motorcycle-riding investment banker?’
‘Quiet elegance? I like that. I always thought I looked like a White Russian dancing bear in an Italian suit.’ He sat back in his seat, nodding. ‘Quiet elegance. Nice.’
‘Are you a Russian or Scandinavian corporate raider?’
‘Neither. I’m an Irish albino lawyer. I’m in-house counsel for CollinsBuilt.’
Caroline chuckled. ‘Seriously, was your mother Norwegian or Swedish?’
Her question was genuine, and Will was surprised. ‘Seriously, I’m Irish, I have albinism, and I’m the head of the in-house legal team for a multinational construction and development company. I know your father was Italian, but what’s the rest of your family’s heritage?’
‘My mother was Irish too.’
‘That explains your fair skin.’
She said, ‘So, do you wear colored contacts?’
‘I wear rigid lenses that have a slight tint for glare, but they’re not colored.’
‘You eyes are like a pale iolite or tanzanite. I have earrings almost the same color. I’ll have to show them to you. Does it ever hurt?’
‘Does what hurt?’ Will savored the Chianti in his mouth and swallowed.
‘Being albino. It’s a dumb question, isn’t it?’
‘No, it’s not dumb. A question, any question, is better than being stared at. Some prefer to say they’re a person with albinism instead of using the word albino , but I’m okay with either. No, it doesn’t hurt, unless I get sunburned, but that’s easy to avoid. I limit my exposure to the sun, wear sunscreen, or cover up.’ He licked a bead of wine from the corner of his mouth before he continued. ‘Whatever you’ve seen in the movies is wrong. There are two main types of albinism. Oculocutaneous affects the eyes and skin and has various subdivisions. Ocular albinism usually affects the eyes. I have the first kind, Oculocutaneous albinism. I have the fair skin and a very mild nystagmus. That means my eyes sometimes get a sort of speed wobble, but that only happens if I’m exhausted or really sick.’
Caroline wasn’t merely being polite, she was interested, and Will was pleased when she asked, ‘Do you have to wear glasses when you read, you know, the middle-age thing that seems to happen to everyone?’
He wiped his mouth and placed his napkin back in his lap. ‘I’m farsighted with some astigmatism. Quite often vision for people with albinism is much more significantly impaired. So if you see a gun-totin’ albino character in a movie, feel free to yell at the screen like I do—unless the guy’s wearing glasses. I wear glasses or contact lenses all the time. I wear both when I drive. I might look kind of funny to you when I read because I don’t hold the book straight in front of me like you probably do and— Is this too much information? Do you really want to know all this crap?’
She leaned forward, chin in her hand. ‘How do you hold a book, William?’
‘Listen, tell me to stop anytime, because, if it’s not obvious, I tend to get up on my soapbox to educate about albinism whenever someone asks a question.’
‘How do you hold a book?’
‘I turn it and tilt my head to the left to see the detail, same with newspapers. It also helps that I have a really huge … TV. My eyes are always a little sensitive to bright light. Strong sunlight on a very clear day can be uncomfortable. I suppose it’s painful in the way when you come out of a darkened cinema straight into the middle of broad daylight. My office has subdued lighting and I live on the shady side of the building. Your place gets most of the sun. A good hat and sunglasses work pretty well. Tinted glasses help too, especially in places with severe indoor lighting, like in the cosmetics section at Webb & Fairchild, or in grocery stores. Those types of lights wash out fine details like sunshine. My sister said how I describe what I see is like when she’s been lounging by the pool all afternoon. The minute she goes inside everything seems
‘Quiet elegance? I like that. I always thought I looked like a White Russian dancing bear in an Italian suit.’ He sat back in his seat, nodding. ‘Quiet elegance. Nice.’
‘Are you a Russian or Scandinavian corporate raider?’
‘Neither. I’m an Irish albino lawyer. I’m in-house counsel for CollinsBuilt.’
Caroline chuckled. ‘Seriously, was your mother Norwegian or Swedish?’
Her question was genuine, and Will was surprised. ‘Seriously, I’m Irish, I have albinism, and I’m the head of the in-house legal team for a multinational construction and development company. I know your father was Italian, but what’s the rest of your family’s heritage?’
‘My mother was Irish too.’
‘That explains your fair skin.’
She said, ‘So, do you wear colored contacts?’
‘I wear rigid lenses that have a slight tint for glare, but they’re not colored.’
‘You eyes are like a pale iolite or tanzanite. I have earrings almost the same color. I’ll have to show them to you. Does it ever hurt?’
‘Does what hurt?’ Will savored the Chianti in his mouth and swallowed.
‘Being albino. It’s a dumb question, isn’t it?’
‘No, it’s not dumb. A question, any question, is better than being stared at. Some prefer to say they’re a person with albinism instead of using the word albino , but I’m okay with either. No, it doesn’t hurt, unless I get sunburned, but that’s easy to avoid. I limit my exposure to the sun, wear sunscreen, or cover up.’ He licked a bead of wine from the corner of his mouth before he continued. ‘Whatever you’ve seen in the movies is wrong. There are two main types of albinism. Oculocutaneous affects the eyes and skin and has various subdivisions. Ocular albinism usually affects the eyes. I have the first kind, Oculocutaneous albinism. I have the fair skin and a very mild nystagmus. That means my eyes sometimes get a sort of speed wobble, but that only happens if I’m exhausted or really sick.’
Caroline wasn’t merely being polite, she was interested, and Will was pleased when she asked, ‘Do you have to wear glasses when you read, you know, the middle-age thing that seems to happen to everyone?’
He wiped his mouth and placed his napkin back in his lap. ‘I’m farsighted with some astigmatism. Quite often vision for people with albinism is much more significantly impaired. So if you see a gun-totin’ albino character in a movie, feel free to yell at the screen like I do—unless the guy’s wearing glasses. I wear glasses or contact lenses all the time. I wear both when I drive. I might look kind of funny to you when I read because I don’t hold the book straight in front of me like you probably do and— Is this too much information? Do you really want to know all this crap?’
She leaned forward, chin in her hand. ‘How do you hold a book, William?’
‘Listen, tell me to stop anytime, because, if it’s not obvious, I tend to get up on my soapbox to educate about albinism whenever someone asks a question.’
‘How do you hold a book?’
‘I turn it and tilt my head to the left to see the detail, same with newspapers. It also helps that I have a really huge … TV. My eyes are always a little sensitive to bright light. Strong sunlight on a very clear day can be uncomfortable. I suppose it’s painful in the way when you come out of a darkened cinema straight into the middle of broad daylight. My office has subdued lighting and I live on the shady side of the building. Your place gets most of the sun. A good hat and sunglasses work pretty well. Tinted glasses help too, especially in places with severe indoor lighting, like in the cosmetics section at Webb & Fairchild, or in grocery stores. Those types of lights wash out fine details like sunshine. My sister said how I describe what I see is like when she’s been lounging by the pool all afternoon. The minute she goes inside everything seems
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