An Unexpected Chance at Love

This is a short story I wrote for English Honors class. My teacher said it was very good. I hope you enjoy it.



As she arrived home from the office, she couldn’t wait for 6:00 to roll around. At 6 she was going to her best friend’s 21st birthday party. They were going to go to McCauley’s bar on Clermont Street to celebrate. She couldn’t believe it: Anne was turning 21 while she, Josephine, was 27. Could her friend really be that young? Josephine didn’t remember her being so much younger during school.
She unlocked her front door using the 5 digit pass code for her lock. She could never remember the digits themselves, but she always remembered the sound each number made as she pressed it, and she always knew where each button was in relation to all the others.
Once inside, she walked over to the answering machine and pushed the “play” button. Her first message was, of course, from Anne, reminding her about the party and that she would be there at 5:30 to pick her up. The second message was from her other friend, Marietta, also going to the party that evening. Marietta was just calling to make sure Josephine had a ride to the bar, seeing as how Josephine couldn’t drive.
She decided to get a quick shower before the party, so she headed for the bathroom, though not before locking the front door to ensure her safety. She loved taking long, luxurious showers after a hard day’s work. She was a librarian at the local library. Since reading title after title of books, putting them in their proper places, checking out books for others, and renewing old books was her job, she would often become drained and fatigued, her muscles throbbing, her hands more tender than anything else. So it sometimes felt good to have a hot shower to relax away the aches and pains of the day.
After her soothing shower, she dressed up for a night on the town, She put on her make-up, did her hair up in a nice bun the way her mother always used to, and went to her room to pick out a suitable dress for the event, After thoroughly searching her closet for the most comfortable, soft attire she had, she decided on her cotton halter-dress with the plunging neckline and knee-length bottom. It had a soft feel to it, and since she figured she would be sitting or dancing all night, she thought it best to wear comfortable clothing. She chose to wear, for comfort’s sake, her low heels instead of her 3 inch ones.
When she was finally ready, the doorbell rang and Anne came in, announcing herself to be sure Josephine knew she was there. So, they left together and Anne drove them to the party. Several hours later, around 1:00 AM, Anne dropped Josephine off at her house and waited to be sure she got in all right.
Josephine couldn’t believe how much fun she had had at the party. She was so happy for her friend, and proud of herself for not drinking too much. She was also so exhausted from the events of the day, she decided to check her e-mail and go to bed. So she went to the computer room and exclaimed, “Computer on.” She was so happy she finally had the voice detection software on her computer. She could give the computer a command and it would do whatever she said: e-mail a friend, check her messages, look-up something online, anything. It would also voice whatever it found: read her the messages on her e-mail account, tell her what it found online, etc. It even had the ability to do dictation: she could say what she wanted in an e-mail and the computer would type it in and then send it to whomever she requested. She didn’t even own a keyboard because of this handy system.
The computer turned itself on, and replied, “Hello, Josephine.”
“Check e-mail.”
“One unread message. Shall I read?” The computer had a choppy, digital voice that usually made Josephine feel very lonely when using it for long periods of time, but she was too tired to care.
“Yes.” She sleepily answered.
“Message from Tavarius Jacobi. Message reads as follows:
Dad, why have you forsaken me? Have I not done all a son can do to please his father? Tell me what I must do for you to love me again.”
“That's odd. Research ‘Tavarius Jacobi’ online.” She had never before heard of this man, and because the message began with “Dad”, she assumed the sender had typed in the wrong e-mail address.
“Tavarius Jacobi. He does not appear anywhere in normal websites. Shall I check for a criminal record?”
“Yes.”
“No criminal record.”
“Respond to his e-mail with the following:
Dear Tavarius, You have mistakenly sent your message to my e-mail account instead of that of your father’s. My name is Josephine Johnson. Sorry for the mix-up.”
“Will that be all?”
“Yes. Please send the message to the e-mail account from which it was received.”
“Message sent.”
“Thank you. Computer shut down.”
“Good night, Josephine.” The computer began its shut down procedures.
She then set off for her room and prepared herself for bed. She could not drive the thought of Tavarius from her mind. She wondered what he could have done to make his father forsake him, yet not create for himself a criminal record. But she decided to try to put the subject aside for now and go to bed, assuming she would never hear from him again.
The next day, she awoke extra early so she could have time to check her messages again. She, again, went to the computer and said, “Computer on.”
The computer turned itself on, and replied, “Hello, Josephine.”
“Check e-mail.”
“One unread message. Shall I read?”
“Yes.”
“Message from Tavarius Jacobi. Message reads as follows:
Hello, Ms. Johnson, or is it Mrs.? I’m terribly sorry for the mishap with my e-mail. I can assure you it won’t happen again. I’m sorry for the inconvenience and I hope I haven’t bothered you too much. Please accept my humble apology and my request for forgiveness. Sincerely, Tavarius.”
“Respond to Tavarius as follows:
Dear Tavarius, Firstly, it is Ms. But I would prefer you call me Josephine. Secondly, it was not a terrible inconvenience to receive the message, just odd. Your apology has been accepted and forgiveness granted on one condition: you accept my request for friendship. Anyone who thoroughly apologizes for such a small ordeal must be a truly wonderful person. Will you accept? Your new friend, Josephine.”
“Will that be all?”
“Yes. Send the message.”
“Message sent.”
“Thank you. Computer shut down.”
“Good day, Josephine.”
She hoped he would respond by the end of the day, but she wasn’t sure how often he checked his e-mail. But, knowing a day of hard work was ahead, she continued with her morning routine and took the bus at 6:00 for work.

At the end of the day, as she stepped off the bus and walked into her house, her thoughts suddenly jumped to Tavarius. She rushed to her computer, and after going through the start up sequence, she heard his reply:
“Dear Josephine, I would be delighted to count you as a friend. Although, I’m not sure you should say the same. Shall we get to know each other, then? Tell me all about yourself: your hobbies, your job, your dreams, your childhood, your plans for the future, your loves, your hates, anything you wish me to know, please share. I look forward to hearing every bit of it. Yours truly, Tavarius.”
She immediately began to respond, answering all of his questions and asking the same of him. She found out he lives a few cities away, not farther than a taxi could go, and a number of other things about him. They talked and shared more with each other than they did with anyone else, and they became the best of friends. They talked for hours on end, starting just after Josephine returned from work and ending in the early hours of the morning. They sent almost 10 emails a day, just back and forth banter and such, for several months.
About 4 months into the friendship, Josephine asked a daring question: Can we meet sometime? She had heard of online predators and stalkers and such, but who could possibly want to do that to her? His response, however, shocked her:
“No.”
“But why not? We have shared everything with each other; we know each other better than we know ourselves. Why can we not share in each other’s company?”
“Because we can’t. Just don’t ask. Please.”
She was shocked. What could possibly cause him to simply say no without cause or explanation? But she was not about to let that prospect affect their friendship, so they continued to talk and E-mail and IM each other, sharing daily experiences, laughing together, and building on to the friendship. But one day, Josephine recalled that sudden, unsolicited “no” and thought she might ask again in the hope that it changed into a “yes.”
“So, I was wondering, Tavarius, do you think we might meet sometime? I have never heard your voice, and I don’t even know if you truly exist or are just a phantom of my wild imagination. Please? It would mean so much to me if we could enjoy each other’s company and just be together. Please?”
“Well, I don’t know. I don’t think it a good idea, but if it’s what you truly want, I will not deprive you of it.” So he told her his address. She suggested a coffee shop or diner, but he told her he never left his house, not for anything. So she agreed to go to his place. They scheduled a time and day, and she had the computer put it on her digital calendar.
When that day finally arrived, she called a taxi and gave the driver the address. After and hour in the car, she reached her destination. She slowly walked up the path to the mansion he owned, and when she stepped onto the porch, she knocked on the door. It creaked open slowly, and she heard a hushed running sound.
“Come in.” A voice trembled softly. “Don’t forget to shut the door behind you.”
The voice was definitely that of a man, and it sounded as though coming from a corner of the room.
“Please, have a seat on the couch. Would you like some refreshments? Tea, water, soda, lemonade?” The small voice asked.
“ No, thank you. Tavarius, is that you?” she queried, slightly afraid of the odd welcoming.
“Yes, I am Tavarius.” The hidden voice quivered.
“Where are you? Why are you hiding?” Josephine inquired. “Come, please, sit and talk with me.”
She heard rustling sounds that seemed to be getting closer.
“I can’t. You’ll run away.” He whimpered.
“No, I won’t. I promise you. Please come out, you are frightening me.”
She heard yet more rustling, coming even closer.
“Are you sure you won’t run or laugh?” He asked, disbelievingly.
“I’m 100% positive. Now please, sit with me.”
So Tavarius came and sat with her. And there was a long pause before she chuckled slightly and said, “Now see, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“You’re not afraid of me?” He seemed unable to comprehend her relaxed attitude.
“Of course not! Why ever should I be?” She had no clue as to what he was referring to.
“My face is…all my life I had leprosy coupled with Merkel cell carcinoma. But my leprosy was cured, though it has left me with horrid scars all over my skin. My face is ugly and distorted. Over the years it has become increasingly worse. Every day I fight with society and the fact that the world doesn’t like me because of my appearance. Everyone who has laid eyes on me has either run away screaming or tried to be nice and fake a smile before throwing up. You are the first to disregard it completely.”
“That does not affect me in the least. Do you not yet know? I thought I told you ages ago: I’m blind, Tavarius. Completely blind since birth.”

Tavarius and Josephine are now a happily married couple. He is a journalist who works from home, and she is continuing her work in the library. They now have one child, a little girl of 3 months, who has neither leprosy nor Merkel cell carcinoma nor any blindness at all. She is a perfectly healthy baby with two wonderfully loving parents who have come to realize a very important truth: Love is blind.