Love Truly Is Blind - 28. Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning's End

Jeff and AJ worked out every second day during Jeff's break, skipping Christmas, of course; apologies to John Grisham for borrowing the title of one of his books. Christmas was quite an experience for the Inness and Zamora families. Lester and Angela spared no expense on their gifts to their sons. They were very happy that Jeff could be home for the holidays, Angie made a veritable feast for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners. The Zamoras were invited for Christmas Eve and all had a great time.

The two families traded presents after Christmas Eve dinner. The two sets of parents traded restaurant gift cards, fortunately to different restaurant chains. Michael received a couple youth braille novels that Pauline had also been able to find hard copies of for Stephen. He also received two 'games' from the Zamoras; a braille Uno deck and a YJ Blind Tactile Cube, similar to a Rubik's cube.

Jeff, who was always curious about Leon Senior's job, received a voucher for a free private flying lesson. Jeff had previously been unsure which direction his life would take after graduation. The lesson pointed him in the direction of joining the Air Force after graduation. It also assisted him in deciding on a couple electives for his senior year at the academy.

As a joke, Lester gave Leon a Monopoly 'Get Out of Jail Free' card inside a greeting card. The real present was also included, a letter from the Chief of Police to sponsor Leon into the police academy after his graduation. After the latest episode with Mark, Leon was hell bent on becoming a policeman. The gift, while essentially free, was cherished by Leon.

From the Innesses, Stephen received a "Meta Quest 3" VR system along with "Notes On Blindness," an emotional VR journey into a world beyond sight. Stephen wanted to learn everything he could to possibly aid Michael and understand how he experiences things. The system could also be used for numerous other VR games and experiences.

In return for the Christmas Eve dinner, the Zamoras hosted the Innesses for New Year's Eve. Jeff invited AJ along, and Leon was allowed to have Tevin come, with an extra invitation for his grandmother. Ted's parents had already made plans for their family.

The Bazzi's had Christmas dinner at the Richter's, and hosted them for New Year's Eve. Gavin and Teha had their first, albeit short, open-mouthed kiss to ring in 2026.

Mel involuntarily gave three other residents of the Muscogee RYDC a Christmas present of his own. He spent an inordinate amount of time showering afterward. His ass also hurt for almost a week.

Don and Sandy's presents from their fellow residents weren't quite as bad. Don discovered he didn't like the taste of cum. Sandy's gift would have been worthy of inclusion in a remake of Brian De Palma's 'Carrie.' However the dozen or so tampons tossed at Sandy were all used.

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After the new year, Dr. Taylor felt both Zamora children were making excellent progress in their therapy. Initially, he stretched their visits to two months apart, then three. Dr. Taylor felt Leon's desire to become a policeman was an excellent idea to help him through his trauma, by helping others.

Back at school, Leon, Tevin, and Ted were convinced by Terry Bennett to join the high school's baseball team. Being freshmen, and not having played organized baseball in the past, they each ended up on the Junior Varsity team. Athletics didn't have high participation at the school. With practices beginning in mid-January and the season starting in February, the three did have a little time to improve their skills. But, there was a potential conflict that arose.

Teha had been playing on the girl's soccer team since sixth grade at the middle school. At the high school, that was a springtime sport. Since Gavin wouldn't have as much chance to spend time with Teha, he went out for the baseball team as well. He knew Terry played baseball, but had no expectations of making Varsity, like he knew Terry would. He was surprised to see the other three at the first day of practice. With less than fifty boys trying out, all of them made the team. With twenty-nine being placed on the Varsity, JV would only have eighteen; so every player was needed.

Gavin was a little worried, "You guys play baseball?"

"Terry convinced us all to come out for the team. Based on the number of kids here, he must have known not a lot would try out. He said the Varsity had thirty-one players last year. What about you?"

"Teha plays soccer. I needed something to keep me busy since I won't see her as much outside of school."

Leon played protector again, "How is that going? You still being nice to her?"

"Yeah. Like I told you after Thanksgiving. I like her a lot, I'm not going to do anything to ruin it."

Ted was doubtful, "You make her suck your dick yet?"

"Fuck you, Levine. And no. I don't make her do anything she doesn't want to. We're taking it slow, neither one of us has much experience."

"You've fucked before."

"Don't remind me. And I apologized for that."

Leon got things back on track, "Hey, we're gonna be teammates. Let's leave the past behind and get along. Ted, we know Gavin's been human lately, let's treat him that way."

Gavin wasn't sure if that was a dig or not, "Yeah. Gee. Thanks."

"I just meant that you weren't acting like a dick to anyone anymore, we shouldn't act like dicks to you either. Truce?"

They all agreed that they'd at least be civil to one another. That turned out to be quite necessary for Ted and Gavin. Apparently, Gavin had some talent as a pitcher. And ironically, Ted ended up being the starting catcher. When Gavin wasn't pitching, he swapped in and out at second base. Tevin was the starting shortstop; two positions that needed to be well coordinated. Leon needed to be fairly well coordinated with the two of them as well, being the starting center fielder. They were his cut-off men.

The JV team lost their first game, 3-0. Their hitters weren't at their best yet, but that didn't matter as much the second game. Gavin started, and threw a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Only giving up one hit in both the sixth and seventh, a single run was enough to secure the victory. The run partially resulted from the opposing pitcher's wildness; walking one and hitting the next batter in the fourth inning, the first scoring on a double from Leon. After the game, Leon, Tevin, and Ted rushed up to Gavin with the rest of the team, giving Gavin high-fives and hugs.

Sixteen games later, the Hardaway Hawks ended the regular season at eleven and seven. Not great, but better than the opposite record the year before. Gavin had five of the team's wins and only one loss. In 31 innings, he only gave up six runs, and sixteen hits. His ERA (Earned Run Average), based on 7-inning games, was 1.35, which was quite good. The team made the High School Championships, being seeded 16th of 32 teams. Behind Gavin, they beat the 17th seeded team in the first round, but lost to the #1 seed and eventual champions in the second with another boy pitching.

Stephen and Michael went to all of Leon's home games. Stephen essentially did the play-by-play for Michael, in between cheering for his brother and friends, including Gavin. It was hard not to cheer the team's best pitcher. Stephen's play calling was noticed by many of the people around him, including the coach. That would come back into view the next year.

Epilogue - Part 1

Many of the characters will return in Book Two. For the handful that will probably not play a big part, their futures are described herein.

Mel Dixon completed eight years of his ten behind walls or bars. He stayed out of trouble as much as he could and was released early, with time off for good behavior. The sexual predator label followed him around for the rest of his life. He worked in the prison food service after transferring to Macon State Prison. He made a fair living as a cook in diners across Southwest Georgia before he finally got a job at a chain restaurant, where he eventually became the manager. Being labeled as a sexual predator prevented him from having any long-term relationships. After trying numerous times to contact Sandy, he finally gave up. He never met his son. Melton died of natural causes at seventy-nine.

Sandy Hairston spent her two years at the RYDC, except for three days at Piedmont Columbus Regional Hospital. She tried to convince her parents to adopt the baby, but with her mother having mental health issues, primarily stemming from Sandy’s incarceration, that wasn’t possible. She gave birth to a six pound, two ounce baby boy on June 18th 2026. The boy was adopted by a wonderful couple from Valdosta, Georgia.

After her incarceration was completed, she returned home and assisted her father in caring for her mother until her mother was permanently committed due to her deteriorating mental state. Sandy graduated and worked as a housekeeper in a large hotel chain for the rest of her life. She constantly gained weight and suffered a fatal heart attack at fifty-two. She never married and never saw her son again.

Lewis Huber spent a total of 7 years, in a RYDC and prison after a felony conviction for the Terroristic Threat and misdemeanor assault and battery convictions. He was also required to pay $7,000 fine, which after a little over four years, only $2,100 was paid. He was hitchhiking one evening along a state road when he was hit by a tractor trailer. The 66 year old driver was not charged due to suffering a burst aneurism. The driver was dead before Lewis was. Lewis was three days past his 27th birthday.

Brodie Kosa spent two years at the Muscogee County YDC. After his sentence was served, he moved back home, completed high school and got a job as a carpenter’s assistant, learning the trade as he went. He stayed out of trouble and held a job as a carpenter for almost forty years. He never completely gave up drugs and died of heart failure at 58.

Not the end!

Next Up - “Book Two”