Butterflies Are Free Page #4

- Is blindness hereditary?

- I never heard that.

- Can your father see?

- I doubt it. He's been dead for six years.

Till then

he didn't have any trouble, though.

- I bet you miss him.

- Yeah, I do.

He was the only friend I had

when I was growing up.

We were very close.

It's been rough on Mom since he died

because she's had to be both...

mother and father.

And sister and brother.

And doctor and lawyer,

and congressman, congresswoman.

Rabbi, priest, padre.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Do knives go on the left or the right?

- On the right.

- Okay.

Why were you born blind?

Did the doctor say why?

They said it was a virus in the womb,

which means they don't know.

You know, I heard that women

with syphilis give birth to blind babies.

Could your mother have had syphilis?

You meet her, then tell me what you think.

When will that be?

In a month.

I've got a month before she comes here

to see what's going on.

As the clock strikes month,

she's going to walk in that door.

You may have heard of her.

She wrote some books.

Her name's Florence Baker.

No, it's not familiar,

but you can't go by me.

I may even be quoting her

and I wouldn't know it.

She wrote a series of children's books.

Guess what they're about?

Children?

They were all about a blind kid

named Little Donnie Dark.

- Little Donnie Dark?

- That's me.

- You'll say anything to get attention.

- No, it's true, I swear.

I hate that name, Donnie.

Tell me when I hit the beach.

Stop!

This is the first time

I've eaten on the floor.

It's so practical.

You can sit in so many different positions.

You can even lie down, if you like.

Tables are so confining.

Like love?

Yes, and I never knew what to do

with my elbows.

Something is missing.

I know.

- Where are you going?

- You'll see.

Flowers.

I thought it would add

just a touch of elegance.

Now, tell me more

about Little Donnie Dark.

It might curb my appetite.

Donnie is 12 years old.

And he was born blind, like me...

but that's no handicap

for Little Donnie Dark.

He can drive cars. He flies planes

because his other faculties...

are so highly developed. He can hear

a bank being robbed a mile away.

He can smell the Communists

cooking a rebellious plot.

He's a diligent fighter of crime, injustice,

and at the end of every book...

as he is being given a medal

by the police or the FBI, he always says:

"There are none so blind

as those who will not see!"

I'm taking some more of your salami.

Since when do the police and the FBI

give out medals?

Since my mother says they do.

- Let's have a drink.

- All I've got is wine.

- That's all I drink.

- With salami?

With everything.

Do children really read those books?

I'm counting so I don't step in the picnic

on the way back.

You have just finished your salami.

Does she still write them?

No. She wrote six of them

when I was a kid.

They were no Mary Poppins,

but pretty popular unless you are blind.

They didn't exactly tell it like it is.

I guess they were a projection

of what she hoped I'd be.

Sort of a sightless superman.

Did you have to go to any special school

or anything?

I went to a regular school.

When I finished there...

nothing happened to me until a year ago.

What happened a year ago?

A family named Fletcher moved near us.

Their daughter Linda used to read to me.

She was the first close friend I had.

She was fantastic and wild.

She used to drive me here all the time

and take me to all kinds of parties.

Linda gave me something that nobody else

had thought to give me: confidence.

It changed my whole life.

She talked me into leaving home.

She found this apartment for me.

At first, I was scared to death.

But I did it.

- Maybe it was a mistake. I don't know.

- No. No, it wasn't.

You'd have to do it sometime.

What's happened to Linda?

She flipped for a painter we met at a party

and went to live with him in Mexico.

I wish she were here.

It would make it a lot easier.

Well, I'm here.

I'm right next door.

Anytime you need me, just knock.

You don't even have to knock.

You just have to whisper and I'll hear you.

Hey, you know what?

Why don't we open that door?

- Which door?

- That door to my apartment.

There must be a key.

Let's unlock it.

Then we can go back and forth

without having to run down the hall.

The janitor probably has a key,

but I don't think we ought to ask him.

- I don't think we should do that.

- Why not? We're friends, right?

Yeah, but we'd be practically

living together.

How would it look?

Who cares how it looks?

I can't see anyway.

I bet we can open it with this sharp knife.

- We'll have to move the chest.

- Okay. Move it towards you.

There. That's fine.

Damn it!

- Well, We'll have to call the janitor.

- Let me try.

You did it! It's open!

- Don't look! It's an absolute pigsty!

- I won't.

God, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

I'll get the hang of it.

I just don't know when.

Oh, let's leave it open.

Okay, but tell me if you close it,

so I don't break my nose.

Do you wish it were Linda living there

instead of me?

I hadn't thought about it. Why do you ask?

I just wondered

if you were still in love with her.

Did I say I was in love with her?

If I get too personal, tell me to shut up.

I get carried away.

Were you in love with her?

Are you?

I think every man should have

some mystery about him.

And that'll be mine.

- What's she like?

- She's very pretty.

How do you know?

I can feel a person's face

and get a good idea what they look like.

I can tell by shapes and textures.

- Do you wonder what I look like?

- Yes.

I'm gorgeous.

Are you really?

I wouldn't lie about something like that.

I've always thought if I could see for

half a minute then I could see how I look.

I'll tell you. Cute and very sexy.

Your hair's very soft.

It's very long.

Jesus!

- Oh, don't be frightened.

- What happened?

Nothing. It's called a fall.

It's a long piece of hair

you attach to your head.

- Not your hair?

- It's not even my fall.

I borrowed it from Susan Potter.

I do have my own hair.

See? I mean, feel.

Oh, God! Now what?

It's just an eyelash.

You don't have eyelashes?

Of course, but these just make

my eyes look bigger.

They're longer than mine.

Didn't Linda wear them?

No.

She probably had naturally long lashes.

I hate her.

Come on.

- This is scaring the hell out of me.

- Don't worry. It's all real from now on.

- Am I not the image of Elizabeth Taylor?

- I never felt Elizabeth Taylor.

We look exactly alike.

Especially if you can't see.

That's my breast.

All mine.

Both of them.

- What's wrong?

- What do you think is wrong?

I wouldn't ask if I knew.

Why are you doing this? What is it?

Be Kind to the Handicapped Week,

or something?

You've been feeling sorry for me

ever since you came in here this morning.

Take him shopping, show him a good time.

Get him into the sack

and that'll take care of my social work.

Thanks a lot, but don't patronize me.

Don't you feel sorry for me.

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