Blind Attraction

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Heather jumped imperceptibly when she felt Vincent's hand on her arm, but relaxed into the gentle touch. He actually came, she thought to herself. She felt a wave of relief wash through her, and she summoned a light smile as he offered a ride in his car. It meant less time walking, and less time she had to be out on the streets, with staring eyes she could feel but not see watching her every move. She nodded quickly, accepting the offer. "That'd be great."

She felt a tap on the top of the pages she carried as Vincent spoke again. "Oh- I did have some apartments I found. Just a few, though." She said, flushing a bit red. She hadn't expected him to have done any searching of his own on her accord. Did he think she would be unable to do any actual searching on her own? She was blind- she couldn't just check the newspaper or Google search for an apartment to rent. But she didn't like the idea of being viewed as helpless. "We can go through both lists. I mean, if you made a list. Of the places you looked up. I-" She cut herself off, having started to become flustered. "Sorry. Uhm, lead the way. To your car, I mean."

Dakota barked her own greeting to Vincent, tail wagging excitedly- although she was still guarded and very much so on-duty- as she followed Vincent along to his car, tugging Heather along. The dog followed him right on his heels, and nuzzled against his hand when they stopped at the vehicle, searching for attention with another bark.

"I think Dakota missed you," Heather joked, tightening her grasp on the leash around her fingers. "She seemed to know that we were going out today. She practically carried her harness to me." She smiled.

"Are you sure it's okay to have Dakota in the car? Dog fur can easily ruin upholstery. My brother never lets her in the car without throwing down a blanket first," She asked, idly shifting her weight again, nervous.

​
 
"Don't worry about it. Dakota, are you going to shed in my car?" Vincent leaned down with his hands on his knees, baby talking the dog. She wagged her tail excitedly and nudged against his hand, the poor girl only wanted a bit of attention and Vincent was supplying. He stopped the games and opened up the back seat door. With his hand on the door's handle, he gestured for Dakota to jump on in without her master.

Then he opened the passenger door, as gently as he could with as little assertion, he guided Heather into the car. He pressed his hand against the edge of the open door so if she slammed her head on anything it would only be his hand. Sure, she'd have to have been in cars often enough, but she'd never been in his car. Gauging the space wasn't something he expected her to be able to do. When she was good and ready he shut both doors and climbed in the driver's seat, bringing the car to life with a simple turn of the key.

"This first one is a block off the park, a little more expensive, but it's close to everything. Not a terrible price, I just haven't seen it yet." Vincent explained. He drove through the town with ease, stopping when needed and turning back between Dakota and Heather. "I figured maybe we'd start there, a few more places are within walking distance."

They arrived shortly, and he repeated the motions of helping both the guide and girl from the car. He motioned to point, then shook his head. He'd have to get used to being verbal as the day went on instead of his usual awkward gestures. She couldn't see for Christ's sake, and here he was jabbing at buildings as if she'd hear the sudden whoosh in the air.

"This way." He called. Would it be helpful to guide her, or just a hindrance? "Dakota can just...follow me, or-" Vincent rubbed his head awkwardly with his hand. She wouldn't want to be guided by a dork like him, it'd be weird.​
 
Heather found herself starting to relax as they started their trip, finding herself comfortable in the car, with the company of Vincent. He spoke to Dakota as if he'd known the pup her entire life, and although it was apparent he was as nervous as she, perhaps because she was blind and he was unsure of how to handle that, he seemed calm and assured. She stumbled a little as she climbed into the passenger seat, unsure of her surroundings, but tried to mask it behind her expression, falling into casual conversation with Vince as he drove. Dakota took to the backseat of the car like home, flopping down against the seat, practically purring in content.

Heather kept her hands on her lap, not wanting to reach out for a window roll-down button only to grab a lock. She stayed quiet as she listened to Vincent comment on the places he had searched for, nodding in response. He sounded like he had everything all planned out, which was good enough for her.

He helped her out of the car, and she struggled to catch her bearings, unfamiliar with her surroundings. Dakota trotted promptly over to her, and she grasped around for the leash again, righting herself on the sidewalk. She tucked her folder under her arm, and looked in Vincent's general direction, hoping to appear attentive.

"Dakota will follow you, I'm sure." She assured him, offering a smile. "She's pretty smart. And if I start wandering off all askew, just grab my hand or something and give me a tug in the right direction. Just as long as you know where you're going, we'll be alright."

And follow Dakota did. She trotted alongside Vincent, following his every footstep, head held high, tail wagging. Heather found herself tuning into the noise around her- it was her only way of gauging where she was. She didn't walk along these streets often enough to recognize it, but she could hear the familiar sounds of the park. There weren't too many people on the streets, making it significantly easier for her to travel, following Vince's lead until they reached their destination.​
 
Vincent was sure he'd found the place, judging by the massive sign in the window advertising the available space. He opened the front door of the complex for Heather, Dakota passing by proudly before he walked in himself. There was a small office just off to the side, where he was supposed to meet someone from the apartment complex to show him around. He'd called ahead to let them know that he'd be coming with a woman and her guide dog, the woman on the other end seemed delighted to have them, as she probably said to each tenant in the same cheery voice.

A woman stepped out of the office in a tight black dress, long black curls rolling off her shoulders, she looked radiant but Vincent hardly cared. He was checking to make sure Dakota didn't start to wander off or that Heather was still comfortable with the new setting. It was only when this woman stuck out her hand for an introduction that Vincent took over, mainly because she'd tried to introduce herself to Heather.

"Hi, I called yesterday about the-" Vincent tried to get in a sentence, but the woman cut him off.

"Yes! I'm Shelby, I've got a few different options I can show you. We have a few studio options, otherwise two, three bedroom apartments for sale." She said in her high and whiny voice. "There's a few on the ground level, too, for your dog."

"Oh, she's not-" Vincent interjected.

"Shall we get going?" Shelby cut him off again. Vincent pursed his lips, he wasn't able to get in a word with this woman, nice as she was. So he agreed, and they strolled up to a set of doors which led to the first floor of spaces. Vincent decided to opt out of the studio, having remembered something Heather said, and imagining that perhaps such a small space wouldn't do so well for her and Dakota. It was straight into one of the first floor rooms and Shelby started to drone on about the light fixtures and how nice it was to have hardwood floors.

Vincent politely nudged Heather in the right direction, once pulling her out of the way when Shelby tried to walk past her, more or less into her. He had to say, it was a nice apartment, the only issue was price now. Once Shelby stopped talking, he'd be better able to describe to poor Heather what was going on and what the actual rooms looked like. There were two bedrooms off to the left, the only hallway inside the apartment. Right in the entry way was a decently spacious kitchen, a small eat in counter, with a large open space behind it. Shelby mentioned it would be good for a dining room and a living room. Right off the back was a small deck space with some grass, and while Dakota wouldn't be able to go outside on her own, Vincent thought that'd be a nice bonus instead of having to go down a few flights of stairs each time she had to go outside.

"Now, do you have any questions before I move on?" Shelby clapped her hands together with a practiced smile on her face. Vincent couldn't help but snicker, she still didn't seem to realize that Heather couldn't see what she was talking about.

"I don't, the apartment is for my friend, Heather." Vincent motioned to her. "Is there anything you want to know? It's pretty big, there's a door off the back there, for Dakota, the rooms are just to the left, they have carpet in them."​
 
Heather had had some qualms about the entire house-shopping thing- she anticipated rude landlords, pushy sellers, flights of stairs and other similarly arduous circumstances, but this woman, Shelby, was something she hadn't accounted for her. She seemed, at the very least, very excited to be selling apartments. She had a shrill, adenoidal voice that was obnoxious to listen to, even though Heather was sure the woman meant well, and spoke so rapidly that at times Heather had problems deciphering what she was saying. As a result, she let Vincent do most of the talking, and stumbled along as the woman brought them to the first apartment, following Shelby's voice and the gentle tugs from Dakota.

Heather could feel just how big and empty the space was just by standing in the doorway. Shelby's voice echoed and bounced off the walls, her heels click-clicking along the hardwood floors she was busy enthusing about. It had the feel of a studio, except larger, with that new-thing smell to it, like a car does when just purchased. She heard the creak of the doors as Shelby walked through the bedrooms, and the 'shnick!' noise that came from the light switches as they were turned on and off. From above, there was some noise from the neighbors, the hum of a dishwasher, the sound of faint conversation, music.

Several times Vincent pulled her out of harms- or, rather, Shelby's- way, and she breathed a quiet "thank-you" with a smile each time, even though she could have screamed it and Shelby would have continued on speaking. Dakota sat vigilantly by her side, not making a sound.

"Now, do you have any questions before I move on?"

My God, finally... she thought to herself. Vincent gave her a quick run down of the apartment- carpeted rooms, a living area, a spacious kitchen. The words swam around in her head- she wasn't sure what to make of it. Would she even need that much space? What could she possibly do with a second bedroom? The temptation to simply snap up the first offer and worry about the moving process later was hard to resist.

"Uhm.. How big are the rooms?" She began. "The bedrooms, I mean. Windows? And.... Oh! The stove. I guess most apartments come with a stove in place, but is it possible I can replace it?" She paused before motioning to her eyes. "I'm, ah, blind. It's be best if I had a special stove brought in. So, you know, I don't set things on fire. And what are the approximated prices?"

Shelby took a moment to respond. Was she frazzled yet? It would have been nice to see the look on her face. But, she launched back into her high-speed commentary, professional and all-knowing. "I'm sure that we can arrange that for any of our apartments! Our goal is to make living as comfortable as possible. One of the bedrooms has a window, and the living space as a few as well, along the wall to the back. The bedrooms are large enough for a full bedroom set; I'm sure you two can fit all of your possessions in there!"

"Oh, uhm- he's just helping me loo-"

"Prices! I nearly forgot. How about we view the other apartments before we go over the pricing of your favorites?" Shelby said, flashing a dazzling smile before turning to push them back out the door. Heather turned, her face burning. Dakota quickly hopped to her feet, waiting for Vincent to lead the way.​
 
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"Am I moving in now, I didn't know, why didn't you say something?" Vincent teased Heather, lightly tapping his hand against her arm in jest. "I don't think there's enough space here to fit my work, that'd be the biggest issue, sorry Heather, it's just not doing it for me. Not enough space, the lighting is all wrong."

He stopped his joking for the time being, anything to lighten the mood and get the red off her face. Dakota was oblivious to it all, what with not being able to understand a word the people were saying around her. She looked up at Vincent expectantly as Shelby moved on, and he gave her ears a scratch before following after the exuberant woman in heels. He had to admit, the first apartment was nice, and there was plenty of space for Heather to live, but did she really need two bedrooms and a massive living room all to herself? Probably not.

"And this next one, since you mentioned the special stove, it's still in the renovation process so it'll take another few weeks to be completed, but we could negotiate some appliances before anything is installed, save the work of having to do it later, hm?" Shelby led them into a studio. It looked nearly identical to the previous apartment, the same massive living room, only the kitchen was slightly smaller and there was one lone bed and bath off to the left side. Vincent looked around quickly, noting that this time the kitchen was half empty. It felt like they shouldn't have been inside, the floors weren't even installed, but Heather couldn't judge the room by appearance. So, he supposed that offer might be intriguing.

"Now, this studio is much cheaper than the two bedroom down the hall, but if you ever decide to upgrade we can move the appliances for you-" Off she went, again, talking about the floors being installed and the great view out the windows. Vincent hardly paid her any attention as he leaned down to whisper into Heather's ear.

"This one is actually pretty nice. The appliance thing could work. Plus, out the back door? I can almost see the park from here." Vincent had the urge to rile up Dakota, feeling she should be excited about the short distance to the nice green grass. However, it would have been a little much considering they were supposed to be the polite 'couple' house hunting.

"Did you say something, dear?" Shelby turned around, one of her hands was motioning out the sliding glass door which led outside. Vincent shook his head.

"No, please continue."​
 
Heather laughed along with Vincent's joke, a smile returning to her face. The artist just seemed to have that sort of affect on people- perhaps humor was a key characteristic of starving artists? "Aw," She tried some teasing of her own, with a lopsided grin. "I'm all torn up! What shall I do now?"

The woman guiding them didn't seem to acknowledge their antics, and continued on to lead them to another studio. It smelled of wet paint and even more so of newness than the first apartment did, but for some reason, Heather found herself loving it. Maybe she could get the weird apartment-people to help her move in all sorts of stuff into the house. It'd be awfully convenient, she thought to herself. That, and the word 'cheaper' automatically held definite appeal.

"An apartment this size seems about right for me." Heather said, speaking up so Shelby could hear her. "And I can wait for it to be finished before moving it- I have time."

"That's lovely to hear, miss! Of course, it won't take all that long for the renovations to be complete, especially with a potential renter! Perhaps you'd like a copy of the rental application?" Shelby exclaimed, her smile broad.

"Well.. I've got a few other apartments I plan to look at, you know, stuff like that. So, I'm not su-"

Shelby cut her off enthusiastically, shaking her head vigorously so her hair waved from side to side. "No, no- you don't promise to apply if you take an application! You can take one and return if you'd like to submit it." She smiled at Vincent and then Heather- it still didn't seem to sink into her mind that Heather couldn't see her- before closing the sliding door and returning to their sides. "There are a few more apartments you can look at, and then I'll find that form for you!"

Heather kept herself together for the rest of the 'tour' of sorts, listening to Vincent's comments on each apartment, although her head was beginning to ache and Dakota was getting antsy, although it was probably difficult for anyone unfamiliar with the dog to notice. By the time Heather had the rental application form in hand, and was following Vincent out the door- well, she was just about tired out and done with the endeavor. She stopped, reaching out to grab what was Vincent's shoulder, and pursued her lips in thought before turning around.

"Screw it," she muttered. "Did Shelby leave already? I'm thinking I'll just fill out this rental application here and now, so we can all just go home. I didn't think house-hunting was going to be so..." She paused, struggling for a word for a moment before simply shrugging it off. "I mean, it'd probably be simpler if I filled it out here, no?"​
 
Vincent stopped and turned to face Heather, her hand fell from his shoulder. He looked down at Dakota, shifting from one paw to the other in some sort of anxious dance. It was becoming more apparent that even the guide dog was done looking at apartments, even if all she had to do was sit pretty for a while.

"It would be a lot easier, yeah, then we could finish the application process and it'd definitely be yours. Especially if you want those appliances special."

Vincent paused to think. It would still be a good three weeks, that's what Shelby had said, but if there were any delays it would put Heather out of a home for a while. Luckily she could at least stay where she was, with her family, but depending on how soon she wanted to move out it might not have been an ideal wait time for her. How soon did Heather want to be out? He hadn't thought to ask if it was of any major importance. Surely she had time to kill, she could wait a little longer, then independence would come. Patience.

"There's still a few other places, but I have to admit, this one isn't bad. It's right against the park practically, on the first floor and everything." Vincent agreed that it was nice. "But, if you're so exhausted from our afternoon of house hunting- He was only teasing her of course. "-Then we can go back in and get that application done, wait the few weeks, and you're in."

Vincent reached his hand down to scratch Dakota's ear again. He had been told not to touch guide dogs on duty before by some teacher, some years ago, but no one seemed to be hurt by the action. Dakota seemed to enjoy the attention even, glad to be noticed after having worked so hard to keep Shelby from running into Heather, even it was Vincent who'd done most of the guiding. She was still a good dog, an adorably spoiled, but great dog. Vincent was suddenly a little jealous, but he couldn't pinpoint why.

"Do you want to go back in, get a final price then?"​
 
"Yeah- Just to get it over with. We could be spending our day doing something much funner, finish the house hunting later." Heather said. "I mean, it can't possibly take that long, right?"

She let Vincent lead her back in after Shelby, who thankfully hadn't made it far from the front lobby when the two returned. She seemed, somehow, even more excited to hear that Heather was actually going to sit down and finish the form, and ushered the two to a nearby seating area where Vincent could help her fill out the form on the broad end table. "I'll be by the front desk in case you need anything!" The woman chirped, brushing her hair over her shoulder with a flourish and a smile before she left to return to her post by the front desk. She'd left them with a black ink pen and the remnant of her wide smile.

"Right. So... I'm not sure how apparent this is," Heather began, "but I can't really see legalese. Not unless it's in Braille, and companies usually don't care to bother. If you could, er, read it to me, and help me fill it out..." She trailed off in her thoughts. She sounded hopelessly needy- she made herself sound like a crying infant in ten words or less. But it was true. With unseeing eyes, she couldn't read the fine print, not to mention the large print. Usually her father or her brother had to help her with that sort of stuff, but of course, they weren't here now. She'd assumed Vincent would like to help her with it, but she reminded herself that just because he had come out of his way to bring her out today, didn't mean he was willing to fill-in forms and write for her all day.

That, and her brother would throw a fit when he found out. He didn't like the idea that Heather was getting help from a total stranger in the first place- her own feelings on the matter didn't actually matter. He painted a cruel image of Vincent in his own mind, envisioning a man with a creepy mustache with his mind set to rob Heather blind. Heather would have laughed if she hadn't known better. It only would have made her brother angrier.

​
 
"You mean..." Vincent started in mock surprise, "Heather, do you mean to tell me you're blind? I never would have been able to tell."

He placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head with the terrible joke, unable to control the lighthearted laughter which came forth from his lips. Vincent tapped the forms on the table with the back end of the pen, reading it over once before beginning to tell Heather what it said. It was all basic information, on the back was an agreement about the rules of the complex, where facilities existed on each floor, things of that matter. He flipped through the pages lazily, giving a brief second of pause each time he read something important.

"Basic information on the first page, tenant name, date of birth, phone, current address." Vincent began to fill in the spaces without thinking, only getting so far as her first name before realizing what he had done. "I can fill it out, if it's easier for you, don't worry about it."

Vincent had learned a bit about her, and was actually quite curious now about what it was like to actually be blind. His entire occupation would be a different sort if he couldn't see the canvas he was painting. Writing must have been difficult to learn, if she had at all Already he'd witnessed what it was like, to have a constant guide, someone to be her eyes where hers were out of commission. However, she took all things in stride, and Vincent hardly noticed, almost forgot that she couldn't see the walls around her or the color of the sky. He frowned, and began to tap the pen against the papers again.

"I don't mean to be, what's it, ah, never mind." Vincent waved his question aside. "Never mind."

Was it hard? What happened, why can't she see? I can't ask that, that's unbelievably insensitive.

"Anyways, let's fill this out."​
 
Heather smiled a soft smile at Vincent's hesitation, but didn't question his faltered question. If he didn't want to ask, that's fine. She wouldn't pry into whatever it was. But she found his awkward response to the entire thing a bit funny. True, it was how she'd been acting this entire time as well, but seeing it- or rather, noting and hearing it- in Vincent, a person she usually saw as confident and collected, was amusing.

"Just, let me know what it says and I'll give you the information to write down." She said, well aware that Vincent- unless he had become a stalker in the past few days- didn't have a clue as to where she lived. She'd never really mentioned a street address, a phone number. It was a habit instilled onto her from a young age, not to give away personal information like that. Of course, she trusted Vincent. She wouldn't have gotten into a car with him otherwise. But she had no reason to ever provide him with her address or number, and so she didn't. Although, she was definitely aware that she was providing it to him now.

They worked on the paper quickly, and after Vincent read over the fine print and helped Heather fine the little line on which to sign- her signature, although it fell off the line and dipped into a slight curve as she wrote, was loopy and elegant for someone who couldn't see as she wrote. She'd practice when she was thirteen, for hours on end, with her signature. It was after a few kids at school had spent the day bullying her, teasing her for being unable to even write her own name legibly on a piece of paper. It wasn't true, of course, but afterwards she'd pressured her brother into helping her learn to sign her name. While the cursive wasn't exact, and it didn't sit neatly on the line, the lettering was nice, and unique to her own hand.

Once the forms were filled out, they handed them off to Shelby and went on their way. Dakota seemed eager to leave the cool building, and Heather felt relieved. It felt a little stifling in there, with the preppy lady humming over their shoulders the whole time with information she didn't really care to hear. Now it as just her, Vincent, and Dakota on a surprisingly quiet street in the city.

"So.. Now what?" Heather pondered idly.​
 
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