Going the Distance

Chapter 9

As Brian was slowly waking up he could feel someone watching him. Somewhat disoriented, he opened his eyes to find Justin staring down at him; a huge smile on his face.

“Hey,” Brian whispered, his voice husky from sleep.

“God, I think I could stare at you for the rest of my life and never get tired of seeing your face,” Justin admitted honestly.

Brian wasn’t sure how to respond to that other than to reach up and kiss Justin softly. “What time is it?”

“4:30, you’ve been asleep for three hours.”

“How long have you been awake?”

“About an hour, I guess.”

“And you’ve been here the whole time watching me sleep?”

“Yes,” Justin replied shyly.

Before Brian had time to comment there was a light knock on the door. Jennifer peeked in, entering as soon as she saw the boys were awake.

“It’s about time you two woke up. I was beginning to think I should come in and check for breathing. Justin, your father and I want to take you out for dinner. Do you think you’re up to it? I think a celebration is in order,” she said with a smile. “Of course, you’re invited too, Brian.”

Justin looked at Brian for opinion.

“It’s your day, Justin. Whatever you want to do is fine by me,” Brian assured him.

Justin smiled before looking back at his mother. “That sounds good. Just give us some time to get up and I have to call Daphne. She was so upset that she couldn’t be here, but her trip had been planned for months. She gave me the number to the hotel and threatened bodily injury if I didn’t call her.”

“Then you better call her. Knowing Daphne; she meant it. We’ll leave in about an hour,” Jennifer told them before leaving them alone again.

“Do you want to go back to the dorm and change before dinner?” Justin asked as he reached for the phone.

“I don’t want to, but I probably should. You go ahead and give Daphne a call and I’ll be back in time to leave,” Brian said, kissing Justin once again before grabbing his jacket.

“Okay,” Justin replied softly before continuing. “And Brian, thank you for being here with me. It really means a lot.”

“There’s no where else I’d rather be,” Brian said, winking as he walked out the door.

Justin felt his heart skip a beat as he watched Brian walk away. Everything was all so unreal to him. After all these years he could finally see and having Brian to look at just made it that much more special.

Shaking away the thoughts that were consuming him, he found the number Daphne had given him and called the hotel. He smiled when he heard her voice; he couldn’t wait to see her.

“Hello?”

“Hey Daph, it’s me,” he answered.

“Justin! I’ve been thinking about you all day,” she exclaimed, a little uneasy. “So…uh…how did everything go?”

“It worked, Daph. I can see!”

“Oh Justin,” she cried, tears rolling down her face. “I’m so happy for you. I’ve been praying for this day for so long.”

“It’s okay Daph, stop crying. Everything’s going to be okay now,” he assured her, feeling his own tears start.

“I know,” she whispered. “Damn, I’m such a girl. I’m just so happy for you. God, there’s so much that you have to make up for. We can go to NY and walk through all the museums, we can go to the movies…”

Justin laughed at his friend’s exuberance. “Calm down Daph, I’ve only had my sight back for about six hours now,” he chuckled.

“I’m sorry; I’m just so happy. Your parents must be thrilled.”

“Yeah, they’re taking Brian and me out to dinner to celebrate.”

”Oh Brian, I forgot about him. He must be ecstatic. So, what was it like seeing him for the first time?”

“Like heaven. He’s so incredibly beautiful. It almost hurts to look at him. I can’t believe that he’s mine, ya know?”

“Why’s that? I mean, you’ve looked in the mirror, right? You’re not exactly a troll or anything. Oh, what was that like? Seeing yourself? Wow this is all so weird,” she sighed.

“I know. I was looking at myself in the mirror and I kept thinking…wow, that’s me. I don’t know what I thought I’d look like, but it wasn’t what I expected. This is pretty weird. I have so much that I have to do now.”

“Like what?”

“Well, like learn to read. I only know how to read Braille. I realized when I looked at my discharge papers that I don’t even know how to read anything.” Justin thought back to the moment when he realized how hard it was going to be to adjust to the world.

“Shit; I never thought about that. I guess when it comes down to the little things, we all just take it for granted. Well, whatever it takes, we’ll all be there for you. The important thing is that you can see. I really am happy for you Justin. No one deserves this more than you.”

“Thanks Daph. Now I better go. Brian went back to the dorms to change and I thought I’d go spend a little time with my mother before he gets back. You’ll be home on Sunday, right?”

“Yes, and you better be around. Don’t go disappearing on me. I’ve waited a long time for this. It’s killing me that I’m not there now.”

“I know; me too. Don’t worry, I’ll be here. Love you Daph,”

“Love you too, Justin. Have a great weekend and I’ll see you on Sunday,” Daphne replied.

Justin left his room in search of his mother and found her sitting alone in her bedroom, crying softly.

“Mom? What’s wrong?” Justin asked, entering the room cautiously.

“Oh, hi Honey,” Jennifer said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Don’t mind me. I think the day’s excitement is just getting to me.”

“I know what you mean,” Justin chuckled, his own eyes tearing up. “I feel like I’m stuck in a dream and any minute the alarm’s going to go off and I’ll wake up in darkness again.”

“There’s no more darkness for you; only bright skies from now on. Gosh, when I think back on all you missed out on because of me…”

Justin heard her words and his head shot up as he looked at her in surprise. “Because of you? Mom, it wasn’t your fault.”

“But if I had seen the symptoms sooner; gotten you to the hospital earlier,” her voice trailed off.

“It wasn’t your fault. Children get sick all the time. I have no doubt that you did the best that you could. Have you been blaming yourself all these years?”

“I’m your mother; I’m supposed to protect you…”

“That’s bullshit! You did protect me. You’ve been protecting me my whole life. There are some things that you can’t control and illness is one of them. I’ve never once blamed you for my being blind. If anything, I thank you for all you have done for me since then. You’ve always made sure that I was well taken care of; that I had everything I needed. You’ve helped me become the person I am despite my disability and I love you for that.” Justin’s voice cracked with emotion.

“I love you too, Justin. I can’t believe my little baby is all grown up. Pretty soon you’re going to move out and leave me here all alone,” she sniffed.

“You won’t be alone, you have Dad,” Justin pointed out.

“It’s not the same. Your father can take care of himself. He doesn’t need me like you do.”

“Are you sure about that?” Craig asked from the doorway, overhearing the tail end of the conversation.

Justin looked at his father then at his mother and figured he’d give them a few minutes alone.

“I’m going to go downstairs and wait for Brian. I’ll let you know when he gets here,” Justin said as he took his exit.

Brian rushed into his room and grabbed a change of clothes, heading into the bathroom to shower quickly. Once he was done and ready to walk back out the door, Ben showed up surprised to see him there.

“Hey, how’d it go?”

“It went great. Justin can see,” Brian replied, his excitement evident in his voice.

“That’s great, man. Congratulations. Now you two can live a normal life together without his disability causing unnecessary problems. How is Justin taking all of this? He must be over the moon.”

“Yeah, he is. I can’t imagine how it must be for him. It’s all so unreal, you know? He hasn’t seen a thing since he was about two years old. There’s so much that he needs to see and do; it’s got to be overwhelming for him,” Brian sighed, still trying to take it all in.

“Well, luckily he has you to help him through it all,” Ben replied with a smile.

“Yes he does,” Brian smiled back. “Now I better go. Craig and Jennifer are taking us out to dinner to celebrate and I don’t want to be late.”

“Yeah, don’t want to piss off the in-laws,” Ben teased.

Brian laughed as he walked out the door, wondering what the Taylor’s would think of him as a son-in-law.

The next few weeks flew by in a flurry of activity. Justin didn’t want to waste any time seeing all the things he had missed in his life and between Brian and Daphne, they managed to take him to a lot of the places on his list. Brian was exhausted from work, school, and playing tour guide, but it was all worth it just to see Justin’s smile. On Thursday night, Brian managed to convince Justin that spending a nice quiet evening in his dorm room was just what they needed. Justin had wanted to do some more sightseeing, but sensed Brian’s fatigue and conceded to a quiet evening. They were lying on Brian’s bed talking about their plans for the weekend when the phone rang.

Brian groaned as he reached for the phone. “Hello?”

Justin was thinking about the weekend when he noticed Brian stiffen; his face draining of color as he listened to the person on the other end of the phone.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Brian said softly as before hanging up the phone with a shaky hand.

“Brian? Are you alright?” Justin asked with concern.

“My parents are dead,” Brian said without emotion as he stood up and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Justin watched him go in horror. He knew that Brian had a bad childhood and that he wasn’t close to his parents, but to lose them both? His heart broke for him. He sat up on the bed and waited until Brian came out, his eyes red-rimmed and sad.

“Brian, come here,” Justin demanded gently, opening his arms wide.

Brian allowed himself to be pulled into Justin’s arms, seeking comfort from them. “I…don’t know what…to do.”

“One step at a time; first we have to make travel arrangements.” Justin reached for the phone and called his mother, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to make the arrangements himself. In the two weeks since the surgery he hadn’t spent much time learning how to do the everyday things for himself. Something he knew he had to rectify as soon as he got the chance.

“Hey Mom, I need you to do me a favor. Call the airlines and book two tickets on the first plane out of Pittsburgh in the morning. I’ll pay you back with money out of my savings account. Brian and I are going to California. I’ll explain everything when we get there.”

After assuring his mother that he hadn’t lost his mind and that he would be home soon to explain everything to her he hung up the phone and refocused on Brian.

“Okay, now let’s get you packed.” He stood up to begin packing when Brian grabbed his wrist and stopped him.

“Two tickets? Justin, you don’t have to…”

“Don’t say another word, Brian. You’ve been there for me so much in the last few weeks, there’s no way I’m going to let you go through this alone. Now help me pick out what you want to take so we can get going. We’ll stay at my house tonight and have my mother drive us to the airport in the morning.”

Brian nodded his head, unable to argue with Justin. As much as he hated to admit it, Justin was right. He needed him now more than ever.

Once they were back at Justin’s and Brian had finally fallen asleep, Justin went in search of his mother, knowing that she wanted an explanation. He found her sitting out on the back deck waiting for him.

“Okay Justin, out with it,” she said calmly.

“Brian’s parents were killed in a car accident. I don’t really know all of the details yet; he hasn’t really said too much since he spoke with his aunt. I can’t let him go through this alone, Mom. After all he’s done for me, there’s no way I’m not going to go be there for him. He had a really horrible childhood and his parents treated him like shit, but their still his parents and he’s devastated. He needs me,” Justin explained, his voice cracking with his last words.

“Oh Honey, how awful. I’m so sorry that he has to go through this. Is there anything I can do for him?” Jennifer asked, her heart going out to the sweet boy upstairs.

“Well, we could use a ride to the airport in the morning. I don’t want to have to worry about paying for parking. Oh, and maybe you could call the University tomorrow and just let them know what happened. It’ll be one less thing that Brian has to worry about,” Justin said, trying to think about all that needed to be done.

“No problem, Justin. After all Brian has done for you, it’s the least I can do,” Jennifer assured him. “How are you doing? Are you going to be alright during the trip? You’ve lead a pretty uneventful life up until now. How do you feel about flying across the country?” Brian was going to be in no condition to give his full attention to Justin and Jennifer couldn’t help but worry about her son.

Justin thought for a moment before answering. “Well, I’m a little nervous, but nothing’s going to stop me from being with Brian when he needs me.”

Jennifer saw the determination in her son’s eyes and smiled. “I’m proud of you, Justin. You’ve turned into a remarkable young man and Brian’s lucky to have you there for him through all of this. Just remember, he’s going through a lot right now. He’s not going to be the same person that you know. Losing both parents at such a young age is a life altering experience. It’s going to take him awhile to come to grips with it all.”

“I know; I wish there was something I could do to make it easier for him, but I know there’s not. He has to deal with this on his own. I’ll just be there by his side incase he needs me,” Justin sighed, feeling a little useless.

“When did you get to be so smart?”

“It comes from good upbringing,” he chuckled. “I better try to get some sleep. I get the feeling it’s going to be a long weekend.”

“Alright Honey. I’ll see you in the morning,” Jennifer replied, hugging Justin good night.

“Good night, Mom.”

When Justin walked back into his room he was surprised to find Brian awake and staring at the ceiling.

“Hey,” he whispered. “I thought you’d be sleeping.”

“Justin, do you think it’s crazy for someone who moved across the country to get away from his parents to feel heartbroken at the thought of being an orphan?” Brian asked, ignoring Justin’s comment. “I mean, my parents may not have loved me but I feel really strange knowing that they’re not there anymore. I feel so alone now.”

Justin’s heart broke just a little bit more at Brian’s words. He turned off the light and climbed into bed, taking Brian into his arms. “Brian, you’re not alone. As long as I’m alive you’ll never be alone.”

Brian started sobbing softly, and all Justin could so was hold on tight and whisper words of comfort, hoping that it was enough.

End of part 9
9/29/04

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