
just smiled and left the room.  Alex and I were naked in bed together in
her room and I knew her mother approved.

   By eight o'clock that night, I was convinced that I should take one of
the pain pills the hospital gave me in order to sleep.  Alex left the room,
came back with her mother, crawled back in bed with me, and cuddled up to
my side.  We were both still naked under the sheet and Margaret acted like
it was perfectly OK for us to be together.  She said I should start with
one pill and, if I wasn't asleep in a few hours, I could take another.  She
gave me the pill and a little water.

   Then she leaned over, kissed me on the forehead, caressed the red side
of my face, leaned over further, and kissed Alex on the forehead and
whispered to her.  She brushed my face with her breasts, looked me in the
eyes, smiled wickedly at me, and left.  I laughed a little too loudly.

   "What's funny, Mikey?" Alex asked.

   "Your mother.  When she leaned over to kiss you, she dragged her breasts
over my face."

   "She's just playing with you, Mikey.  In lots of ways, she and Dad are
both like kids.  They like to tease and have fun just like we do."

   "Yeah, but, damn it, she had on a t-shirt.  It would have been a lot
more fun if she'd been bare breasted."

   "Mikey, you're being bad.  You must be feeling better."

   Alex scrunched up closer to me and put her head on my shoulder again. 
She also put one hand down below with her fingers sort of cupping my
testicles and her thumb around my penis.  I liked that and, any other time,
I would have had a big boner for her to play with.  My dick wasn't hard and
I didn't care.  It was just so damned good to relax with Alex while we
whispered and giggled and talked and laughed.  Inside I felt like crying
because Alex was OK and was with me and I knew she loved me like I loved
her.

   "Alex, I wish you could see my face, my eyes, I mean.  I wish you could
see how much I love you.  I've heard that the eyes are a window on the soul
and if we could look in each other's eyes maybe our souls would connect and
I'd like that."

   "Mikey, there's some possibility I may see again someday.  Mom and Dad
keep up with the surgical possibilities and there's been a lot of
improvement since my accident.  My eyes are just fine.  It's the optic
nerves that are damaged.  The doctors have had some success in helping
patients see again.  I haven't given up.  Now that I know you love me, I'm
never going to give up."

   "I thought it was permanent."

   "No.  The surgery is risky but it's being improved all the time."

   "Why is it risky?  Could it make things worse?"

   "No, I don't mean that.  There's just a risk that it won't help me see
again.  If they keep developing the surgery, maybe I can have it done in a
few years."

   "I wish you could get your sight back before we have babies."

   "That would be nice."

   "Well, anyway, I'm afraid you're stuck with me.  You may never see my
beautiful face."

   "Don't say that, Mikey.  I've already seen your face with my hands.  I
know it's beautiful."

   "You're the beautiful one, Alex.  Maybe we're like beauty and the
beast."

   "No, Mikey, you're not a beast.  I'm Sleeping Beauty and you're the
Handsome Prince who's going to kiss me and awaken me.  Now shut up and kiss
me."

   "I can't.  I'm supposed to stay flat on my back.  You'll have to kiss
me."

   "OK.  If I have to, I will."

   As usual I wasn't conscious of what time I went to sleep.  I woke up
sometime later with my bladder insisting it wanted to be emptied.  I eased
up and at the same time swung my legs off the bed and ended up sitting on
the side of the bed, waiting for the pain to ease.  My back hurt but not
too bad as long as I was slow and easy.  Alex woke up too.

   "What are you doing, Mikey?"

   "Sitting on the side of the bed.  I've got to pee."

   "Are you hurting?  Do you want me to get the urinal for you?"

   "Yeah, I hurt some but it's more like sore, not sharp like a bayonet in
my back.  I want to go to the bathroom."

   "I'll go with you.  You need me to hold it for you."

   "No, I don't."

   "Yes, you do."

   "I know where it is.  I can hold it myself."

   "Yeah, but it would be more fun if I'm holding it."

   "OK."

   She stood there behind me, both of us naked, belly against my butt,
breasts boring holes in my back, and hands holding my semi-hard dick.  I
leaned forward, put both hands on the wall, held back and whispered to her
until she was pointing my dick to the center of the commode.  When I let
go, we drilled down in the bowl and foamed up the water.

   I put the seat back down for her and she sat down and peed down into my
pee.  When she asked me to hand her some toilet paper, I asked if I could
do it.  She spread her legs and told me to pat, not wipe.  I squatted down
and, damn, my back hurt but it wasn't too bad.  I patted and dropped the
paper and patted some more with my fingers.  She giggled and we both stood
up.  We held hands and walked slowly back to her room and crawled in her
bed.  I wasn't quite ready to go back to sleep.  There was something I
wanted to talk to her about.

   "Alex, I'm not sure how well I'll be able to dance but I still want to
take you to the Fall Ball.  Will you go with me?

   "Yes, Mikey, I'll go with you.  We're not going to let anything stop us.
Nothing will ever stop us.  We're going to dance together and we're going
to enjoy ourselves."

   "After the ball is over, I'm going to say three little words to you. 
Are you going to say them back?"

   "Yes, Mikey."

   "And then I'm going to ask you a little question.  I hope your answer
will be yes."

   "That's a good assumption."

   "Then after the ball, can we come back here and make love in your bed?"

   "Well, yes, for the third time.  The first time, we're going to do it at
the ball.  The second time we're going to do it in the car on our way
home."

   "Be serious, please.  When we do it, what if my back is still hurting?
Will you get on top?"

   "It's not going to be hurting that bad.  You've got to be on top for our
first time."

   "But my dick's bigger than average, Alex.  I don't want to hurt you.  I
want you on top so you can control how fast and how deep it goes.  I've
read that women..."

   She interrupted me.  "You're not going to hurt me, Mikey.  You're going
to be slow and gentle and get me all hot and wanting.  Then you're going to
get on top of me and I'm going to wrap you up with my arms and legs and
never let you go.  It's important to me, Mikey.  I want you to do it like
that our first time."

   "What if it hurts to move my hips?  What if I just get my dick in you
and then can't move."

   "You'll move.  I'm going to take a cattle prod to bed with us."

   "Ouch.  You wouldn't; would you?"

   "Well, maybe I'll just tickle you."

   "Alex, could you get me another pain pill.  I really am hurting bad
enough so that I don't think I can go back to sleep.  I hate for you to
have to bother Margaret."

   "I don't have to.  She put the pill and some water over here on my side
of the bed.  The pill is in a little pill cup like they gave you in the
hospital."

   "Well, could you get it for me?  I'd like to fool around with you but
maybe I'd better not try right now."

   "That's fine, Mikey.  We've got the rest of our lives to fool around."

   "I like having your head on my shoulder and your breasts against my
side."

   "And I like having my hand on your play things.  They're fun to play
with."

   "Damn.  Shut up and get me the pill."

   "OK."

   The week after the accident but before the Fall Ball went by fast with
no problems.  My back slowly improved so that I was almost free of pain,
still sore, but gradually improving.  Gianna gave me an ice treatment and a
gentle massage once a day.  Alex helped her a couple of times and they
didn't bother to put a towel over my butt, just made me lay there naked
while they knelt on each side of me or straddled my butt or shoulders or
both and rubbed me.  Gianna tried to tell Alex what color the big bruise
was and guided Alex's fingers around the edges of the bruise.  I got a
hard-on when they rubbed my butt but they took care of it for me.

   By Tuesday, I was confident I could drive again so Mom let me use her
car and she went to work with Dad.  I was sure I could handle my three
final exams and I suppose I did.  Alex and I saw each other every day and I
couldn't have been happier.  Just holding her gave me a sense of peace and
calm and confidence that we were going to be together for the rest of our
lives.

   We arranged with Mr.  and Mrs.  Rogers for our costumes and they
explained how they wanted us to be photographed and the way they wanted us
to act.

   We got a confirmation of something I suspected.  I asked Dr.  Wilson if
she had played cupid on our first day of her class.  I had learned that she
always took a seating chart on the second or third class day, after
announcing the first day that she would take one, and I wondered why she
had done it on the first day.  I asked her if she deliberately made me sit
with Alex for summer term and she denied it.  The way she smiled at us told
me the truth.  I thanked her and asked if we could send her an invitation
to our wedding.  She said she'd be angry if we didn't.

   Margaret brought Alex and Azee to our house Monday night and the five of
us prepared dinner and Gianna and I took them back home.  Gianna giggled
and wiggled in the back seat between Azee but I didn't say anything.  Then
Wednesday night, Alex came back and we slept together for the first time in
my home, with my parent's approval.  Gianna insisted that we take her
queen-size bed and she slept in my twin.  Alex and I fooled around but we
still didn't go all the way.  We both really believed that we were going to
love each other completely after we said three little words and I asked her
to marry me and that was going to happen after the ball.

   Friday night, Alex and Azee came to our house again.  With Mom and Dad's
permission, we moved mattresses to the floor of my room so we could all
sleep there together.  Dad was reluctant to let Gianna sleep with Azee but
she said we were just going to have an itty-bitty orgy and she would still
be a virgin Saturday morning.  I promised him none of us would lose our
virginity and he shook his head and approved.  We didn't really have an
orgy but I'm fairly sure we had five orgasms.  Gianna and I took them back
home early Saturday so we could all prepare for the Fall Ball.

   Saturday afternoon, before the ball that night, Mrs.  Rogers and her
daughter went to the Andreas' home to help Alex and do her hair.  Mr. 
Rogers came to our house to help me dress.  He had measured me at the shop
for the tuxedo but they didn't have a good fit in stock and he had to order
one for me.  He said my shoulders were one size but my waist was a smaller
size.  Anyway, the tux was a perfect fit.

   He brought me a pair of shoes but when he told him I had broken-in dress
shoes I wore when I worked the black-tie events at the university he said
I'd be wise to wear them for dancing.  He brought me some underwear, three
mid-thigh stretch ones, and he said I should wear them for freer movement
when dancing.  He gave me a couple of white shirts to try and then said I
should wear the fancy one.  He brought three cummerbunds, one black, and
that was the one I chose.  I wanted to be dressed all in black with a white
shirt.  Mrs.  Rogers had to alter the left white glove for me where my
thumb was still taped to my hand.

   When I was finally dressed, he walked around me looking and nodding and
smiling.  Then he put the cape over my shoulders and put the white mask on
my face.  It covered both my eyes and the red side of my face.  He asked me
to twirl around fast and the cape swirled out in a wide circle.  He said he
had put three weights in the bottom hem to make it do that.  Finally, he
shook his head and said I was absolutely perfect, that I was the Phantom of
the Opera.

   He told me when I went out the front door I should hold the cape up so
it covered everything below my eyes, then slowly let it down, to stay
serious, not to smile, and to gracefully get in their car, a big Mercedes.
His son was going to drive us, dressed as a chauffeur.  He said there would
be two photographers waiting, one doing photos and the other doing a video.
I tried and I hope I did what he wanted.  I felt more than a little foolish
but I tried to act sort of slinky and sexy when I walked out to the car. 
His son drove me to Alex's house and I got out and went inside to get her.

   Alex was a beautiful dream in her costume.  Her long gown was perfect,
ivory-colored and gathered just under her breasts.  Her hair wasn't much
longer than mine but now it seemed lighter with blond streaks and it wasn't
down on her neck anymore.  It was piled high on her head and was
beautifully arranged and had a gold-looking tiara on it.  That left her
long slim neck exposed and there was a red ribbon around her neck with a
single pearl on it.  She had a dark red cloak over her shoulders.

   Mrs.  Rogers was there with Margaret and they had helped Alex get
dressed except they left one thing for me to do.  I put the mask on her
face.  Mrs.  Rogers had made a mask with no eye openings and with gold
stuff around the edges that matched the tiara.  I knew Alex wasn't going to
need the eye openings but she was the one who wanted it made without any.
She said we had to have an air of mystery.

   I led her out the front door of their house to the car and again the
photographers were busy taking pictures and a video.  Alex had her hand on
my left arm and was smiling slightly.  I tried to be serious and look a
little sinister.  I made sure no one else was seen when we came out, just
the two of us, me with my cape raised again.  The chauffeur stood at
attention and opened the door for Alex and then went around the other side
and opened the door for me.

   There was a line of unloading cars at the Sports Auditorium but it was
only a few minutes until Alex and I were at the entrance.  The entry way
was marked off with yellow tape on each side and there was a big crowd of
people on each side of that.  Once inside, we went to the registration desk
and had numbers pinned on the backs of our cloaks.

   Mr.  Rogers had told me that the judges were all independent of him and
would choose the winners fairly.  They would choose ten couples for costume
and ten for dancing but the number of finalists might be less than twenty
because some couples might be chosen in both categories.  I didn't expect
us to win the best dancers award but I thought there was some chance of us
winning the best costumes award.  I didn't care.  Just being with Alex was
all I wanted for the night.

   The basketball auditorium was crowded in the stands with family and
students and everybody seemed to be talking and pointing.  I could hardly
hear the orchestra playing something.  We joined the procession of
contestants walking in an oval around the auditorium until the MC was ready
to start the dance music.

   Alex held my left arm with her right and held her head up high.  She was
beautiful, the most beautiful girl I saw, and I was really proud to be with
her.  I held up my right arm covering my face except for my eyes part of
the time and then lowered it so my Phantom mask was revealed.  I saw more
than one person pointing at us.

   I knew our parents and Azee and Gianna were somewhere in the crowded
stands but I didn't see them the first time we went around the auditorium.
The next time, somebody yelled "Hey, Mikey," really loud and I looked up in
the stands and saw our families sitting together.  I leaned over and told
Alex that our families had found good seats.

   Finally all the dance contestants had arrived and the MC asked the crowd
to be quiet while he explained how the judging would be done.  A few
minutes later the orchestra conductor started the first waltz, Roses from
the South, and we all started dancing.  Alex and I had a little trouble
when we began, perhaps because my back was still a little sore.

   As we turned in the waltz circle, our cloaks billowed out behind us and
the other contestants gave us lots of room.  Before we had made a complete
circle we began to dance as one and I felt like I was floating around the
dance floor with my feet hardly touching.  Just as we planned, Alex kept
looking from one side, then at my face, and then to the other side, even
though I knew she wasn't seeing anything.  We wanted everyone to see her
mask and to wonder how she could dance without seeing.

   During the break after the first waltz, I lifted my right arm so my
cloak hid our heads and leaned over and kissed Alex.  She was ready and it
was supposed to be a gentle lips-to-lips kiss but she teased me with her
tongue.  Our plans were to kiss between each waltz, covered with my cloak
part of the time and part uncovered so everyone could see us.

   The night flew past all too fast.  The MC announced each waltz for the
crowd and the small orchestra started playing.  Maybe Alex relaxed and
trusted me more.  Maybe I felt only the happiness of dancing with her with
no pain in my back.  The magic of the night, dancing with her, looking at
her beautiful masked face, lost in the music and swirling movement: it was
a romantic dream and I wanted it never to end.

   But of course it did.  The MC said that the judges had chosen and he
wanted to announce the numbers of the best dancers first and then the best
costumes.  I didn't expect us to be in the best dancer bunch and we
weren't. I sort of hoped we'd be in the best costumes group and we were. 
They played another waltz and the best dancers and best costumes made two
more circuits of the auditorium.  I knew that this time the best would be
reduced to one dancer couple and one costume couple.

   After The Blue Danube was over, the MC said the judges had made their
final picks.  He called the number of the best dancers first and gave their
names and told how many votes they had received and the audience erupted in
cheers and yelling and whistles.  Then the couple unmasked each other and
cheering and clapping started again.

   Finally he said the best costume winners had received ten votes out of
ten, something that had never happened before.  He called our number and
then our names: Alexandra Andreas and Michael Rossi.  When he did, the
audience started cheering and yelling even louder.

   Holding her hand, I led Alex to the little stage at the end of the
auditorium where the unmasking was to occur.  I was a little apprehensive
about was going to happen and what I wanted to do.  My hands were shaking
but Alex squeezed my hand and whispered to me.  I relaxed and decided that
I was going to take advantage of the opportunity.

   I knew to unmask Alex first and I did.  She looked up at me, just like
she could see me, and smiled her widest.

   "Michael, dressed as the Phantom of the Opera, has unmasked Alexandra,
dressed as Christine, the woman the Phantom loves," the MC said.  "I'm sure
the audience is wondering why her mask appears to completely block her
eyes. Michael, would you tell the audience how she sees to dance?"

   He held the microphone in front of my face.  I put my hand on it and
pulled.  He resisted for a second and then let me take it.

   "Alex doesn't see with her eyes," I said.  "She sees with her heart and
her hands.  She's blind.  She's been blind since she was twelve years old.
I love her just as she is."

   There was a moment of absolute silence and then the audience erupted in
even wilder yelling and cheering and clapping and stomping.  I held up my
hurt left hand and everybody gradually quieted.

   "Alex, would you remove my mask?" I asked, and she did.

   I turned my head from side to side so everyone could see my face.  For
the first time, I wanted the world to see my entire face, especially the
red side.  There was absolute silence again.

   "I don't have on makeup.  This is the face I was born with and the face
I have lived with for nineteen years.  I have a large red port-wine stain
on the left side of my face," I said.  "I'm not the Phantom of the Opera.
I'm just Mikey to Alex and she has never seen my face.  She loves me just
as I am."

   Again the noise was deafening.  I waited a moment and held up my hand
again.  I waited and waited until there was absolute silence again, handed
the mike to the MC, took both of Alex's hands in mine, and dropped to one
knee.  Maybe he realized what I was about to do; he held the mike close
between Alex and me.

   "Alex, I love you," I said, looking up at her.

   "Mikey, I love you," she said, looking down at me.

   "Alex, will you marry me?"

   "Yes, Mikey, I'll marry you."

   I stood up, lifted my cloak over our heads and kissed her.  Holding the
kiss, I slowly lowered the cloak.  Now the audience really erupted in wild
cheering, clapping, yelling, and whistling.  I wrapped both arms around
her, she wrapped hers around me, and we kissed with open mouths.  The noise
was deafening.

   I knew how the ball always ended but I never expected to be playing a
part with Alex.  The MC called for quiet.  I led Alex back on to the dance
floor and the best dancers followed us.  The lights dimmed and two
spotlights found us and the other dancers.  When the first notes of After
the Ball Is Over started, I led off with Alex and we waltzed all the way
around the auditorium floor.  There wasn't a sound from the audience, just
the orchestra playing for us and there was no one else in our world.  When
the waltz stopped, the lights came back up and the audience erupted into
deafening cheers and yells and whistles and clapping and stomping.

   We stood side by side with the best dancers and bowed to the four sides
of the auditorium.  The MC held up his hand and waited for silence but the
audience wouldn't stop their yelling and cheering and clapping.  Instead of
quieting, the noise grew louder and louder until the whole auditorium
seemed to be quaking with it.

   Then Mr.  Rogers voice came booming out over the loudspeakers, saying,
"Tales from the Vienna Woods," and the orchestra immediately started
playing it.  I knew we had to yield.  When I looked at the best dancers,
waiting for them to lead off, the guy shook his head, said, I think, "No,
Michael, this dance is yours, yours and Alex's." I took Alex in my arms,
started dancing again, the lights went almost out, a spotlight found us,
and the audience quickly silenced.

   At first I was conscious of the audience as we turned and turned in the
beautiful waltz.  We were both dancing without masks and I knew that
everyone could see my face, dark red stain on one side, white and normal on
the other, but I didn't care.  I also knew that everyone would be wondering
how Alex could be so graceful and beautiful in dancing and could keep her
eyes on my face as though she could see me.  I knew I loved her and I knew
she loved me.  Most of all, I knew she trusted me to lead her, not just in
dancing, but in our lives.  Quickly the audience disappeared and we were
alone in our world and our love and nothing else mattered.

   When the waltz was over, bedlam broke loose again, deafening noise and
stomping and yelling, People were yelling different things, asking us to
dance again, calling our names, and every kind of noise and screaming at
the top of their lungs.  We walked back to the MC, stood and bowed to the
four sides again, and waited.  The audience still wasn't ready to let us
go.

   I heard Mrs.  Rogers voice come booming out again, "Wine, Women, and
Song" and the orchestra immediately started playing it.  I stood and
waited, looking at the best dancers, him shaking his head no and me shaking
my head yes.  Mr.  Rogers voice boomed again, "Both couples, please," and
the four of us started waltzing again.  Lights dimmed, two spotlights found
us, and Alex and I entered our own private world again.

   Again, when the waltz was over, I led Alex back to the stage at the end
of the auditorium.  I wanted to leave but I felt that Mr.  and Mrs.  Rogers
had been more than kind to us and I didn't want to appear ungrateful.  I
caught Mr.  Roger's eye, mouthed "one more, please," held up one finger,
and he smiled and nodded.  I looked at the best dancers and saw them nod
too.

   Mr.  Rogers called for "Where the Lemon Trees Blossom," the orchestra
played it, I led off with Alex, and the best dancers followed.  Mr.  Rogers
seemed to have chosen a long waltz, perhaps to prolong the night, but,
after four circuits of the auditorium, I decided that enough was enough.  I
pulled Alex close for a moment so we were cheek to cheek and told her what
I was about to do.

   "Alex, when we're near the exit again, I'm going to waltz us out the
door.  Are you with me?"

   "Yes, Mikey, always."

   A few seconds later we were near the exit.  I left the dance floor with
Alex, we waltzed down the short hallway, and two security guys held the
doors open for us.  We danced out to find our car waiting at the head of
the line.

   The night had been perfect, like magic to me and, I hoped, to Alex.  I
knew that the night held more magic for us and we were going to be in our
own private world again, this time in her bedroom, naked with each other,
making love.  Before the night was over, we were going to join our bodies
and our lives together.

   I wanted to see our families but I knew that was impossible until we all
were back at the Andreas home.  I didn't know what our families were going
to do after the ball but I knew something was planned.  I wanted so much to
make love with Alex but I intended to be patient and wait.

   The chauffeur pulled up on their double-wide driveway to let us out.  I
saw both Andreas' cars in their open garage and Dad's car on the driveway
and I knew they had already arrived.  I also saw a little white Prius
beside Dad's car and I wondered whose it was.  I'd had more than enough of
crowds and people and I didn't want to have to meet any new relatives.

   I took Alex's hand and we walked slowly toward the front door.  It
opened before us.  Our families were waiting and smiling at us.  Both
families had lots of hugs and kisses for us, even Aidan and Azee for me. 
One Azee pulled my head down, kissed me on the cheek, and told me that I
had better be good to Alex or he and Zorba were going to remove a couple of
my good parts, one for him and the other for Anthony.  I think he was still
playing the name game with me but I understood what he meant.

   I looked around, looking for whoever came in the other car but I didn't
see anybody but families.  I saw Gianna holding a set of car keys and a
sheet of paper.  She smiled and handed me the keys and the paper.

   "Mom and Dad said they're tired of you having to borrow their cars. 
They chipped in with Margaret and Aiden and bought you and Alex the little
Prius parked out front."

   I looked at the paper.  It was a certificate of title made out to
Michael Rossi and Alexandra Rossi.  I didn't know what to say.

   Margaret spoke up.  "We thought we might as well get the title in Alex's
married name since we know you both want the wedding to be as soon as
possible."

   "We've got to make plans for the wedding," Mom said.  "Margaret and I
will help Alex decide what she wants."

   "It's a credit union repo but it has low mileage," Dad said.  "I'll take
care of the insurance."

   "And I'll take care of the gas and maintenance," Aiden said.  "Well, you
can put it on the credit card I'm going to give you and I'll pay for the
charges."

   I still couldn't say anything or I knew I'd choke up.  Alex said it for
both of us.

   "Thank you.  Thank you all.  It's good to have two loving families."

   "I thank you too," I finally managed to say something.  "Maybe dreams do
come true."

   "Don't thank us, Mikey," Margaret said.  "You're the one who's going to
be taking Alex to classes and bringing her back home.  We're going to treat
you like one of our family.  I'll do your laundry but you've got to cook
for us at least once every week."

   "I can do that."

   "And when you and Alex are home with us, you're both going to be just
family," Mom said.  "Gianna is moving into your bedroom and you and Alex
are going to have hers.  One weekend soon, you're going to help paint her
big room.  We've ordered a king-size bed for you two to play in.  Your old
one is about worn out and it's going to charity."

   I didn't know what to say.  I lifted my black cape over our heads and
kissed Alex again, really kissed her.  I slowly lowered it and let our
families see us kissing and hugging each other.  All I could do after that
was smile.  Alex smiled even broader.

   TO BE CONTINUED



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