Love Makes Blind

Elia Agostino stood in front of her preschool class. She was just about to finish her last lesson.
“[Use your eyes children; they are your greatest gift. Go out and see something and tomorrow you’ll tell me about what you saw.]” she was smiling at them, and everyone was paying attention to what she was saying.

Suddenly a little boy who sat in the front raised his hand.
“[Yes, Sandro?]” Elia asked him, thinking he had a question about the task.
“[Who is that man?]” He asked and pointed to the door.
Elia turned around to see who he was talking about, but she froze.

Paul Talley stood in the doorway, looking straight at her. He had changed; having a two-day beard and looking rougher. Elia had been so busy with her work that she had forgotten the date. Her eyes locked with his and it felt like the world stopped. She had to look away from him and turn back to the class.

Elia managed to clear her throat and break her eyes away from his and looked at the young children. They were looking at her with big, curious eyes.
“[Pack your stuff.]” she said just as the bell rang.
The kids were quick to gather their stuff and pile out the door.

Elia stood in front of her desk with her eyes closed. She could hear him walk over to her and stop in front of her. He lifted her face with a finger under her chin and she could feel his eyes on her face, but she didn’t open her own eyes to meet with his. He kissed both her cheeks, and then her forehead. He let his lips linger over her eyelids before he moved them down to her mouth and hovered over it with his own mouth only millimeters apart.

“You are not angry at me.” She didn’t ask it as a question.
“I could never be.” He said to her, but he didn’t press his lips against her the way she desperately needed.
She felt her heart melt. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He said and nuzzled his nose with hers. “I love you.”
“I love you Paul.” She said and pressed her lips against his, not managing to wait any longer.

Elia felt wetness on her cheek, but she didn’t know if it was her tears or Paul’s.
“I love you.” She said again as she opened her eyes and stared straight into his dark brown ones. “I love you.”
She wanted to scream it at the top of her lungs. He wrapped his arms around her and held her to his chest tightly.
“I really hope you do.” Paul said with a smile and kissed the top of her head.

Elia pulled away from him just enough to see his face. “You are so beautiful.”
Paul let out a laugh and kissed her again. “Why didn’t you stop me?”
“Because then you wouldn’t have left.” She told him. She brushed her hand over his cheek and felt the rough texture of the beard.
“I know, but I changed my mind the first day, then the second and the third. Smith begged me to shut up on the fourth day.” Paul explained and stared into her eyes.

“I landed in Port Angles at night, and since I hadn’t much luggage I decided to just phase and run home; I hadn’t phased the whole time I was away. Damn, would you believe me if I said I missed running around on four legs?” Paul looked down at Elia with loving eyes. “But then I started paying attention to which minds where with me; it was only Seth, and he played the whole thing in his head; you getting your sight back, forcing him into booking a plane ticket to Parghelia. And his worry for you living so close to Matteo.”

Elia looked away down at the floor. “Matteo lives in my house, actually, and Angelo, Mario and Gina.”
Terror pulsed thorough Paul. “Has he hurt you Elia?” He asked her and held her face between his hands.
Elia smiled. “Of course he hasn’t. He imprinted on a girl that rented a room with me.”
Paul smiled. “Seth also managed to tell me about your B&B.”

“What did you think, or do when you found out?” Elia asked and rested her head on his chest.
“I was thrilled when I found out you could see, but it also made me sad that I missed showing you the world again. I ran to my mother’s house to let her know I was okay before I went back to the airport and bought the first available plane ticket that would lead me to Parghelia.” Paul couldn’t take his eyes away from her face.
“You should have called me; I could have picked you up on the airport.” Elia said to him.

He shook his head. “I didn’t bring any luggage at all except my backpack.”
Elia was suddenly very aware over the fact that Paul only wore a pair of cut off trousers and a wife-beater. His arms seemed bigger, more muscles, if that was even possible.
“What are you planning to do here?” She asked.
Paul chuckled. “Being with you. I won’t let you out of my sight for even a second. It will look like I’m your conjoined twin.”
She laughed and rested her head on his shoulder. “That sounds perfectly fine by me.”

“I want to visit your mother’s grave.” He suddenly said, gripping Elia’s hand and leading her outside.
“Why?” Elia asked and had to jog to keep up with him.
“I haven’t been there for ages.” He shrugged and dragged her outside the small school building. Her slow pace gave him a good excuse to sweep her up in his arms.
Elia kissed his cheek. “Okay.”

The graveyard in Parghelia lay behind the little church, and it was in walking distance from the school, like everything else in the town. They found the grave quickly, Elia would have found it even if she was blind, because she went to her parents’ grave very often and just sat in front of the gravestone and felt closer to them.

Paul placed Elia on her feet and stared at the stone. In the light gray colored stone the words ‘I nostri genitori molto amato’ were engraved in an elegant script beneath Roberto and Mirella’s name. In English it meant ‘Our beloved parents’.

Elia almost forgot Paul was there but she turned away from the stone and looked at him when he cleared his throat. Elia gasped when he saw him down on one knee.
“Marry me, Elinora Agostino.” Paul said to her determined to get the right answer and held the velvet covered box with her mother’s engagement ring in it towards her.
Elia stared at him in silence for a few seconds before she spoke. “Are you asking me to marry you in a graveyard?”
A smile crept onto his lips. “Yes, in front of your parents. It is your mother’s ring.”

Elia looked closer at the ring; the details in it were extraordinary - it was beautiful. She immediately recognized it from pictures she had studied off her mother. She must have given it to Paul when he asked Mirella for Elia’s hand. Elia remembered vaguely her mother telling her about it on her deathbed.

Elia smiled at him. “Get up from the ground, Paul.”
Shock flashed across his face and he regretted asking her at the graveyard. It seemed like all he did was making mistakes.
But when he stood in front of her a passionate glimmer made it way to Elia’s eyes as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a loving kiss.
Paul was grinning like a fool when Elia let him go. “That means yes.” He knew that now.

Elia nodded at him with a grin just as big as his was. “But one condition; I want our engagement to be short.”
Paul laughed and kissed her again and slipped the ring onto her left ring-finger, above the promise ring, before he wrapped his arms around her and spun her around in a circle.