(Photo to the right is Emma)

 Chapter 9

David

"David!"  I walked into Kaley's at just after 10:00 the next morning after getting Elliott's text earlier that Emma was on the 8:30am train from Cold Spring Harbor.  The excited voice shouting to me was the young blond beauty herself.  She got up and met me halfway to their table and I gave her a big hug.

"Thank you!" I whispered in her ear.

"It worked!" She squeaked back.  "He said you had a really good date, like, better than good, great!"

"I hear you guys mumbling over there," Elliott called over.

"I'm just asking your sister how her date went," I chuckled and took the remaining steps until I was next to the other blond beauty.  I put my hand on his left shoulder, "Good morning Elliott," I said with a squeeze.

He reached up and patted my hand.  "Good morning David."  Elliott was dressed in a nice pair of dark jeans, ones that actually fit him instead of the loose and baggy ones I was used to seeing him in and a black sweater.  "She was just about to fill me in too.  Go ahead Emma."

"What?" She said as she sat down.  "We went to see a band called 'Do or Diatribe'."

"On a Monday night?" Elliott asked skeptically.

"They're not really that good and that was the only night they could get the venue.  Sean knows the bassist."  She looked at me with a big smile.  "Besides, I left you in good hands."

"It's not me I'm worried about, I'm not so sure about this Sean guy.  I thought he was going out with someone."

"They broke up.  Teenagers date, Elliott, it's normal.  You can't keep me locked up forever."

"You're my baby sister, it's my job to protect you from jerks," Elliott said so sincerely it almost made me melt into my seat.  It was actually fascinating watching them together.  Not having a sibling it was new to me and I felt a pang of sadness that I never had anything like this.

"Sean's not a jerk!  You've never even met him!  David, will you tell him to stop."  She looked at me with a pout on her face, her big blue eyes flashing almost angrily.

"Um…maybe you should meet him first and check him out?" I suggested.

"Yes!  We can have a big family dinner next weekend, you can bring David and Blake can bring Laura!  But you have to be nice to him Elli."

"If you think I’m bad, Blake's going to be 10 times worse," Elliott cautioned. 

"Yes, but David and Laura will be there to mediate."

Just then a waitress, not Laura came over to take our orders.  "Where's Laura," I asked after she left, "and Blake."

"They have classes today," Elliott answered.

After a hearty breakfast and Emma telling me more than I ever wanted to know about the hectic life of a teenage girl, Elliott announced that he needed to get to his studio to finish a sculpture that was going into the lobby of a law office in a few weeks.  It was a piece that had been curing and just needed a final application of the glossy type coating that protected the outer surface of the clay.  I had just come back from the men's room, really an excuse so I could pay the bill before he could object. 

Emma was going to go to Elliott's apartment to straighten up and do his laundry and as the three of us walked to Elliott's studio I asked them both if they would like to have dinner at my place that night.  Emma said she was taking the 5:00pm train back home as she had school the next morning, but Elliott accepted my invitation. 

"I'm going to head up and get straight to work so I can get this finished," Elliott announced as we reached his building.

"Do you need any help?" I offered.

"No, I'm good.  I get really focused when I work and I'm not always the best company," he explained.

"He means he pretty much ignores anyone else in the room when he's working," Emma laughed.

"Okay, then I'll walk Emma to your place before I run some errands.  What time would you like me to meet you here?"  I had already offered to meet Elliott at his studio and walk with him to his apartment before I brought him back to mine.

"I should be finished here by 6 if that's okay?" He asked.

"That will work fine."

"Emma, will you come say goodbye before you get on the train?" He asked his sister.

"Of course, I'll come by with some lunch later, it never takes me very long to do what's needed considering you have a cleaning lady come on Thursdays and you're such a neatnic, and after lunch I'll just hang out here until it's time to go."

"Okay kiddo, here's some money, get us whatever you want, I don't care.  Just not anything big for me so I'll have a good appetite for dinner," he said fondly as he gave Emma a hug and kiss on her forehead.  "I love you Emmy."

"I love you too, I'll see you in a few hours.  Call me if you need anything."

Elliott turned towards me, "I'll see you around 6 then?"

"Yeah, I look forward to it Elliott, hopefully you'll like my cooking," I laughed, still feeling a little awkward with our goodbyes.

"I'm sure I will…" Elliott looked just as nervous as I did, which was a bit of a relief.

"Oh just give him a hug goodbye, just save the tongue action for when my innocent eyes aren't around," Emma blurted out.  Ironic how the teenager seemed to be the most comfortable with this new relationship or whatever it was.

"Emma!" Elliott scolded while I laughed and stepped forward, grabbing him in a friendly embrace.  "Um, thanks for breakfast David," he mumbled into my shoulder.

"See you tonight," I replied with a final clap on his back.

Elliott quickly went inside the door, so I turned to Emma who was sporting an impish grin.  "You really are something else, aren't you?"

"Yeah," she agreed, "Come on, I need to go move things around in Elliott's apartment to keep him on his toes."

"I'm sure you keep everyone in your family on their toes."

After I dropped Emma off I went to some of my favourite markets to get last minute things for dinner tonight.  I also picked up some wine and beer, not knowing what Elliott liked to drink.  I already had the basics if he preferred a mixed drink, but I was pretty sure he probably wasn't much of a drinker.  I went to the florist and bought a bouquet of flowers, choosing ones that had a nice scent and interesting textures over how they looked.  When I returned to my apartment I put the steaks to marinade, and prepped the root vegetables and fingerling potatoes so they were ready to go into the oven to roast when we returned.  They were small enough that they would only take half an hour or so.  The asparagus would only take a few minutes, but I could make the hollandaise sauce in advance.  I had made a lemon meringue pie the night before so it had time to cool and set, so I was pretty much ahead of schedule.  Martha Stewart eat your heart out.

I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning my apartment of clutter.  Emma gave me some tips before I dropped her off on what would make Elliott most comfortable.  I had to watch out for trip hazards, like the thick woven throw carpet I had in the living room, stray chairs or coffee tables that stuck out.  She said as long as there were some clear paths, he would be fine and that I should walk him around the apartment when he first got there and describe everything and where the furniture was.  She said that would give him his bearings and if it wasn't too cluttered, he would be fine after that.  Emma described him as having a kind of photographic memory, but with spatial awareness.

I rolled up the carpet (I didn't really like it anyway) and stuck it in a storage closet, vacuumed, I cleared away things off the side tables and put any knick-knacks on one of the built in shelves.  I had an interesting clock that was built into a large chunky piece of wood.  It wouldn't knock over easily and the quiet ticking of the clock if I placed it on the center of the coffee table would be a good cue to keep him aware of the table.  I walked around the living room, dining room, kitchen and guest bathroom several times looking for anything that should be moved to keep him safe.  I didn't bother with the bedroom as I figured that was way too premature at this point.

I have to admit, I was pretty impressed with the job I'd done on my apartment and I really liked the more minimalist look.

After a quick shower I got dressed in casual clothing, threw a beanie on my head and went to pick up my date.  When I arrived at the studio Elliott was wearing an old ripped pair of jeans and a faded T-shirt.  He had his hair tied up in a sexy man bun.  Did I ever mention I had a thing for man buns?  I do.  He was hanging up what looked like some sort of gas mask.  I could hear a fan running and a slight smell of something chemical in the air.

"Hey Elliott," I called out as I walked in.

"Hi David.  Perfect timing, I'm all finished and just straightening up."

"Is that a gas mask?" I asked.

"Sort of, it filters the air when I'm working with chemicals like the top coating I use.  Do you wanna see?"

"Sure."

"Come here," he called holding up his hand.  I walked over and as soon as I took his hand he led me to the back of his studio and through  a short hallway.  He opened a door and we entered a room that that had a very loud and air filtering fan going.  "The piece in the middle is the one I just finished. It will dry for about a week and then I'll have it delivered to the buyer."

I looked at the beautiful piece, it was an abstract version of the Goddess of Justice, the iconic woman wearing a blindfold holding the scales of justice.  It was very abstract, yet you could totally see what it represented.  The glossy finish was still wet and the light glistened off the rounded forms and curves.  It stood about 4 feet tall and was no more than 3 feet wide.

"Nyaya Devatha," Elliott said.  "A pedestal is being built that she will sit on, about 3 feet off the ground."

"She's amazing, so beautiful!"

"I'd have you touch it, but the finish is still wet," he chuckled.

"Come on, I just need to change out of my work stuff and we can go."  I followed Elliott back to the main room and he went over to another small room at the side.  I saw a large washer and dryer and a bucket with dirty rags.  "I'm just going to put these in the utility sink to soak."  I watched as he ran warm water and held his hand about halfway up the tub.  Once he felt the water he turned the tap off and carefully dumped the bucket into the sink.  Then he walked over to a shelf where I saw his clothes from earlier folded up.  Elliott pulled his t-shirt off and dropped it into a hamper and then kicked off his shoes before shrugging out of his dirty jeans, placing them in the hamper as well.  It was probably rude, but I kept my eyes glued on his every movement.  Standing there in just his boxers, his physique was breathtaking.  Slim, but extremely cut, sculpted like the epitome of male perfection.

Watching him almost had a dizzying effect.  My breathing became heavy, my mouth went dry and a tingling sensation shot through my nerve endings.  I quickly took a few steps back into the other room before his highly attuned ears could hear me practically panting.  A few minutes later, dressed and ready to go he came out.  "You okay David?" he asked and I swear there was a smirk on his face.

"Yeah, I think I inhaled some of those fumes in the back room there."

"I'm ready whenever you are."

"Let's go," I puffed.

I have to admit, my favourite part about walking with Elliott, is the feel of his hand gently, yet firmly gripping my arm just above my elbow, and the way our shoulders sometimes bumped as we walked.  I was about 1 or 2" taller, while Elliott was a bit broader in the shoulders and just a bit more chiseled; otherwise we were matched up pretty well.   Elliott had put on his sunglasses before we left, explaining that he found cool air hitting his eyes uncomfortable and the sensitivity sometimes made them water.  The Ray-Bans were enough to deflect the cool breeze that was setting in with the Fall weather.

"Do you mind if I take a quick shower?" Elliott asked as we went up the stairs to his apartment.

"No, we're not in any rush."  Elliott unlocked his door and led me in.  He walked straight ahead.

"This is my humble abode, make yourself comfortable, I'll only be a few minutes."

"Um, Elliott?"

"Yeah?"

"Where's the light switch? I can't see in the dark."

"Oh," he chuckled, "my bad."  He walked over to a wall and switched on the lights.  His apartment was simple, but very comfortable.  Not a lot of clutter as I imagined, but thick couches and a wide easy chair.  He had a nice stereo and a television set, which surprised me, but I realized shouldn't have. There was a remote on a table next to the chair and it was quite large with what looked like braille on the buttons.  "If you're thirsty, there's some beer or soda in the fridge," he called out as he went down the hallway to what I assumed was his bedroom.  I perused the shelves, he had some really interesting wooden carvings.  There was a large shelf of audio books and I glanced at the titles, many of which I have read.

There was a laptop on a thick wooden dining table that was unlike any I had seen before.  The screen was minimal; it was mostly a large braille keyboard and speakers.  I wandered around the room fascinated.  Instead of paintings or photos, there were pieces of art I could only describe as textures.  A piece made up of what looked almost like shingles hung on the wall.  A marble statue that was cool and smooth as I ran my hand over it.  I was so engrossed in exploring that I didn't even hear him walk back into the room.  I let out a gasp, when I felt him come up right behind me and place his hands on my hips as I jumped 2 feet.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he apologized.  I turned around and he dropped his hands, an unreadable expression on his face.

"No, it's okay.  I was so engrossed with these carvings I didn't even hear you come in.  Where did they come from?"

"My father made them.  Carving was his hobby and after...umm, after I lost my sight he seemed to really take off with it.  He was a photographer, and everyone but me could enjoy his photos, so I think it was his way of making things for me to see with my hands."  Elliott seemed uncomfortable and I wasn't sure if it was talking about his late father or losing his sight, so I picked up his hand to offer whatever comfort I could.

"They're so beautiful, so many amazing things in this room, I feel like I could explore them all evening."

"You're welcome any time, but right now I'm starving," he joked.  "And I want to see how rich celebrities live."

"Well don't set your expectations too high, my apartment is pretty normal.  It's a brownstone similar to yours, pretty much same layout.  Over in Williamsburg, a quiet street in a decent neighbourhood, mostly professionals, a few families, not far from the farmer's market, lots of great restaurants."

"No penthouse?"

"Nope."

"Hot tub?"

"Jacuzzi bathtub."

"Butler?"

"Cleaning lady once a week."

"French poodle named Fifi?"

"My neighbour Hannah has a bulldog named Fred that she lets me borrow once in a while, I travel too much to have a dog, but I love them.  Someday I want to live in the country and have a half dozen of them."  Elliott's face burst into a huge grin and he let out a small chuckle.

"Fred?"

"Fred's a great dog!  I mean, he smells a little funny and drools, but he's my pal."

"We have a dog back at my Mom's, Otis.  When he finds something dead he likes to roll in it, so I'm used to stinky dogs.  If you come with me next weekend to this family dinner Emma's orchestrating you can meet him."

"I'd like that."

"Great!  It's a date…I mean…dinner…dinner with my family…and Otis…um, can we go now?"

"Yeah, come on Elliott.  Let's go feed you.  I think your blood sugar is low."

"Yeah, good idea."