[This is set in the same continuity as “Eagle-eyed lady, nearsighted guy”, about a month or so after. Katie and David will feature in this story and are a couple. This story is G-rated]
Pat pat pat
Annie began every morning this way. With a prescription of -16.25 x 2.25 OD, -15.75 x 3.25 OS, she spent every waking moment wearing her glasses. Unfortunately, the reassuring feel of the sharp plastic lens sticking out of her horn-rimmed frame was not there. She knelt down to the floor, sweeping and patting. Her hands felt the floor, inch by inch, but her glasses were not there. As five minutes became ten, and she had not yet found her glasses, a cold chill went down her spine. She remembered all the bullying she had endured as a child - all the times someone had taken her glasses and left her as good as blind.
In her blur, she hit her head against the nightstand. The pain of that combined with the memories was a powerful trigger, and she started sobbing.
Todd, her husband, woke up.
“Annie, are you okay?” he asked?
“Todd, I can’t find my glasses!” she said, tears in her eyes.
Todd, who did not need glasses, fetched them easily and put them onto her face. Her world resolved into clarity as her eyes shrunk behind her thick lenses.
Annie gave Todd a hug as he held her. Annie had suffered from agoraphobia for years. An experience where she had lost her glasses in college as part of a cruel sorority prank and had been left visually impaired for two days had given her PTSD and after that she was never the same. Worse, it had been instigated by her best friend at the time, which made it difficult for her to trust others. While her job as a software developer let her work from home, she hadn’t left her house since she graduated from college seven years ago, except for eye exams and other doctor visits. She was terrified that her glasses would be taken from her. Todd had been her rock since then, and he never complained, but Annie always feared she was a burden.
“It’s okay, hon” said Todd. “You’ve got your glasses”.
“I know” said Annie, drying her tears.
After Annie had calmed down sufficiently, Todd left for work. She completed the rest of her morning ritual; she would shower (with a spare pair of glasses she kept especially for the occasion), brushed her long brown hair, put on a tank top and shorts, and sat down at the computer to work. The morning had rattled her, however. To calm herself, she put a spare pair of her glasses in her pocket, the feel of the lenses against her thigh reassuring her. She had ten spare pairs of glasses scattered around the house due to her intense fears of losing her glasses. When she breaked for lunch, she ordered another pair from Zenni.
Todd had just finished with a business meeting. The startup he founded had turned a tidy profit in the last quarter, and its finances were firmly in the black. He walked over to the lounge and sat down. His partner, David, was already sitting down, drinking some water. David, who was Annie’s brother, was only 19, yet his engineering brilliance was what had propelled the firm to profit.
“Hey” said Todd.
“Hey yourself” replied David. “You look a bit more tired than usual. Is everything okay?”
“It’s Annie” said Todd. “She’s getting worse. Every time she can’t find her glasses she has a meltdown. She hasn’t left the house in years, and you and I are the only people she’s seen in person since she graduated from college. I’ve asked her to try counseling, but she always refuses. She refuses to see anyone who’s not family. I don’t know how to help her!”
“I know” said David. “Hey, maybe I can come over for dinner this Friday. Maybe I can bring Katie? I think she would get along well with Annie.”
“I’ll have to ask her” said Todd.
An hour later, Annie and Todd were at the dinner table.
“Hey Annie” asked Todd. “I was talking with David at work today and I invited him and his new girlfriend Katie over for dinner. Would that be okay?”
With that, Annie smiled. Aside from Todd, David was the person Annie loved the most in the world. She had played a role in raising him after their mother had died. She had always wondered when he would start dating. “Of course!” she said.
David and Katie came over that Friday night. Both were dressed well, David in a sportsjacket with a nice shirt and slacks, Katie in a blue dress with black boots. Annie and Todd felt a little underdressed under the circumstances.
They all sat down to dinner. Katie, renaissance woman and shimmering extrovert that she was, was a hit with both Annie and Todd. Annie, in particular, felt comfortable with Katie, and was fascinated by her medical knowledge. The conversation flowed naturally.
Later that evening, the four of them cleaned up the kitchen. David and Todd went to go play video games, leaving Katie and Annie. Both grabbed sodas and sat down in the living room, on the couch.
“Thank you for such a delicious meal!” said Katie.
“No problem.” said Annie. “With all the time I spend around the house I’ve become an excellent cook”.
“Oh?” said Katie. “I thought David said you were a software engineer.”
“I am.” said Annie. “I just work from home”.
“Ah.” said Katie. She reached to open her soft drink, which she accidentally sprayed all over Annie’s glasses.
“It’s okay” said Annie, seeing Katie’s horrified look.
“No, no, let me clean them!” said Katie. She took Annie’s glasses off her face and wiped them on her dress. She often did this for David. Unfortunately, the action of her removing Annie’s glasses triggered her, and she flew into a rage.
“Give me back my glasses!” Annie screamed. “I need those to see! Who the fuck do you think you are?” Tears began to roll down her face.
Katie handed the glasses back to Annie, taken aback by her angry response. “I’m sorry!” she said.
Annie’s reaction was so loud that Todd and David heard, and rushed over. “What happened?” asked Todd, upon seeing Annie crying.
“She took my glasses!” said Annie through her tears.
“Um, uh, I was just trying to clean them after I spilled Coke on them!” stammered Katie.
David turned to Katie and brought her aside. “Annie had a traumatic experience about seven years ago when her best friend stole her glasses and left her almost blind. She’s had agoraphobia since then”.
“Annie… I’m sorry” said Katie, with tears of her own in her eyes. She had heard countless stories of friends who had traumatic experiences and was mortified that she had contributed to another person’s pain.
“It’s okay” said Annie, who was now sitting more calmly, with Todd beside her, holding her hand. “I just get so scared when I lose my eyes.”
Todd turned to Annie and said “Annie, I really think you should see someone.”
“I know!” blurted Annie. “I’m just so embarrassed. How am I going to explain that I’ve been a virtual shut in for seven years?”
Katie sat down beside Annie and put her hand on hers. “Asking for help is hard” she said. “But I have an idea for what we can do to start with”.
“What?” asked Annie.
“Some therapists do something called “exposure therapy” where a person will be exposed to what they fear. Then they would talk you through it. For you, it’s being without your glasses. We could try it tonight.”
Annie shuddered at the thought.
“I think it’s worth a try” said Todd. “And I’ll be with you the whole way.”
“Me too.” said David. “I can stay the night. Annie, you were my mother and my father since I was 14. I would do anything to help you.”
“Me three.” said Katie. “David is one of the most special people in my life right now, and if you helped raised him, you did a hell of a job”.
“Okay.” said Annie.
With that, Todd removed her glasses.
Todd and Katie both held her hands.
“I love you” said Todd. “I always did, from the moment I saw you. And I’ll always take care of you. You are safe, and you are loved. You can do this, hon.”
“My eyes are as poor as yours” said David. “I know this is scary to be without your glasses. But you’re safe, and you’re with the people who love you the most”.
Annie was speechless in the beginning, her body tense with fear. As the evening went on she relaxed, and began to converse.
“I think I’m ready for bed.” said Annie. And with that, Katie and Todd guided her to her bedroom.
The next morning, Annie woke up, her world in a hopeless blur. She knew she had glasses hidden throughout her house, but she was determined to break her fear. She stood up, her hands outstretched, and carefully felt her way from the bed to the shower. She ran her fingers over the various bottles; the shampoo, the conditioner, the body wash. She could tell which was which by the shape. She bathed herself solely by touch, not using her bathroom glasses to “cheat”.
Todd woke up and saw Annie feeling her way, seemingly without any issue.
“You know, Annie, you can wear your glasses now” he said, handing him her glasses.
She put them on. “I know, Todd, but I just want to get better”
He gave her a big hug. She got dressed and went downstairs. Katie and David were already there, making a late breakfast.
The four enjoyed a pleasant conversation.
As Annie looked out the window, she saw the mail truck pull by, and drop a small package into the mailbox.
“I’ll bet that’s my new glasses.” said Annie. “Todd, can you…” She stopped.
She looked at Todd, then at David, then at Katie. “I’d like to try the exposure therapy again.” said Annie. “Outside”.
She dropped her own glasses on the table, and felt her way towards the door, hands outstretched. She felt the lock and opened the door. Even with her blurry vision she could appreciate the change in brightness, and could feel the humid air on her face. The suddenness of it all was too much, and she started gasping.
Katie, David and Todd ran over to her. “You can do it Annie” said Todd.
The four of them walked together, Todd serving as her eyes as she held onto his arm.
They got to the mailbox. Annie felt for the package, opened it, and took out her new glasses, putting them on. She looked around. It was a beautiful summer day, with a clear blue sky. She then saw Todd, David, and Katie. “Thank you.” she said, with tears in her eyes. “I think I’d like to take a walk.”
The four of them took a walk. Annie’s eyes feasted on the world around her, made clear to her by the thick plastic of her glasses.