Page 47 of Ember

Ember took my hand and put it on a smooth wooden surface. “Uhh, it’s facing the table. Like, away from us.”

“I’m looking at the back of the chair?” I slid my hand forward and felt fabric on the seat. It felt like the back of the chair.

“Oh, yes, right. Sorry.”

“No sorries.” I moved to the side so I could sit down. My knees hit the table, and glasses tinkled together. “Whoops. Let’s skip the china shop next, okay, baby?”

“Tomorrow then.” Ember sounded amused, her voice coming to my left.

“Sir, we have a menu in Braille if you would like?” the maître d’ asked. He had a thick, nasally voice, and I imagined a heavyset man with a red face. I pictured what people looked like from myearlier years of being able to partially see features and never got out of the habit.

“Really? That would be great, thank you.”

“Would you two care to start with anything to drink before your server gets here?”

“Coke, please,” Ember piped up.

“I’ll have one as well,” I said.

Soft footsteps moved to my left, and I assumed the maître d’ left.

I felt around the table, seeing if they’d laid out plates ahead of the meal or not. I touched a soft tablecloth, and a water glass to my ten o’clock. A rolled bundle was silverware to my eight o’ clock.

“Thanks for talking me through that,” Ember said. “I know you could have done all that by yourself.”

I grinned. “Like I said, it was a nice excuse to touch you.”

“Hmm.” Her scent got a little stronger at that. “So you’re playing hooky from work?”

“I had a meeting,” I said defensively. “But yeah, basically. Rian’s recording all afternoon. What about you?”

A pause. “Basically. I have computer work to do but I can do it later when I get home. West can help.”

“And when do I get to meet West?” I asked, as footsteps got closer.

Sure enough, a voice came to my right. “Hello, my name is Adam and I’ll be your server for today. Here is the Braille menu.”

Then came the soft thud of something being set in front of me, and the server went into his routine about the specials of the day.

“Let me know if I can get you anything else,” Adam said. “Anything at all.”

I resisted the joke about new eyes. It was too easy.

I flipped open the menu and ran my fingertips over the lines of Braille. “I know I already looked up the menu on the way here, but I can’t pass up the chance to use a Braille menu. Must give these people props for accessibility options when I can.”

“I don’t know what I want. And I’d say we bring West lunch, since he works in San Francisco too, but he’s at home on remote work.”

“Drat,” I said. “Should have timed it better.”

“There’s always the future,” the omega said, but she didn’t sound as confident.

We placed our orders. Ember got a croque madame, a fancy French cheese and ham sandwich, and I ordered stuffed crepes with a fresh fruit salad.

“How did you get into music?” she asked and I could have reached over the table and kissed her.

This is what I was looking for when I went to Cosmic Bonds. She didn’t ignore my disability, but it wasn’t all she thought about. She asked about my job and passions.

“When I was nine, I got really into music.” I put my hand on the table, reaching for her hand before I remembered she wouldn’t know to put it in mine like Rian. “I started listening to the radio all the time, waiting for songs to come on so I could record them.”

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