Love Means No Boundaries - Andrew Grey

fen
e ces
e , an
a d inspec e t
c ing
g fi
f el
e ds. When e Robbie e wa
w s
a at
a
re
r h
e ea
e rs
r al
a , Joey
y wo
w uld redouble e his ef
e f
f o
f rt
r s, ge
g t
e ting
g al
a l the
e unpleasant jobs done
e so he
e co
c uld spen
e d as
a much
c time
e wi
w th Robbie e as
a possible.
e
Bu
B t the
e nigh
g ts, those
e wer
e e
r
e his fa
f vori
r te.
e He
H
e an
a d Robbie
e go
g t to be
e
al
a one,
e eq
e ual
a s in the e dark
r , ex
e plori
r ng
g ea
e c
a h
c other
e ’
r s
’ bodies
e .
“Is
I it go
g ing to ra r i
a n?”
” Robbie
e ca
c l
a led
e , an
a d Joey y looked
e up just in time
e to see
e
e a
a kitten
e tryi
y ng to cl
c imb Robbie’ e s
’ ch
c es
e t.
“I
I hope
e so. Th
T ey’
y v
’ e
e been
e pro
r mising
g fo
f r
r a
a fe
f w
e
w days
y an
a d the
fi
f el
e ds co
c uld use
e it.”
” Joey
y we
w n
e t bac
a k
c to his we
w e
e d
e ing.
g “I
I just hope e we
w
ge
g t
e a
a go
g od stea e d
a y
y rai
a n instea e d
a of
f a
a del
e uge.
e ”
” He
e hea
e r
a d
r Robbie’ e s
’
laughter r an
a d saw
a
w the
e kitten
e cu
c ddled
e aga
g i
a nst Robbie’
e s
’ nec
e k
c , lick
c ing
83
8
Andrew Grey
his face with her rough tongue. “Have you thought about names for them?”
“Me?” Robbie laughed again.
“Sure, Rex seems to have adopted you, and they’re his kittens, so you name them.”
More laughter rang out, and Joey smiled to himself, pulling his eyes away from Robbie and returning to work. Both of them became quiet.
Joey heard movement from where Robbie was sitting, and then the warm tones of the violin floated over the yard. Without thinking Joey stopped working and listened, watching Robbie as he played.
    The tune was unfamiliar, but captivating. Even the kittens stopped running, curling up next to Rex, resting their heads as Robbie played. The music felt happy, joyful, and Joey knew that Robbie was playing exactly what they were both feeling. Joey listened, the weeding forgotten as the musical serenade reflected his own happiness.
    Pulling his attention back to his task, he listened and smiled, pulling the weeds to the rhythm of Robbie’s music.
As the last note died away, Joey heard someone clear his throat. “I didn’t want to interrupt.”
Joey looked up and grinned, slipped off his gloves, and stood up, hugging the man standing on the edge of the garden. “Len. When did you get home?” The older man returned his hug.
    “Last night,” Len said as Joey stepped back. “Who’s this?” Joey remembered his manners. “This is Robbie. He’s in town with the youth symphony. He’s staying with us for the next week.” Robbie put his violin in the case and stood up. Joey watched as Len stepped forward. Robbie held out his hand and waited. Len 84
    Love Means … NO Boundaries
looked a little confused before walking over and shaking Robbie’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Same here. Joey’s told me a lot about you.” Robbie bent down and felt around, putting his instrument back in the case as they felt the first drops of rain.
    Joey reached down and picked up a kitten. “Can you make it back to the house?”
“Yes.” Robbie picked up his case and began retracing his steps back to the house.
“He’s blind?” Joey heard Len mutter almost under his breath.
“Yeah.” Joey picked up his gloves and tools before heading back to the house. “He’s absolutely amazing.” He carried his things to the house, watching Robbie to make sure he was okay and setting his tools in the mudroom before going inside.
     
A small crowd had gathered around the kitchen table including Chris, Len’s partner for the last five years. The kitchen was full of voices, and Joey gently guarded Robbie to an empty chair.
    “Chris, this is Robbie,” Joey said and greetings followed as the conversation continued to swirl among everyone, including Pete, Lumpy, and the other hands. They anxiously awaited details of Chris and Len’s cruise. Chris could really tell a story and had everyone laughing with tales of their experiences aboard ship—from the man who hooked the tablecloth in his pants at dinner, taking it and the dishes along with him as he exited the dining room, to the kid who lost his bathing suit on the water slide.
“Is the chainsaw still in the tool shed?” Len asked Geoff as he put his coffee cup in the sink. “There must have been a storm while we were gone because we’ve got a few limbs down at our place.” Len had moved in with Chris a few