Sight

Con can hear Jamie come up behind him, and tenses just a little, unsure of what she will do or say. She’d seemed less than upset back at the restaurant, but if it had simply been in the heat of the moment after the stunt he’d pulled, there was no telling what her opinion was of him now.

As she comes around in front of him, he sees her eyes…so clear, so bright on this dark evening. How had he never noticed their beauty?

Her hand on his face sends a chill down his spine, and he swallows hard, feeling incredibly awkward and so alive at the same time. He’d felt her touch how many times before? He’d stood before her how many times since he’d known her? And not once had he felt like this.

In a single instant, everything had changed.

Con stands still, stunned by the soft words being spoken. Awkwardness is replaced by pure shock. Jamie had had feelings for him for a long time. Had he been that blind never to have noticed? He’d hung out with her, he’d been a friend…maybe a shoulder a time or two. But…love?

For but a moment, he’s not even sure if he can believe Jamie… but her tone…her eyes…they didn’t lie. She meant every word. Reality tries to convince him that whatever Jamie is feeling is just surface and will pass – his impulsiveness had simply driven it over the top. But…he can’t deny the depth of the emotion in her eyes. He can’t deny the resounding truth in her words.

Right before Con’s eyes, a transformation takes place. Jamie…the young girl…the ‘little sister’…the buddy coworker… they fade away, replaced by a woman who was laying her heart bare before him. She’s not the Jamie he has known these last few years…somehow…somewhere along the way, she had changed into someone that he had simply been blind to. This woman before him was not the same girl he’d met when she’d started working at TJY. There was so much more to her…so much more depth than he’d ever seen before, and it left him lingering in the same state of shock.

After a long pause, he finally reaches to take her hand in his. For the first time in his life, his fingers tremble slightly. A thousand emotions pool behind his eyes, and his voice returns softer and gentler than ever before. “I had no idea, Jamie.” He pauses again, his mind so busy that he simply doesn’t know where to go from here. He can’t even decipher his own feelings as they bounce in all directions. “I…I don’t know what to say.”


Jason grins and stands up from the bed, beginning to relax around Katie again. “Alright then. Lets get you out of this dang room.” He gets her wheelchair in place, and doesn’t even give her enough time to do anything herself, but reaches down to pick her up and set her in the chair. “…And maybe after supper we can slip on outside so you can see my new set of wheels too.”
He aims for the door, a feeling of contentment settling over him. There was so much he was thinking of…but Katie always seemed to make it easier.