Blind Man's Bluff - Chapter One
by Nelson
Author's Notes: This story would have been far flatter without the input from a few people. Special thanks, as always, to Alex for her never ending support, input, and constant supply of red font :) Also, thanks to AJ for their feedback and research that helped to round this story out.
My appreciation goes out to all three of you.
Rocky Mountain News (CO) Author: Deborah Frazier Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer
Edition: Final Section: Local Page: 12A
Article Text:
Between 1980 and 1997, 330 people fell from chairlifts in Colorado, state tramway board records show.
Of those, 169 fell from chairs without restraining bars and 161 fell from lifts with the safety devices….
Ben licked his lips when the waitress placed the big omelet before him, and he grabbed for the salt while she served the others.
Zach said for about the fifth time, "This is going to be SO much fun."
Nelson laughed at his enthusiasm and said across the table at Vic, "He's been just a little excited about this trip." Nelson passed over the grape jelly in the mini-jelly holder for the blackberry, and doctored his toast accordingly.
"It should be a good trip," Vic agreed. "I know someone else who has been excited," he said while placing a hand under the table and on Ben's leg and giving it a squeeze.
Ben glanced up at the touch, away from his omelet, but his mind was clearly more on his meal. "The menu didn't say there were carrots in here," he complained. He lifted the edge of the omelet to investigate further, and glared with disgust at the offending strands of the vegetable blanketed in the omelet. "I can't eat this." He shoved it away with revulsion.
Vic looked at the omelet and saw evidence of what Ben was complaining about. Carrots were near the top of Ben's list of most disliked foods. "Why didn't you ask what was in it before you ordered it?" Vic queried.
Ben looked at him in disbelief and said defensively, "Who in their right minds puts carrots in an omelet?!"
Zach laughed. "He has a point there, Vic." Nelson coughed a little as someone behind them lit a cigarette. They were in the last seat of the No Smoking section and they were entirely too close to the smokers for Nelson's taste.
"Do you want to order something else?" Vic asked.
"I'm really not hungry anyway," Ben said. Vic's expression made it clear that skipping breakfast wasn't going to be one of the choices for rectifying the situation. Ben sighed and turned back to the omelet. "Never mind. I'll pick out the carrots," he said, grudgingly pulling the plate back to him.
He took great pains to fold back the egg and pull out every shredded strand of carrot he could identify. Soon, he had a pile of the little orange pieces on his plate and tried a bite of what was left of the mutilated omelet. His face melted into a frown and he spit the bite out into his napkin when his tongue warned him of a missed piece of carrot.
They looked up at the sound of the waitress' voice when she commented, "Looks like someone doesn't like carrots."
Benji said, "No, and if the menu had bothered to say what kind of vegetables were in this omelet, I wouldn't have had to pick them out." He immediately felt a sharp elbow to the ribs but he didn't bother to apologize for what he said. He added, "I wouldn't have ordered this if I had known it had carrots. All the menu says is 'vegetables' and I can't get rid of all the carrots."
"I'm sorry," the waitress responded. "Could I bring you something else?"
"No, thanks," Ben said.
Vic interrupted and said, "French toast and sausage, please."
"I'm not hungry," he repeated.
Unflinching, Vic repeated to the waitress, "French toast and sausage." She refilled their coffee then left to put the new order in. "It isn't her fault you didn't find out what was in the omelet," Vic said pointedly to Ben. "There is no reason to take it out on her."
"She represents the restaurant," Ben said.
"Don't be rude to her again or you're going to be leaving the tip. A healthy one." Ben controlled the rolling of his eyes and sipped his coffee as a distraction.
Zach grabbed for Ben's plate and said, "Can I taste that if you're not going to eat it?"
"I don't care what you do with it," Ben said and pushed the plate toward Zach.
"If they aren't opposite ends of the spectrum," Vic noticed. "I can't get Ben to eat and Zach won't stop."
"More for me when he doesn't eat," Zach said, squeezing the extra plate between his and Nelson's.
"How do you stay so thin?" Vic asked him.
Nelson answered over his coffee before Zach could swallow to answer for himself. "High energy. He burns it off in his sleep."
Vic laughed and said, "Nothing wrong with that, is there, Zach?"
"Nope," Zach said diving for another mouthful of Ben's omelet.
"So, what's on the final list of things to do on this trip?" Vic asked.
Zach talked around a mouthful of eggs, saying, "I thought we could ski. Then after that we can ski some more." He took a swig of orange juice and said, "And, if that gets boring, we can always ski."
Nelson grinned at his partner's sense of humor while he poured creamer into his coffee cup. Ben laughed and said, "Well, I was sort of hoping we could ski while we're there. Can we fit that in?" The two almost had eighth-grade-girl giggles at the their witty banter, made more funny by their excitement over the trip.
"Nice to see you two in a good mood so early in the morning. I don't expect there will be any night skiing on this trip…?" Nelson said then paused with a steady look at his partner.
Ben and Zach exchanged looks then burst out laughing. "That was great, I'm sorry," Ben said, only adding the apology when the Tops at the table were clearly not amused. "Sorry, but night skiing is fun. We SO had a good time doing that."
Vic put his coffee cup down before putting it to his lips so he could answer. "I don't see anything funny about something so dangerous," Vic said somberly. "The Bluff has rules against it for a reason. I can't believe the two of you are laughing about it."
Zach said, "It isn't against the rules at every resort. It just happens to be one at The Bluffs."
"Right, so it can't be all that dangerous," Ben interjected.
Ben felt Vic's eyes staring at him and he looked up, his eyes blinking innocence. Vic said, "You DID learn not to pull that sort of thing again, didn't you? Nelson and I were clear?"
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy remembering our fun before you guys got your panties in a wad, and got all chappy about it," Zach said laughing. "Right, Benji?"
"Right," Ben replied with a grin.
"Zach, watch your mouth," Nelson interrupted. "And, we hardly had our 'panties in a wad'. Night skiing is dangerous, and you know it. Besides that, it wasn't allowed by the resort OR by me and Vic."
Zach looked at Ben across the table and said, "See? He's getting all worked up again just thinking about it." He laughed playfully at his partner who couldn't help but laugh with him.
"You should be ashamed of yourself," Nelson said, trying to remain stern with little success.
"You boys were terrible the last time we went to The Bluffs," Vic said, shaking his head. "I can't believe we're going back there."
"Well, if YOU two had just listened to reason…" Ben said.
"Here we go," Vic said wearily, picking up his coffee to wash down a bite.
"It's true! You wouldn't listen to us. We TOLD you we knew what we were doing and it was safe," Ben said.
The waitress interrupted them to put a plate of French toast in front of Ben, distracting him from his argument. "Here you go," she said with a pleasant smile. "Can I get you anything else?"
"No, thanks," Ben said with a friendly smile to make up for his earlier irritation. "This is more than enough." He looked over at Vic to remind him he'd rather have nothing, but Vic didn't seem to get the hidden message.
"Eat up," Vic said, using the interruption to change the subject. "We need to get to the airport soon."
Nelson grinned at Vic recognizing his detour for what it was.
"Let me and Ben sit together," Zach suggested to Nelson as he tried to push past him to board the plane.
"I don't think so," Nelson said, grabbing Zach's arm to keep him at his side. "I don't mean to be possessive, but I want you with me."
"Come on, Nelson!" Zach said. "You said we were in good moods."
Vic agreed with Nelson, of course. "No, I want Ben with me. I can only imagine what a fun plane ride this will be with the two of you bored and sitting together," Vic said as they followed Nelson and Zach to their seats. "Your good mood has been known to disintegrate in a hurry."
"You always expect the worst," Ben said as he was ushered down the aisle in front of Vic.
Zach surveyed the passengers before he took his seat and saw a familiar face. "Joey! Joey!" Zach shouted toward the back of the plane. He waved when he got Joey's attention and got a wave back. "Joey's here. I didn't know he was going anywhere, did you?" Zach asked Ben.
Ben let Vic pass him in the aisle while he shoved his coat into the overhead bin. "No, I didn't know he was going anywhere." He finished with his coat and was giving his own greeting when he felt a tug on his shirt. "Hurry up and sit down, please," Vic directed from his seat.
"I'm just saying 'hi'," he griped, looking down at his seated lover.
"Did you say it?" Vic asked.
"Yeah."
"Good. Then sit down and buckle up."
Ben glowered at Vic and said, "I wasn't hurting anything."
"I didn't say you were," Vic said gently. "I just asked you to sit down and buckle up instead of holding up traffic. Who were you waving at?"
"A guy Zach and I know from class." Ben struggled to get past Vic's long legs as he tried to reach the window seat. Vic had left it empty for him, knowing that's where Ben would want to be.
"Anyone I know?" Vic asked. He drew his legs in as much as he could, finally standing up to let Ben by. The two of them looked like they were trying to dance in the confined space. "Excuse us," Vic said to the people waiting for them to get settled.
"No, we just see him around," Ben said as he pushed past Vic. "We don't hang out or anything." Ben tossed his backpack under the seat in front of him and sat down as requested.
Once the excitement of the take-off was past, Ben started to get restless. He shifted for about the umpteenth time, having grown tired of the view of clouds below them, rippling like a white sandy beach. Feeling Ben moving beside him, Vic said, "Sit still, please, Benji. Get something to do out of your bag if you're bored."
"I don't feel like doing anything. I just want to get up. My legs are stiff. I think I'll go back and talk to Joey."
Ben started unbuckling his seatbelt and Vic laid a hand on Ben's thigh. "They're going to be starting another drink service soon and you don't need to be wandering around in their way," Vic pointed out. "You can go back after they serve everyone."
"That'll take forever!"
"Benjamin, it will not," Vic said, intent on working his crossword. "Calm down and find something to do."
"But, Vic!"
"But, what?" Vic asked casually, waiting for the torrent of excuses to follow as to why Ben should be allowed to get up. He did not so much as look up from the puzzle he was working in the in-flight magazine.
"They haven't even started serving yet!" Ben griped. A whine replaced the angry tone as he continued. "I won't be long, I swear. I'll go and come right back. Come on, pleeease??"
Before Vic could answer, Zach stood from his seat and was squeezing past Nelson, turning to the side to get past his partner's knees. When he did, he saw Ben and Vic looking at him curiously. "Bathroom," he said simply with a wide grin.
Ben frowned at his own lack of creativity and for asking outright to get up simply to visit with Joey. He instinctively knew exactly why Zach was up and it had absolutely nothing to do with needing the facilities. He still wore a big smile as he passed by his friends and headed to the back. "I have to go, too." Ben said lamely.
Vic turned unconvinced eyes to Ben and said, "Nice try. You're staying in your seat like I told you." Vic returned to his puzzle, unwilling to hear more arguments.
"Nelson let Zach go," Ben pointed out.
"Zach isn't my partner and I don't need to agree with Nelson's decisions. No more arguments." Ben crossed his arms, thoroughly disgusted with his lover's refusal to see reason yet again. Vic was flatly denying Ben the luxury of arguing about it any longer as was clear by his full attention being paid to his crossword. Ben wrenched himself around in his seat, unlatching his seatbelt so he could see, and peered between the seats toward the back. Sure enough, Zach was gabbing with Joey.
Ben's movement caught Vic's attention and he said, "Benji, what are you doing?"
He turned back around in his seat and reported, "Zach's not in the bathroom. He's talking to Joey." Ben yanked his thumb toward the aft end of the plane, "See?"
Vic didn't make a move to confirm the report. He said, "What did I just say? I'm not worried about what Zach does unless it involves you. You're not going back there." Ben watched as Vic went directly back to his crossword, paying absolutely no attention to what Zach was doing.
But Ben knew someone who would.
He leaned up and poked his hand between the seats, his fingers finding Nelson's bicep. He advised as his jab got Nelson's attention, "Nelson, Zach's not in the bathroom."
"Benjamin! Sit back. Zach is not your concern, and Nelson doesn't need your help. Do you want me to find some paper and give you something to occupy yourself?" Meanwhile, Nelson was craning around his seat to see Zach and he looked back between the seats at Ben, who by then was sulking after the reproof.
"He's just talking to that guy from college. He'll be back shortly," Nelson said after checking things out for himself.
Ben crossed his arms and muttered something under his breath that caught Vic's attention. He turned to Ben and immediately recognized the body language shouting, contrasting starkly with Ben's voice, which had been quiet. Vic asked, "What did you say?"
"Nothing."
"Ben…"
Ben sat upright and turned toward Vic as much as the seatbelt would allow. He whispered through his teeth, "He ALWAYS does what he wants. Nelson lets him do all sorts of things that you won't let me do. I get sick of it."
Vic got that hard look in his eyes issuing out an immediate warning to Ben. As if that weren't enough, Vic said, "Benjamin. First of all, that's not true and you know it."
Ben's mouth fell open and he directed his thumb toward the back of the plane. "Does that look like the bathroom to you? You can't tell me Nelson's too thick not to know Zach used that for an excuse to get up."
"SECondly," Vic said, cutting him off, "what Zach does is NOT your concern. Or mine, unless it involves you."
"Yeah, and how about that? Nelson is forever letting him tease me and get me going."
Vic looked quizzically at his partner, unsure of where the burst of temper had come from. "What is wrong with you? Where is all this coming from?"
Ben blinked at Vic, his words making him realize his state. He glanced down at his hands and said, "I don't know. I guess I just get sick of it."
"You don't need to get yourself worked up over what Zach is and isn't allowed to do. He isn't picking at you right now, so that shouldn't have you angry either."
"I'm just sick of it," Ben said yet again.
"I heard that somewhere," Vic said. He smiled to see if his little joke would perk Ben up.
Instead of acting like he even noticed, Ben raised his eyes to Vic and said, "Watch him come back with that smug grin of his. Just watch."
"Benji, you need to calm down and find something to do. Don't go starting something with Zach because you're mad at me," Vic said. He looked sternly at Ben as he spoke, trying to make sure his expression showed his determination. "We've had a pleasant start to this trip and I intend for it to stay that way. Understand?"
"But I…!" Ben started to say.
"Do you?"
Ben hesitated before he answered, not sure he was ready to answer in the affirmative. "Yes, sir."
Vic said, "Then find something to do that doesn't involve stewing about Zach." Ben looked at his partner and opened his mouth to protest once again, but Vic held up a hand to stop him. "Do you want me to find something to occupy you?"
"No, sir," he said with a flattened expression.
"Then find something to do, buckle up and behave yourself."
"But the 'fasten seatbelt' light is off," Ben said with a finger pointed toward the indicator overhead; it was clearly not illuminated.
Unconcerned with what the pilot wanted, Vic punctuated his words with a stab of his forefinger to his chest, and said, "MY 'fasten seatbelt' sign is on. Buckle up," and waited while Ben obeyed before returning to his puzzle.
"Like it's going to help if we go down," Ben muttered. He felt Vic's glare on him and he looked up from buckling his seatbelt. "What?" Ben asked. Vic merely held the look until Ben mumbled, "Sorry."
Zach came back eventually, satisfied with his little excursion, and gave Ben a satisfied grin before he sat down. Ben chunked Vic with his elbow and said, "SEE?? I told you he would do that!"
"He just smiled," Vic said with a sigh.
"It was a SMUG smile, just like I told you." Vic gave Ben one of his I've-just-about-had-enough looks until Ben pulled his bookbag out from under the seat to get out a book. With one eye on Vic, and another on the seat in front of him, Ben took the opportunity to use the cleared-out area to give a short kick to the underside of Zach's seat. Disappointment reigned when Zach didn't seem to notice the swipe to his seat cushion. Ben glanced over at Vic quickly to be sure he was still thoroughly wrapped up in his crossword before he delivered a heartier kick to Zach's seat.
That one got Zach's attention. He immediately responded by shoving his hand between the seats and pinching Ben's leg firmly.
"Ouch!" Ben exclaimed, drawing both Nelson and Vic's attention.
Though Vic missed the kick, he saw the pinch, and he grabbed Zach's wrist before he could pull it back. "Zachary! Keep your hands to yourself," Vic demanded before Nelson could say anything. His protective instincts were on high alert, fueled even higher by the recent exchange with Ben about Zach's incessant picking. Not only that, Vic didn't take kindly to his partner being pinched.
Nelson turned to see his Zach's arm trapped between the seats, and Vic released his iron grip. "What's going on?" Nelson asked Zach after hearing Vic's comment.
Vic leaned up and spoke to Nelson, "He pinched Ben."
"He kicked me first. I only pinched him after he kicked me," Zach said defending himself with Nelson against Vic's shameless tattling.
Vic's gaze left Zach and settled on his partner. "Is that true, Benjamin?" Vic asked.
Ben looked down slightly, keeping his eyes from focusing on Vic's. "My foot slipped."
"Twice?!" Zach demanded.
Vic didn't fall for it either. Vic said, "Do you still need to go to the bathroom? Because if you do, I can go with you and I'm sure I can keep your foot from 'slipping' again."
"There isn't enough room for both of us in that bathroom, unless you want me to stand on the toilet," Ben said. The look on Vic's face made Ben wish to reach out and grab the words, had they been corporeal.
"I'm willing to see if we can fit," said Vic, tenaciously. "Is that what you want?"
Ben rubbed a hand down his thigh as if to tame the leg attached to the slipping foot. He said, "No, sir; I'm fine and so is my foot."
"It had better be," Vic warned. "I'm not speaking to you again." Ben settled back in his seat once again and decided to read instead of stir his partner up any more. Vic was clearly not in the mood.
Ben was so excited to finally be at the lodge, he was able to bury his Zach-enhanced mood, and enjoy the pending vacation. "This is going to be great," he said as they neared the door to check-in.
"Yeah," Zach said. He hurried to the door and stepped quickly inside. "Jeez, it's COLD," Zach complained, teeth chattering.
"No, it's not," Ben countered. "It feels good to me."
Vic smiled at his partner's newsflash about his body temperature, and was glad to see his temper wasn't as hot as it had been earlier.
"It WOULD feel good to you," Zach jibed, knowing his friend's tendency to be hot and complaining about it. "What's your normal internal temp, anyway? 103?" Zach turned to Vic and asked, "How do you know when he has a fever? When the thermometer breaks?"
Vic laughed and drew Ben to him with an arm around his shoulders. The resort lobby was over-crowded with newly-arriving skiers, so he didn't kiss him like he wanted to. Instead, he whispered in his ear in response to the glower Zach was getting, "Don't worry about it, Sweetie. I know how to make you even hotter."
To that, Ben flushed a bit and grinned shyly. Nelson was coming back to them from the check-in counter bearing a handful of brochures, papers and cardkeys. "Okay," he said, distributing the keys. "Here are our keys, and our room is not too far. We'll want to move the car though."
"Good enough," Vic said, digging out the rental keys.
They were on their way out the door when they ran into Joey with a small group of friends. Finally able to talk to his acquaintance, Ben said, "Hey, Joey."
"Hi, Ben! I didn't know you guys were coming. Zach told me about your trip on the plane."
"Yeah," Ben said and cut his eyes toward Vic. He turned back to Joey and said, "This is my partner, Vic Tanner. Vic, Joey Bradford."
Joey and Vic shook hands, and Joey turned to Nelson. "And, you must be Nelson."
"The last time I checked, I was," Nelson said with a smile, shaking hands as well. They exchanged condo information and learned they were not going to be staying very close to each other.
"Well, maybe we'll see you around on the slopes," Zach said.
"Definitely," Joey agreed. "See you guys later." He and his posse of about five guys headed out the door.
"You didn't know he was coming before you saw him on the plane?" Vic asked on the way to the car.
"No," Ben said. "I told you, we aren't that close, just buddies. It hadn't come up. I had no idea he was skiing The Bluffs, too."
They all clambered back into the car to drive the short distance around to the building where their condo was.
Nelson was looking over the resort map as Vic cautiously eased the car over speed bumps in the parking area. "According to the map, there's a clubhouse right around this corner, and a pro shop near our building," Nelson pointed out. "We can rent any supplies we might have forgotten."
"I hope I didn't forget anything," Zach said.
"I think we're fine," Nelson answered. "Right there, Vic," he said, pointing to their building. Vic found a space as close to the entrance as he could, and the four of them hauled a host of bags, skis and everything else they brought into their shared condo.
Vic whistled when they stepped inside. The condo was nothing less than breathtaking. The staircase at the doorway led to a loft overlooking the living room from its vaulted ceiling. The kitchen, dining area, and living room made up a great room complemented by a stone fireplace on the far right wall. Sliding doors at the back of the dining area led to a healthy-sized deck, and Vic could barely see the outline of a hot tub through the heavy sheers. "This is VERY nice, Nelson," Vic said. "Who was your contact for this?"
"One of my patients. He's been pushing me to come up here and when he offered me his timeshare, I didn't want to pass it up."
"Sweet," Zach said. "I'm glad you didn't."
"No joke," Ben agreed.
Nelson took in the sight before him, noting the stone fireplace and cozy décor of the condo. "It is pretty nice, isn't it?" Zach dashed up the stairs meaning to find the bedrooms and check them out. Nelson halted him halfway up. "Hold it, Zach."
"What?" he asked, turning to peer down at Nelson from the stairway.
"Take a bag or two while you're going up, please." Zach rolled his eyes but not wanting to start off the mini-vacation on a bad note, he trudged back down the stairs and grabbed the first bag of theirs he came to.
Ben decided he might as well check it out, too, and he took a bag in hand before being asked to. He and Zach disappeared up the stairs, almost giddy with excitement. Vic and Nelson exchanged glances and laughed at their partners' enthusiasm in getting up the stairs as though there was a fire that needed their attention. Vic asked, "Did we EVER have that much energy?"
"No," Nelson said without hesitation. "Zach has more in his little finger than I have in my whole body."
"I know," Vic said with a chuckle. "He makes Ben look slow."
Nelson walked over to the fireplace and ran a hand across the rugged mantle. "This is pretty nice. It ought to be calming enough after a day on the slopes."
"Ben will have to sit in the kitchen area. He'll complain about the heat the whole time if he's too close to it."
"We won't roast him," Nelson said smiling.
"HEY!" Zach yelled down from the top of the stairs.
Nelson cut a look over at Vic and grimaced at the volume from Zach's lungs. He walked to the foot of the stairs and looked up into Zach's eager face that was beaming down at him. He couldn't help but smile back at him, and he softened the reprimand for yelling he planned on before seeing Zach's excitement. "We aren't outside, Zach. What do you want?"
"Sorry, " Zach apologized. "There's a Jacuzzi tub in the master! I claimed that for us," he said with a wink.
"Were you gracious about it? It doesn't matter where we sleep," Nelson said.
Zach straightened up and put his fists on either hip. "YES, I was gracious, thank you. We flipped for it."
"Each other, or a coin?" Nelson asked intuitively.
"Ha. Ha," Zach said with no sign of mirth. "Just be happy I won."
"Are you two finished exploring? I'd think you'd want to ski or something."
"YES!" Zach said, and took off back down the hallway in a flash to get dressed.
Nelson went back to the living room where Vic was settled on the sofa, and Vic glanced over at him. "What was the emergency?" he asked when Nelson came back.
"A Jacuzzi," he laughed. "You might as well get up, because those two are getting ready. They aren't going to wait."
Another bellow came from upstairs but it was Benji this time. "COME ON!" came the command.
"And there's our cue," Vic said, getting off the sofa. Vic looked at the pile of suitcases still remaining downstairs. "They aren't going to get far. Half of our stuff is still down here." As if he orchestrated it, Zach came bounding down the stairs and grinned at Vic and Nelson as he picked up another bag.
"The rest of our stuff," Zach explained. "I can't ski half-naked." Vic and Nelson followed him upstairs bearing more bags.
Two days into the trip, the guys were riding one of the shorter lifts up for another run. Zach and Ben paired up and were waiting in line in front of Vic and Nelson. The snow around the lift was marred and iced over from the many skis shuffling their way to the ride to the top of the slope.
"God, I hate these things," Ben said. "It's the only part I don't like about skiing."
"Why?" Zach asked. "I didn't know you were afraid of heights."
"I'm not afraid of heights. I'm always afraid I'll miss the seat, though."
Zach grinned at Ben, and said, "How can you miss it? You just stand here and bend your knees when the thing smacks the backs of your legs. No problem."
"I know, I'm just always afraid I'll sit down wrong or something like that."
"You worry too much," Zach said, as the line moved ahead. "Our turn!" he announced, and he and Ben took their places to await the next lift. Ben shifted his poles to his outer hand to keep them from bumping Zach, and he peered over his shoulder to watch for the approaching chair. Their seat was rounding the corner, and they turned their backs to it, while it approached to scoop them up. Zach had a sudden onset of playfulness just as Ben went to sit down, and gave him a little shove.
"Damn it!" Ben barked as he went down into the seat with one cheek on the edge and one fully on the lift. "You prick!" he said as he gave Zach a healthy shove back.
Nelson and Vic saw the scuffle starting and Vic muttered, "Good grief," at the same time Nelson was calling a warning to Zach. They tried to keep one eye on their partners as they seated themselves in their own lift chair.
Like a bad dream, the next thirty seconds seemed to happen in slow motion. At the same time Ben began to reposition his body and skis, Zach gave him a retaliatory shove back before Ben could get settled more firmly in the seat as the lift began to rise. The shove came just as Ben lifted his leg to scoot back, so the push was all that was needed to tip him off balance. Fear gripped Ben's heart as he felt himself falling from the safety of the ski lift. He instinctively began reaching aimlessly, hoping to snag something, anything that would stop his fall. His hands landed on Zach, but Ben managed to catch nothing but a glove. Zach felt his glove slipping off his hand, and he watched in horror as both it and Ben fell to the ground below before Zach could save either one of them.
"Ben!" Vic shouted as he watched his lover topple out of the lift seat all too quickly, landing on the snow and ice below. "My God," Vic uttered in shock. "BENJAMIN!" His blood turned as cold as the air around him when he saw Ben lying on the ground, unmoving. One of Ben's skis had snapped in two from the fall, and Vic prayed silently that nothing was equally shattered inside his partner.
Zach was screeching at Ben from his seat, clearly distressed at how far his little joke had gone. "Ben! BEN!"
Nelson was trying to get a read on what happened, but couldn't see anything from where he was sitting except that Ben had fallen. The lift, unmindful of the fact it had lost a passenger, callously continued on its journey up the mountain and away from Ben. Nelson pinned his partner with his eyes as Zach gazed back at him, now unmistakably alone in his seat. Zach was white-faced, and worry filled his countenance as he stared helplessly back at Nelson.
After a long look, Nelson turned his attention to Vic who was trembling with the rush of adrenalin. He placed an arm around Vic's shoulder and said, "It's okay, Vic. We'll ski back down and get to him in no time." Having passed the spot where Ben fell a distance of about 20 feet, Nelson could look over his shoulder and see the resort employees gathered around Ben. Vic was straining to look back at his partner, now surrounded by people, but who was still clearly not moving. As the crowd thickened, Vic's view was cut off, leaving him even more in the dark as to Ben's condition. "They'll take care of him," Nelson said. "I'm sure he's fine."
"I have to get down there," Vic said, still struggling to look back at his partner. "He wasn't moving. He wasn't MOVING!" Vic said in a panic.
"Vic!" Nelson said. "You have to calm down. He probably just smacked his head on the ice. I didn't see any blood at all. Did you?"
"I need to get to him," Vic was muttering to himself, obviously not able to listen to Nelson. He peered below, as though he were judging the distance and intending to jump if he thought he could make it.
Nelson's attention was distracted when he heard his name. He looked forward at Zach, who was clearly stunned over what had just happened. "Nelson! Is he okay?"
Although Nelson was ready to strangle Zach for playing around, he recognized the immediate need to calm him down. He could schedule the strangulation for later. He raised his voice to be heard in the seat up front, and said, "It's okay, Zach. You just sit still, and be calm. We'll all be down in a second."
"I didn't mean to, Nelson," Zach said. His face was blank with the emptiness of shock.
Nelson spoke sternly to Zach in the tone that typically got his attention. "Zachary. Turn around and be still. We'll be at the top in a minute."
Zach risked a look at Vic who was stoically facing front with a fixed expression on his face. He sat bolt upright, poised to hit the slope as soon as they topped the hill. Zach was dragged from his fog with a sharp instruction from Nelson. "Zachary Adam! Turn. Around. Right now," Nelson said, and Zach mechanically did as Nelson asked.
The short ride to the top seemed to take a lifetime, but they were finally at the summit. Zach launched himself down the hill as soon as his skis hit fresh snow, without considering if he should wait for Nelson and Vic.
Vic followed suit as soon as he jumped off the lift, and Nelson took off to follow them. As Nelson had suspected, the resort emergency crew was already loading Ben into an ambulance of sorts when Nelson dug in his skis to come to a stop near Vic and Zach.
An EMT was saying when Nelson got there, "Yes, he got a nasty bump on the head. He came to for us, but we want him to get checked out."
Vic was right at Ben's side and looked confused as he tried to decide how he could get in back without having to let go of Ben's hand to take his skis off. "I'm riding with him," he said when he saw one of the medical personnel looking at him.
"Sure," she said. Vic seemed to come to the conclusion he had to let go of Ben long enough to take his skis off, so he started getting rid of them in short order. While his hands were occupied with his laces, his eyes barely left Ben for more than a moment to get his bearings when needed. Another EMT offered Zach and Nelson a ride behind the ambulance, and they shed their skis then clambered in the car with him, allowing one of the rescue team to load their skis.
Zach bunched up in the backseat of the vehicle and folded his arms, withdrawing into himself with the stark reality of what could have happened. Nelson looked over at him with a mixture of sympathy and outright anger that he could have behaved so dangerously. Zach could feel a pair of eyes on him but he couldn't bring himself to look at Nelson. Zach mumbled, "I'm sorry."
"I should hope so," Nelson said. "What in the WORLD do you think you were you doing?"
Zach scrunched up as tight as he could against the door, and away from Nelson. "We were just playing around, and I pushed at him harder than I meant to…" Zach burst into tears. "It's all my fault!"
Sympathy overtook ire as Nelson watched his partner crumble under the guilt and worry pervading his mind. Nelson scooted over to the middle of the seat and wrapped his arms around Zach, holding him tight. He reached down to take one of Zach's hands and noticed one hand was gloveless. Desiring skin against skin, Nelson slipped off his own glove with his teeth while holding Zach with the other arm. He held Zach's bare hand, and couldn't help but notice how cold it was. He tightened his grip on Zach's hand, preferring to warm it with his own body heat rather than offer Zach one of his gloves. "It's going to be fine," he told Zach. "There's no reason to be upset until we know there's something to be upset about." He kept reassuring words flowing the entire trip, trying to get Zach settled down. Zach managed to slam the lid on his emotions by the time they reached the clinic, anxiety numbing him into emotionless silence.
"Come on. We're here and we need to go in and see how he is," Nelson said gently.
"He's going to be fine," the EMT said positively from the front seat. He pulled into a parking space near the front of the building, and said as Zach and Nelson got out of the car. "Good luck to you."
"Thanks for the ride," Nelson said.
Zach looked up as he exited the car, and saw the ambulance at the front door. Then he noticed Ben being wheeled inside with Vic right by him. "Vic must hate me," Zach said. "Ben must, too."
Nelson stopped walking and took Zach's chin in his ungloved hand, and said, "Don't we have enough drama right now without adding to it? Don't go creating more, okay?"
"But, they HAVE to!" Zach explained.
"Really? You have that in writing?" Nelson asked gently.
"I made Ben fall! We don't even know how hurt he is, yet," Zach said.
"Shhhh. Stop it," Nelson said softly but in a firm tone. "Let's go inside. Come on." He prodded gently until he got Zach to comply and they went inside to find their friends. The clerk out front directed them down the hallway in the small clinic, and told them where Ben and Vic could be found. Zach paced outside Ben's door while Nelson leaned against the wall, waiting for some news. They both looked up when Vic came out of the examining room, Zach's walk to nowhere stopping abruptly.
"How is he?" Zach asked anxiously.
"The doctor's still checking him over now. He hit his head on the ice and I'm sure he'll have one horrible headache, but beyond that, I just don't know yet. No obvious injuries that I can see," Vic said wearily.
"See?" Nelson said to Zach. "I told you he would be fine."
"The doctor's going to call me back in there in a bit," Vic said. "Give me the rundown."
Zach tried to relax, and pulled off his lone glove. Nelson saw him and asked, "How did you lose your glove?"
Zach's eyes dropped and he said quietly. "It came off when Ben fell. He grabbed my hand, but I couldn't hold him." Moisture gathered in his eyes and he looked over at Vic. "I'm so sorry, Vic. I know you hate me now, and you have every right to. Ben, too."
Vic walked over to him and wrapped his strong arms around Zach. "I don't hate you. I could wear the both of you out for horsing around and giving me a heart attack, but I don't hate you," he joked mildly.
"But, it was my fault!" he protested.
"Zach, what did I just say?" he asked beside Zach's ear. He pulled back and lifted Zach's chin, wiping a single tear away. Nelson's heart squeezed at the tenderness his friend was showing his partner, and was more than grateful, knowing it would go a long way toward putting Zach at ease. Vic said, "It was an accident. We'll deal with whatever the doctor says. Do you hear me?" Zach wasn't convinced, and his eyes dropped though Vic held his chin up. "Zach," Vic said. "I mean it. I don't hate you. I'm not happy with either one of you for playing around on that ski lift, but I'm sure, knowing Nelson, you'll hear his thoughts on that." Zach glanced at Nelson who gave him a supportive smile. Vic continued, "I just want Ben to be fine and for us to move on. Okay?"
"Yeah," Zach squeaked. "But what if he's not?"
Vic pulled him close for another hug. "He will be," Vic said confidently. "He was awake in the ambulance enough to talk to me, even if he didn't open his eyes. He knew who I was and what happened."
"He seemed fine in the ambulance?" Zach asked hopefully, pulling away so he could see Vic.
"Well, I wouldn't say that. He was talking to me, but his eyes were..." Vic paused as the doctor stuck his head out the door and interrupted them.
"Mr. Tanner? Come on in," he said.
Vic kissed Zach's forehead, abandoning their conversation for an update on Ben. He handed Zach back over to Nelson before going anxiously into the examining room.
As Vic disappeared through the door, Nelson asked while snaking an arm around Zach's shoulders, "Feel better?"
"Not really," he said with a sigh. "I won't until I know he's okay." He was suddenly mad at himself and said, "It was SO stupid! I can't believe it happened. I just can't."
"We'll talk about that later, because I can't believe it either," Nelson said, ominously.
"I deserve it," Zach said woefully.
"We'll talk about it later," Nelson said. Intending to save Zach from self-castigation, he added, "And, you let me decide what you deserve. I'll deal with this, not you. Got it?"
Zach nodded and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.
The clerk came into the hallway and asked, "How is he? Any word?"
Nelson tipped his head toward Ben's door and said, "The doctor is in with him now. We're waiting to hear."
"I'm sure he'll be fine," she said with encouragement. "If you guys want coffee, there's some in the little room at the end of the hall." Nelson looked in that direction and saw a room on the right. "You can't miss it," she said with a smile. "It might warm you up."
"Thanks," Nelson said. She left, and Nelson started tugging his coat off; something he hadn't taken time to do in all the excitement. He said, "Why don't you get your coat off and get some of that coffee with me, hmm?" Zach nodded mutely and tossed his coat and single glove on a chair in the hallway. Nelson did the same and took Zach's hand to go to the break room.
Vic came out just as they were walking away, and Nelson stopped when he heard the door open. "How is he?" Nelson asked.
"He wants to talk to Zach," Vic said, slightly ashen from the stress.
"Me?" Zach asked, alarmed.
"Yes. I told him how upset you were. The doctor is still in there with him, but you can go in."
"Go on," Nelson said, with an encouraging push toward the door. As Zach was heading inside reluctantly, Nelson said, "How is he, Vic?"
Vic rubbed both hands up and down over his face and said, "They need him to stay. I can't take scares like this one. My heart won't last."
Reading the tension on his friend's face, Nelson said, "We were just going for coffee. Why don't you come with me and fill me in?"
"Sounds good. But, I think I need Irish coffee or something a bit stronger than Maxwell House."
"That bad?" Nelson asked with a worried expression.
"My nerves are shot. Completely frazzled."
"Come on. Fill me in," Nelson said. He put his arm around his friend and they headed down the hall.
The door swung closed with a click behind Zach as he entered the room. Zach was somewhat nervous to see his friend, and he intentionally hung back behind the doctor who was blocking Zach's view. The doctor was saying, "Blindness is just one of the things that can occur when you hit your head like you did. You could have had far worse complications. You're a very lucky young man."
"I'm not feeling so lucky right now," he heard Ben say. "I'll try to keep it in mind though."
"Blindness?" Zach asked, interrupting the conversation.
"Oh, hi," the doctor said, turning to face Zach. He pushed his glasses up on his nose, and said, "I was just finishing up going over some things with Benjamin. I'll leave you two alone to visit."
He exited the room and Ben threw his arm over his face. Zach tentatively crept closer to the bed. "Benji? Are you okay?"
"What do you think?" Ben said.
"How did…? I don't…" Zach stuttered. "You can't see?" Ben never removed his arm from his eyes. "Please tell me I didn't make you go blind," Zach said. His voice was cracking and he waited desperately to hear that everything was okay.
With his eyes still covered, Ben said, "I can't see anything. Not a damn thing. I hope you're happy."
Fear gripped Zach when he heard the extent of Ben's injury. "Oh, my God," Zach whispered. "Is it temporary? Please tell me it's temporary?"
Ben rolled onto his side with his back to Zach. "I don't know," Ben said. "But like the doctor said, it could have been worse. I'm really not feeling up to company right now. I just wanted you to know I was alive. If you even care."
Zach tried to keep from breaking down. Ben turned both a physical and emotional cold shoulder Zach's way, and Zach couldn't bear the rejection or the fact that he had been the cause of Ben's blindness. "Ben," he choked. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it. I… I'm…." Zach could hold it together no longer. He fled the room, and then the clinic.
End of Chapter One
