This Unconventional Kind of Love

Chapter 14: The Perfect Romance

She complained about women hitting on him? Women hit on him? He cleared his throat, his cheeks burning like an open flame. "What good is that going to do me? The last time I saw my reflection I was a child. How am I supposed to know what I look like now as an adult?"

"You don't touch your own face?"

Shrugging his shoulder, he buttered a roll and thoughtfully took a bite. "I mean, yea, I wash my face...sometimes I give myself a nice trim..."

"Trim?" Raymond snorted, looking at Leslie's full beard. With his long, curly hair and his thick beard, even Raymond knew that women were practically falling all over this man for attention. He was handsome.

"I can shave once in a while if I really want to. I just prefer to have a beard. It keeps my face warm and I think people take me seriously," Leslie reasoned with another shrug. "Besides, what good do looks do me? It doesn't change my situation none."

"Was it difficult growing up blind?"

"I used to get bullied a lot when I initially went blind. I would often return home in tears. My mother would often show me tough love. It was a shock to me because my mother had always been so loving and kind but at times she seemed harsh toward me. She made me practice using my cane when I absolutely hated it. She would make me count my steps from my bedroom to the kitchen or pace the house. She would walk the grounds of the school with me and make me memorize the distance. I hated my mother at times, but she didn't want me to be blind just because I was blind. I just knew I was going to run away from home if she kept it up.

"Then one night I had a bad dream. I fumbled my way to my parents' room and I overheard my parents talking about some of the things the other parents were saying about my condition. They blamed my parents for what happened to me which was completely ridiculous. But hearing my parents cry about my mistreatment made it real for me that I couldn't go back to the little boy I once used to be. I stopped crying and started learning to be more independent. I took my mother's lessons to heart and now...let's just say I can see clearly without the use of my eyes."

Raymond agreed. At times he wondered how Leslie knew where certain objects were or which room he was in. To think that Lana had shown so much tough love to her little boy who needed her when she was such a loving woman. It must have been hard on both of them.

"So yea, at times it was difficult growing up, but my mother was there with me every step of the way. She made it feel as easy as breathing."

"Well, I want you to have a fun date with Janessa. I'll make a nice home-cooked meal for Lana and take her to the home theater to watch a film. It'll be a mother-son date," he chuckled. "It's something I've always wanted to do with my mother if she were still alive."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Leslie frowned, thinking about losing his mother.

"It's okay. She passed away from birth complications, but I had a great father and grandparents who doted on me. My dad told me that my mother loved food. She enjoyed trying new cuisine and trying to create different twists on her favorites. Cooking makes me feel closer to her. It's like she's watching me from above with a smile on her face every time my food makes someone happy."

Leslie grinned imaging the smile on Raymond's mother's face. She must be a truly cheerful person because his food definitely made them happy. "Have as many mother-son dates with my mother as you'd like. She has a lot of love to go around."

"Hi guys, what are you doing?" Janessa greeted, grinning from ear to ear. "Are those wings?! I want some!"

"Help yourself," Raymond offered, standing to his feet to acknowledge their presence.