“Thank you for coming today,” he said.
“Did you honestly think I wouldn’t?” I asked. “There’s nothing that would have kept me from him. Not even your mother, even if she did try her damnedest.”
He nodded. “I deserve that. To be honest, I wasn’t planning on calling you. I’m not going to lie about that. When it first happened, I just wanted to get him to the hospital and take care of him myself. Mom convinced me it would just complicate things having you there. But when Remy asked for you, there was nothing I could do. It made me realize just how much my parents had gotten under my skin.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Grant let out a breath and shook his head. “You can come visit him whenever you want to. And take him for outings or over to your house, too.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Grant said. “I never wanted to stop you from seeing him completely, Lindsey.”
I wasn’t sure I really believed him. After all, the papers clearly said that he wanted to have full custody without any visitation. But the admission that his parents got to him spoke volumes.
“If you really mean that, then I’ll be back in the morning,” I said. “I was actually planning to visit every morning if I could.”
“I’ll see you then,” he said. “Remy will be really happy.”
The conversation was brief but civil, and I felt like that was all I could really ask for. I got up and went back into Remy’s room. Brushing my hand over his forehead, I leaned down and kissed him.
“I’ll see you in the morning, baby,” I said. “Rest well. I love you.”
“Love you, Mommy. Bye, Vince,” Remy said.
I smiled at Vince.
“Bye, buddy,” he said. “Have good dreams.”
He cringed slightly, and when we got out to his truck, I looked over at him with a questioning expression. “What was that look?”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“When you told Remy bye, you got a really weird look on your face,” I said.
“I told him to have good dreams,” he said. “Was that okay?”
“What do you mean was it okay? Isn’t that what you say to people before they go to bed? Especially children?” I asked.
“Well, yes, but… does he dream?” he asked.
The tone in his voice and look on his face said Vince thought I would be offended by the question. The reality was, it wasn’t the first time I’d been asked that, and I was sure it wouldn’t be the last. It didn’t bother me. I would much rather people ask and find out more about Remy than to make assumptions about him.
“Don’t worry. I wondered things like that, too, when he was born. I had no idea what to think or what was alright to say and what wasn’t. In a lot of ways, I still don’t know. The thing is, everybody’s different. And that applies to blind people, too. That isn’t a taboo, you know. It’s not a bad word. It’s his reality. It’s how he was born. It’s all right to talk about it. And, yes, he dreams. Doctors said he dreams just like we do, only he uses the senses he has. So, he doesn’t see visual images. But he can hear and taste and smell and touch. All those things that you do in your dreams, he can do them, too.”
Vince started driving and within seconds, all the adrenaline drained out of my body. I realized just how exhausted I actually was. Then I realized he wasn’t driving toward my apartment, but rather headed toward his house. I didn’t argue. I didn’t want to have to say good night to him yet. And I would have to go back to the hospital to get my car in the morning, anyway.
For now, I just wanted to sleep.
We got to his place, and I went straight to his bedroom. Vince stayed in the front of the house for a little while, leaving me with my thoughts. I sent a quick text to Nick, filling him in on what happened and thanking him for taking over checking in on the event at the bar. He already told me he’d let the crew know I wouldn’t be in Saturday night, and I thanked him for being there to help me keep my bar running.
But there was even more important gratitude I needed to show. I hadn’t thanked Vince for being there, and he deserved to hear it over and over again.
A few minutes later he came into the room with a glass of water, a bottle of acetaminophen, and a plate of crackers and cheese. His giant cat followed him, his tail up in the air like he was part of a processional. I waited for Vince to put everything down on the nightstand, then went and wrapped myself around him.