“…Eyeballs…” Book II: 17. First Date
Hey! You Got Eyeballs In There?
By Kate Chamberlin
As Grace grows up, some of her stories are happy, some trying, some enlightening, and a few themes are sad, but, they’re all the warp and woof of what goes into the tapestry of life we call Family. The daily living skills and techniques demonstrated by the fictional characters in these stories are valid, tried and true.
#12 Knight With Shining Flatware
It seemed like the Homecoming Weekend would never get there, but, as sure as exams, it finally arrived. Edie’s favorite heart-throb, Joe, had asked her to Homecoming, so, they were going to double date. It was exciting to have Ken pick her up in his ’79 Mustang that he lovingly called: “Stang”. She heard “Stang” in the driveway and then began to have second thoughts about going. “What if he gets embarrassed when I make a goof?” she lamented to no one in particular. “What if Crackers has an accident? Maybe I should leave her home? What if he doesn’t want to hold my hand to guide me? I haven’t used my white cane in ages.”
As fate would have it, her brother over-heard her and startled her by saying, “Would it calm that scattered brain of yours if I just happened to be at the Volleyball game tonight? If your puppy piddles or you make an unpardonable guffaw, I could bring one or both of you home before anyone would know for sure what happened.”
Sometimes her big bro really seemed quite human. This was one of those times and she was grateful for his support. “Well, it’s a big world and you’re free to come and go as you like.” She gave him a thank you smile accompanied with a punch on the arm as the doorbell rang.
Sandy beat her to the door and opened it. “Hi, Junior, she’s over there with that pile of hair in a harness!” he said to Grace’s mortification.
Ken was nonplussed. He walked over to her and said, “Hi, Grace.”
She awkwardly said, “Hi, Ken.” Then, didn’t know what else to say.
Ken seemed to sense her uneasiness and said, “I put a blanket on the back seat for Crackers. Do you think she will mind sitting with Edie and Joe?” They laughed at the thought of the three of them cuddled in the back seat. It had broken the tension and let her know that he expected Crackers to come with them.
They drove over to pick up Joe and then to Edie’s house. They said they didn’t mind sitting with a dog as long as she remembered she’s not a lap dog. Crackers, of course, thought it was great fun to have such a fuss made over her.
When they got out of the car at the game, Ken said, “Do you think Crackers would mind if I held your free hand as we walk? Or would you prefer to take my arm the way my favorite old aunt does?”
Grace didn’t give it a second thought and slipped her hand into his strong hand with its slender fingers that, she was sure, matched his tall, slender physique.
The gym was packed with students and alumni. The cheer leaders were doing their thing with enthusiasm. It fanned the crowd into a frenzy that sent a chill up Grace’s spine. She had never been to a volley ball game before and it surprised her. It was like a palpable wall of smells and sounds. Yelling people were everywhere. The four friends and one Guide Dog managed to squeeze onto the first level of bleachers. Crackers would have had a great deal of trouble going up and down the bleachers so they had to sit where she could be on the floor near Grace. The dog was nervous right from the beginning. The loudness of the crowd, the squeaking sneakers. The whooping of the sweaty players, and the sharp whistling of the line judge really made her try to guide Grace out of the gym. Try as Grace did, she could not get Crackers to settle down. When the home team came out to warm up, Crackers really became uncontrollable. She was just a puppy and been trained well, but the bouncing volley ball was too much for her. She strained and barked to get out on the court to play with that ball. Each time Grace tried a more severe method to control Crackers, but the dog had forgotten she was in harness. She just wanted to play ball. Grace gave Crackers a high collar correction where the choke chain goes high up under her chin and near her ears. It was the most severe type of correction and not to be used often. When the man behind Grace saw her do this he began to yell that he was going to report her to the Humane Society. Grace was close to tears. She knew what she’d done was within proper training guide lines. Still, she felt awful.
Amid the confusion, Grace said, “I’m taking Crackers out to calm her down.” Grace’s voice could hardly be heard above the cheering. Ken went with them into the hallway.
Her brother, Sandy, came up to them. “Is there a problem? Grace, you look like a Beet. What’s going on?”
“Crackers isn’t ready for this type of crowd. I can’t train her in ten minutes. Sandy, will you take her home so I can stay for the game?”
“Sis, I thought you weren’t supposed to do that. She’s your dog. You take care of her.”
“Please, Sandy. For once in my life, I want to be like other girls on a date. Besides, you just put her on tie-down when you get home and you can come back to the game yourself.”
Ken said, “I don’t mind having a beautiful girl on my arm all the time.”
Grace had lots of doubts about being without either her dog or the long, white cane but couldn’t figure out any other simple solution. She really wanted to be with Ken just like a “normal” girl.
Sandy finally agreed to take Crackers home. Grace felt Ken’s elbow nudge her arm and she hooked on to return to the gym.
They lost the volleyball game, but, it didn’t really matter. Later, as they sat on a blanket munching hoagies and sipping hot cocoa, they watched the bonfire and sang school songs. Grace felt the warmth of the bonfire on her face. As Ken put his arm around her, she felt a different kind of warmth. It spread through her on the inside. She had Edie as her best girlfriend and Ken as her best boyfriend. Maybe this year wasn’t going to be so awful after all.
kathryngc1@verizon.net