I married a blind man because I thought he would never have to see the parts of me the world had spent years staring at.

« Again, » Callahan told the boy gently. « Slower this time, pal. The song isn’t running away from you! »

I smiled before I even saw him.

He was sitting at the upright piano with dark glasses on, one hand resting on the keys, the other reaching down to scratch the ears of the golden dog lying beside him. Buddy wore a harness and the patient expression of a creature who had seen all of life already.

I met Callahan in the basement of the same church where we were getting married.

By then, I was 30 and had never really dated anyone. The men I met only saw my scars. After a while, I got tired of those stares.