I Can See for Miles Read Free Page B

Aisling, Charlie had had three more operations, ending eight weeks ago when he had been given “experimental” laser treatment. No one could give him or his parents an answer as to why the cataracts kept returning… everything was always a supposition. Always with the vain hope that each operation would be the last.
    A knock on the door brought him back to the here and now, and he turned in his chair, calling out to whoever it was to come in. “Hey, Mike, what’s up?” Charlie asked when the door opened to reveal Mike Peters, one of the guides.
    “Nothing, boss,” Mike replied. “Your momma and daddy are here. Do you want me to fire up the barbie?”
    Charlie shook his head ruefully at Mike’s choice of words. Mike had been to Australia last month for two weeks and now everything had an Australian twang to it, and he didn’t have the heart to tell Mike his Australian accent actually sounded more South African than anything else. “Sure. Jeez, is that the time already? Must have got away from me there.” Charlie stood up and stretched his arms over his head, feeling his back crack and his muscles complain at the movement. “Any campers making their way up yet?”
    “Yeah, the Brody clan are already swinging on the porch, and the Johnsons are entertaining themselves in the living room. Maggie is in the kitchen making the drinks.”
    “What about the three guys in cabin seven? Any sign of them yet?” Charlie grabbed his stick and slipped it in one of his belt loops so it was easy to grab if he needed it. He ignored Mike’s thinly veiled snort.
    “No, not yet,” Mike said, waggling his eyebrows at Charlie. “I heard the tall one was pretty hot.”
    “Good God, do you people ever stop?” Charlie drawled, playfully nudging Mike in the stomach as he passed. “Besides, don’t let Tom hear you say that. He’ll be giving you the cold shoulder tonight.”
    Mike guffawed loudly, clapping Charlie on the back as they walked down the hall together. “As long as it’s only the shoulder; it’s the ass I’m interested in.”
    “Dude, do not talk about Tom’s ass—images are now bouncing around in my head and making me want to bleach my brain,” Charlie rejoined, pushing through the saloon doors into the kitchen. “Hey, how’re the drinks coming?”
    Maggie turned from where she was stirring a large jug of homemade lemonade and smiled brightly. “Almost done, just need to do one more jug. I’ve made six, so that should keep us going throughout the meeting. The temperature’s picking up again; it’s gonna be another scorcher this afternoon. Wanna taste? I think I might have put too much sugar in this one.”
    “Sure,” Charlie said with a grin as he stood beside her at the counter. He lifted his hand to take the glass she held out to him, his fingers gripping thin air as his depth perception failed him and he missed the glass completely.
    “Charlie?” Maggie queried softly, taking his hand and curling his fingers around the glass. “You got something to tell us?”
    Charlie lifted the glass to his lips and took a couple of swallows. “Yeah… there is too much sugar in this one.” He put the glass down on the counter and clapped his hands together. “Let’s go and get these campers riled up! Where’s Jason and Tom?” He didn’t need to see the look that passed between Mike and Maggie to know it was there.
    Mike cleared his throat and followed Charlie out into the living room. “Tom is just checking over Lady Jane with the vet and then he’ll be up. Jason is out back filling the water butts for the beer.”
    “Hey, guys,” Charlie said cheerfully to the three people looking through the bookshelves in the living room. The Johnson family had arrived yesterday and had been settling into their cabin. Their youngest son, Davey, was twelve years old, and he had been a victim of trachoma, losing his sight completely four years ago. This was Davey and his parents’ second visit to Camp Aisling, and