I had put it off for months. Kathy gently reminded me every couple of weeks but I never got around to it. The problem was my eyes or rather, my eyelids. They didn't make enough tears and my tear-ducts tended to clog up and form cysts. Both of my eyes had lumps and they weren't going away on their own. They didn't hurt but they were really noticeable. So I finally made appointments with an opthalmologist and got the procedure done.
We arrived at home Friday evening with a bandage over both my eyes. It was only 7pm and I was in an in-between place feeling beat up from the procedure but not tired enough to go to bed. I couldn't watch TV and I didn't want to raise my heart rate fooling around with Kathy. She kept asking if I needed anything but I couldn't think of anything.
Damn, I bored.
All I saw was darkness. But after sitting there for ten minutes sounds started to emerge giving dimension to the space I was in.
Kathy chopping carrots on the wooden board in the kitchen. Outside a car dove by. Crickets chirping through the window screens. The refrigerator motor turned on. The clock ticking over the fireplace.
The doorbell.
Kathy's footsteps from the kitchen through the hallway to the door. Front porch light switch flipped. The deadbolt turns. The front door opens. The doorknob is loose and jiggles a bit.
'Hi Dave!' Kathy says. 'What's going on?'
'Ah, not much. The Mrs is out with her friends. Thought I'd come over and see what was going with you two. Sorry about the drop-by and all.'
'Don't worry about it. Come on in,' Kathy says.
The screen door speaks as it opens. The mechanical arm eases the door back into the jam.
'Hey Dave,' I say. 'Beer's in the fridge.'
'Uh, huh.' He says. Foot steps to the kitchen. Fridge doors opens and closes. Dave says something to Kathy. Kathy giggles. Foot steps back to me.
'Got you one.'
I grope in the darkness until I find the bottle. Cold. Condensation already forming on the sides.
The couch to my right compresses and squeaks.
'Feels fuckin'good to finally sit down. Been on my feet all day,' says Dave.
'Yeah, business good at the shop?' I ask.
'We had a 17% increase at the shop over last month. People getting ready for the holidays. Haven't been home much. But you know that, right?'
'Yeah,' I said stopping the conversation cold.
'What happened to your eyes?' Dave asks.
'Yeah, it's nothing serious. Got these cysts removed from my eyelids. Wasn't painful at the time but it's starting to hurt now.'
'Yeah, I know a bit about pain myself.'
Silence. The uncomfortable kind.
'You boys want another beer?' Kathy called from the kitchen.
'That be great Kathy-baby,' Dave yelled back.
'Kathy-baby?' I wonder. 'What's that about?'
Footsteps into the living room. I reach for the beer.