The Travelling Man

I've been back from my travels for over a week now and I really should've updated before this, but it seems we've all been insanely busy this past week.   Sapphire says things have been crazy at her work.   Things haven't exactly been calm at my work, either.  I guess with the end of the school year coming up, parents are anxious to enroll their kids in all kinds of lessons to keep them occupied.  Music lessons seem to be a popular choice.  We've sold a lot of beginner piano and guitar method books this week.

So, here's the quick news update.  Michael and I are counting down the days until our university graduation ceremony and Xander is getting ready to graduate from high school.   Rommie's birthday is next weekend.   Hunter changed her hair style and also seems to have discovered the same online dating web site where Xander and Remi met.    Dylan apparently has a crush on somebody, but he's not telling us who it is.   Maybe he's meeting people online, too.  I'll keep you updated on that for sure.

Now that we're all caught up on the day-to-day stuff, I can tell you about our trip.    Sapphire let me come to the office with her on the day we left, because we were travelling with one of her co-workers and we were supposed to leave around noon.   The travelling itself was pretty uneventful.  I slept most of the way there.   I was up way too late the night before, so the chance to rest was more than welcome. 

I was wide awake by the time we reached our destination, though.  We made our way to the hotel and, I have to say, I was totally impressed.  There were Braille signs everywhere.   The staff was really friendly and helpful, and they didn't seem the least bit put off by their disabled guests.  I didn't really need help finding our room.  I was beyond pleased that I could find it by myself. 

Sapphire liked the hotel's slogan:

If you've never stayed in a luxury hotel,  you should try to do it at least once in your lifetime.   These places are way beyond the comforts of home.

 

 Our room even had aromatherapy soap in the bathroom (although I didn't know that when I found it, and I had to ask Sapphire what it was).

This is one of those photos I hoped would never see the light of day, but apparently Sapphire thinks it'd be fun to let you all see this.  I mean, seriously?   Hasn't she ever heard of 'what happens at the hotel stays at the hotel'? 

Really?  Do you mind?  Man taking a bath here.  A little privacy would have been nice.

Sapphire had big plans to go out and do a bunch of shopping on the first evening, before the conference started.  I'm not much of a shopper, so I decided to stay around the hotel, check out the pool or maybe try to figure out if there were any pay-per-view movies with descriptive video.   Sapphire said she would try not to be out too long, and that she'd bring back something to eat.    I suggested sushi since I've never had it before and since Sapphire always says how good it is. 

Sapphire was gone a couple of hours but, sure enough, she returned with three different kinds of sushi.   I don't know how to use chopsticks, so I ate it with my fingers.  Sapphire also brought some cookies.  We helped ourselves to those and indulged in an adult beverage too.

 

From this experience, I learned two things.  The first is that I don't like sushi.   The second is that I shouldn't do things that I'm reasonably certain will end badly.  

After we ate, Sapphire found a movie that had descriptive video and we settled in to watch it.   About halfway through the movie, though, I stopped paying attention because I'd started feeling really awful.  My stomach was hurting and I was scared that I might be sick.  

You might've figured out by now that I'm ill a lot.   The doctors say my immune system has never been what it should be, ever since I was born.

I guess I've never mentioned to you guys before that Michael and I were premature babies.  Even though I was the first one born - I'm older than Michael by about fifteen minutes - I was smaller and had way more health issues.  The doctors actually told our parents that it'd be a miracle if I survived past the first twenty-four hours of my life.   Well, I've obviously made it a lot farther than that, but there are some lasting effects of being born too soon.  I had a lot of problems with digestion as a kid, and I still eat according to a fairly strict diet.  I don't eat fried foods very often and I try to avoid things that are too spicy.  I sometimes drink alcohol, but more often than not, that upsets my stomach too, so I haven't made a habit of it.   I guess I just had a moment on this trip when I imagined I was invincible.

Booze?  Sure thing.  Sushi?  Why not?  It'll be fine.  

Yeah...not so much. 

Sapphire must've noticed that something wasn't right, because she asked me if I was okay. When I told her what was the matter, she said not to worry.  It was most likely a combination of being tired, eating unfamiliar food and drinking a little too much.  I'd figured that out on my own already.  What bothered me most was not the fact that I wasn't feeling well; it was the idea of being sick while I was away from home.   Sapphire helped me into bed and told me that she was sure I'd be all right after a good night's rest.

Sapphire decided not to watch the rest of the movie.  She turned off the TV so it wouldn't disturb me.  I could hear her over at the desk, doing something on her computer.  

The bed was amazingly comfortable, but I didn't know if I'd be able to fall asleep.   If I was at home, I thought, I'd feel better.   Sini would cuddle me and put her cool palms on my aching belly and sing me one of her strangely beautiful Erisan folk songs.   All of a sudden, I really missed Sini and Skyla, and I wanted desperately to go home.  Of course, I always miss my girls when I'm away from them, but I've never been homesick like that before.  It was a horrible feeling.  Lying there in that big, soft bed and thinking of my own cozy bed at home, I actually started to cry a little.

I must've whimpered or something because Sapphire left what she was doing on her laptop and came over to check on me.   At first, I didn't want to say what was wrong because I was embarrassed to tell her the real reason I was crying.

"My stomach hurts really bad," I said, and I sounded pitiful even to myself.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have let you eat that stuff."

"I wanted it."

"I know, but the least I could've done was remind you of what might happen."

"It's not your fault," I said.  "Sometimes I'm just dumb."

"Oh, Tyler..." Her voice had that sympathetic but somehow gently scolding tone.  It was the sort of tone that made me think she really did feel sorry for the pain I was in, but that she was also chiding me for something.   I couldn't decide whether it might be for referring to myself as dumb or for actually doing the dumb thing that led to my being in pain in the first place.

Whatever it happened to be for, the implied scolding was enough to push me past the threshold of emotional restraint.  Without much warning at all, I found myself sobbing like a child.  I felt Sapphire slip her arms around me, and I instinctively hid my face against her shoulder.

"I want to go home!" I blurted, suddenly not caring that I sounded like a little kid and that this should have been embarrassing in the extreme.

"We can't go home now, sweetie.  I'm here for work, remember?"

"I should've stayed home."

"Why?"

For a minute or so, I didn't answer her.  I just concentrated on getting my breathing under control and stopping myself from shedding any more humiliating tears.  Finally I managed, "I...I miss my family."

"It's okay.  I think it's normal to miss them when you're away."

"Not like this,"  I said.  

"Do you want to call them?"

"I talked to them just after we got here."

"You spoke to Michael, didn't you?" she said.   "I think maybe you need to talk with Sini and Pax, and say hi to Skyla."   

I thought about it for a minute and realized I really did need to hear Sini's voice.   I don't have my own cell phone, mostly because I can't really afford it yet, but Sapphire doesn't mind occasionally letting me use her phone.  She had to dial for me, because her phone has a touch screen.  I couldn't use voice dialling because our house phone isn't programmed into her contact list.   I think she needs to fix that.

Much to my relief, it was actually Sini who answered my call.   It's not that I didn't want to talk to anyone else, but it was just easier not having to ask to speak with her.  

Almost immediately after we said hello, she demanded to know, "What is wrong?'

I didn't bother trying to deny there was a problem.  It's virtually impossible to dissemble with Sini; she's like a living, breathing lie detector.

"I miss you," I said.

She made a sympathetic little mewing noise, and said. "You are not having fun?"

"Not at the moment," I told her.  "So, what are you doing right now?"

"I am not having fun, either.   Rommie is teaching me how to sew, and it is not going well.  You called at a very good time."

"You're learning to sew?"

"Rommie says it is a 'womanly skill'.  She says I should know these things." 

"Leave it to June Cleaver," I said.  "Personally, I think you already know all the womanly skills you need to know."

"Do you mean...?" she began, but then she started giggling. 

Her mischief was infectious and, despite my physical discomfort, I almost felt like laughing too.  I said, "You know what I mean.  Has anyone ever told you that you have a naughty mind?"

"You," she said. "All the time."

"It's true."

"I think you must like it, because you do not complain."  

"I do like it, but let's not go down that road of conversation right now, okay?  I'm not exactly alone in the room, you know," I said.  "Is Pax in bed yet?  I'd like to talk to him for a minute, if he isn't."

"He is still awake," Sini said.  "Wait, and I will get him."

Sini must've laid the cordless phone on the table instead of taking it with her when she went to find Pax.   I listened to the background noises of the house for a few minutes while I waited.   Eventually, they came back and then I heard Sini coaxing Pax to talk into the phone. 

After several seconds of silence, Pax's hesitant voice said, "Tyler?"

"Hi Pax," I said.  "Are you being good?"

"Tyler!" he exclaimed. He sounded utterly perplexed.  "In telephone?"

I could hear Sini giggling in the background, and I couldn't help grinning.  "No, I'm not in the telephone.  I'm far away, but the telephone lets me talk to you, no matter where we are."

"Like computer?  Like Xander talk to Remi?"

"Yeah, something like that, except when we're on the telephone we can't see each other."

To my surprise, Pax laughed out loud at that.  "I there, Tyler not see me."

"You know what I mean."

"Tyler funny," he informed me.

"I miss you," I said.

"When come back?"

"On Sunday.  That's five sleeps away."

"Can has a surprise?"

"Can I have..." I started to correct him.

He interrupted me with, "I know!  Can I have a surprise, please?"

I laughed.  "I'll tell you what, buddy.  You practice asking for things the way we taught you, and I'll bring you a surprise, okay?"

"Okay," he said.  "Can I talk to the telephone again, please?"

"You want to talk to me on the phone again before I come home?"

"Yes.  Telephone is fun," he said, and added proudly, "This first time I talk to the telephone." 

"On the telephone.  You talk to someone on the telephone.  I'll call you again in a couple of days, okay?"

"Okay.  Want talk to Sini on the telephone, now?"

"Yes, please," I said.

When Sini came back on  the line, I could hear her amusement in her voice.  "How do you say it?  Pax is a handful."

"He's doing really good with English,"  I said.

"Really well," Sini said, and we both laughed.

We talked for several more minutes, but then Sini said she thought I sounded tired and that I should try to get some sleep.   She made me promise to be careful while I was out and about, and that I wouldn't do anything else that I knew might cause me trouble.  

'I love you' isn't a common phrase among Erisans because they are literally capable of feeling the love someone has for them.  Since learning that Sini can sense this emotion in particular from me as well, I don't often use words to express my affection for her, either.  Just then, however, I wanted her to hear it.   She couldn't sense me from that far away, and I needed her to know the real reason I'd called.

"I love you, Sini."

"To the moon and back?"

I smiled, remembering how much she adores the children's story about a baby rabbit and his father trying to define how much they love each other.  We have a special Braille version of the book at home that has the pictures and printed words too, so I can read it to my family and they can follow along.   Sini and Skyla both ask for the story all the time.  Pax is starting to like the book as well, although I think he's more fascinated by the Braille than by the tale of the father rabbit and his son.

"Yes, I love you to the moon and back," I said.

"That is very, very far," said Sini.

I hoped she knew I was smiling even though she couldn't see me.  Even if my physical condition hadn't improved, just hearing her sweet voice made my mind feel better.   I said, "I'm glad I called."

"I am also glad you called," she said.  She paused a beat and added, "I love you."

Falling asleep seemed easier after that.

The rest of the week went a lot better.   As Sapphire predicted, I felt fine the next morning and I was ready to check out the city.    I even took in some of the conference events.

In the evenings, after the conference sessions, we went out sightseeing.  Last time I told someone I'd been out sightseeing, my comment was met with dead silence for about ten seconds, during which time I'm sure the person was debating whether 'sightseeing' is an activity blind people can really engage in.   Yes, we can.  There's a lot more to sightseeing than the 'seeing' part.   Big cities are a feast for the ears!  I loved visiting the waterfront, and riding on the crosstown bus.   We have a waterfront and busses here at home too, but they're nothing like the ones in that busy, noisy place.

 We also visited the Public Gardens where I got to smell half a dozen kinds of flowers I'd never encountered before, and where I was allowed to touch everything I could reach.  At the Public Gardens, Sapphire showed me this weird tree stump.  She says it's called the Tree Chair. 

She took a photo of me with it, just to prove I was there.

On another evening, we went out and did some souvenir shopping, and we visited Historic Properties.

I am now an honourary pirate.  Arrr!

Oh, and we also went to Build-A-Bear Workshop.  This is our new furry friend.  Her name is Courage.   I was positive that Pax was going to like this surprise!

On the weekend, after the conference, we went to stay with Sapphire's parents for a couple of days.   I went to the same beach we visited last year.  I love it there.  Sapphire says we can go back there again later this summer, and I want Sini and Skyla to come too.  

Of course, we're back home now.  The most important thing I learned during this trip is that even though I love travelling, I love my family more and - as Dorothy in Wizard of Oz so succinctly put it - there's no place like home.