Love

(Josephine's POV) People say that your eyes are the window to the soul. They say that you can tell what a person is truly thinking or feeling by looking into their eyes. The question is... Is that true? Another question is... If it is true, then does it apply to the visual impaired? With someone who is visionally impaired, can you see what they're truly feeling by looking into their eyes? "Good morning, Lisa." I smiled as the door opened and a woman walked in. "Morning, Jo. How are you?" "Good. How are you?" "Just peachy." "Want your usual?" "Yes, please." I quickly got together what she always orders and walked it over to her. "Got a minute to sit and chat?" "Of course. You're the first and only customer so far today." "How is business?" "Pretty good. You're the only who is here right as we open everyday, but about twenty people come in shorty after you leave." "Any new customers?" "Some, but not a lot. I angered one guy yesterday." "How so?" "I accidentally spilled his coffee on him." "Oh my." "Yeah, but in my defense, Mrs. Jones' son was with her and he dropped a toy which I stepped on. The man yelled at me and told me to watch where I was going." "What'd you do?" "Before I could anything, Jacob and his friends started yelling at the guy. I had to calm them down and then calm the man down." She laughed. "Those boys...." "I know. The man apologized once he was....kindly informed by Jacob that I am blind." My name is Josephine Hope Waters and I'm blind. I wasn't born blind. I had my sight up until the age of ten. When I was ten....there was an accident of sorts. Anyway, I'm now the ripe young age of 20. I've been blind for ten years and it's not so bad anymore. You gotta make the best of what you're given. I'm not 100% blind. I can tell when the lights are on or off and if it's day or night. The doctors said that my sight could come back or it could not. It's a time will tell kind of situation. Don't we all love those? I work at a local cafe/bakery. I've worked here since I was 15. The owner is a good family friend of mine and gave me the job. I truly love working here. For many reasons. One reason is that it has been open since before I was born, meaning my parents used to bring me here. I have the layout memorized so it's easy for me to navigate. Another reason is that I know where everything is placed and how to use all the machines without seeing them. It took a while to master but I finally have it down. My boss, Henry, has even labeled everything in Braille for me. I learned Braille a year after losing my sight. I did it to make things a little easier for me. I also have a guide dog. His name is Titan. I only have him because my parents said that it would make them feel better about me being on my own. While I'm working, sometimes he roams the cafe but he mainly lays in Henry's office. "Your parents still pressuring you about college?" Lisa asked. "Almost every time I talk to them." I can't say that I have a real interest in going to college and it's not because I'm blind. I enjoyed school and I'd probably enjoy college, but I enjoy working at the cafe so much. I have thought about getting my degree in business though. "Do what you truly want. Don't let anyone talk you into something you don't fully want. Got it?" "Yes ma'am." I smiled just as the door opened. "Good morning, Jacob." "How'd you know it was me?" He asked. "Trade secret." I grinned, getting up. Truthfully, his keys always make noise when he comes in. Plus he is usually with his friends so it sounds like a herd of elephants. I know Lisa arrives because of the time and her heels click when she walks. "Want your usuals?" "Yes, please." All of the regular customers, which is about 98% of the people who come here, always sit at the same tables. I know that they do it to help me and I'm thankful. "Where's my buddy?" Jacob asked as I got his bagel. "In the office." I replied before whistling. Seconds later, I could hear four paws heading our way. "There he is." Jacob said. Jacob and his friends are seniors in high school. They come everyday before going to school and after their football games. If it's really late and they're here then they walk me home. After about a hour, I could still hear them in the corner talking. "You're going to late again, Jacob." I scolded. "We're going, we're going. See you later?" "Yep. Have a good day." "You too." The rest of my day passed by as usual. When five o'clock rolled around I headed home since it was Lacy's turn to work till closing. Titan and I usually take a taxi home or we walk. My Unlce Sean is a cab driver and often drives around the cafe so he sometimes takes me home. Mostly though, we walk home. I enjoy walking home. It's peaceful and gives me time to think. I moved out on my own about a year ago. My parents weren't onboard with it and still fully aren't, but I somehow managed to convince them. One of the things I had to agree to to get them to agree was that they got to pick the apartment. My sister helped them, so I knew it wouldn't be atrocious looking or like twenty feet from home. My father has a well paying job, so to ease their minds they got me an apartment in one of the most expensive buildings. It has top notch security and isn't far from the cafe, which are both main reasons why they got it. They paid my first three months of rent, but then told me that the rest is my responsibility which I didn't mind. "Good evening, Josephine. Titan." "Evening, George." I smiled. George is the security guard that works evenings and nights. Caleb working mornings. I waited patiently for the elevator for about a minute. "It's extra busy today." George said as I waited. "Oh yeah?" "New tenant is moving in." "Really? We hardly get new tenants." "I know. You were the last new tenant." He said as the elevator dinged. "Have a good night, George." "You too." I climbed in and pushed my number before moving to the back. That's when I felt other people come in. I could tell by the feeling in the air that they were carrying things. "Evening." One guy said. "Evening." I smiled. "Beautiful dog." Another man said. "Thank you." To those who don't me, I'm not blind. Would Titan give me away being a service dog? He would if he wore his vest. I only make him wear it when we go to unfamiliar places. Other than that, everywhere we go, people know us. I was surprised to find that the men were going to my floor. "Are you the new tenants?" I asked politely. "No. We're just helping him move." One man answered as we walked down the hall. "Gotcha." I nodded as "Have a nice night." One said as I opened my door. and headed to the bathroom for a shower. I had just gotten dressed when someone knocked on the door once before opening the door. "Marie?" "It's me, dear." Marie is my neighbor to the right. She is a 75 year old widow. Her and her husband didn't have any kids, so it's just her now. She comes over at least once a week or so to help me with some things. I have Braille labels in my closet that tells me colors and what things are, so she helps me put my laundry up. She also helps me clean and we go grocery shopping together sometimes. I don't need the help. I've done it all on my own, but I let her help. Like I said, she's widowed with no kids and she's retired. She doesn't go out much due to her health and she doesn't get much visitors, so I let her help me. I gave her a key so she can come and go. She only comes over when I'm home. I'm very thankful for Marie. There are a lot of things I can do on my own, but there are a lot of things I can't. And I know that Marie is happy to help me. To pay her back for all her help, I always bring her things from the bakery. "How was work today?" "It was good." "That's good." "I got you blueberry muffins today. They're in the kitchen." "Thank you." "Of course." "You hear about new tenant?" "George told me. Have you seen him?" "Yes. He's...." "He's what?" "He's something." "What does that mean?" "It means that if I was your age, I'd be trying to jump on him like a.-" "Marie?!" "What? I'm widowed, not dead or..." "Blind?" I teased. "Describe him to me." "I wouldn't know where to start. He's tall and tan. He's got a slim yet very muscular build. His shoulders are extremely broad. Dark hair and almost caramel colored eyes. He's truly a work of art." "I wonder what he's like." "How about this? Tomorrow after your work, you and me can go introduce ourselves. You can bring him home some muffins or something." "Sounds good to me." "It's a plan then." Marie left shortly after we finished talking and I went to bed. As I laid in bed with Titan beside me, I pondered my quote of the day and the questions it brought with it. Eyes are the window to the soul. With someone who is visionally impaired, can you see what they're truly feeling by looking into their eyes?