The Blinding Light by Renae Kaye

plates and dishes in the house because she had a bad back and didn’t want to lean down. Well, nice for her, but I couldn’t find a bloody thing! Then there was one woman who never dusted, and when I asked her about it, she told me that what did it matter to me? I couldn’t see it. Huh!”
    “I guess that sounds pretty terrible.”
    “Terrible? Some people think that blind means stupid. This is my house and I’m paying them to do a job. They should do it properly.”
    “True. But you could try putting a couple of pleases and thank-yous in your notes if you want to be nicer.”
    “Why? I’m paying them good money, not the other way around. Why should I go out of my way to say please?”
    I plonked his steaming bowl of chicken soup down in front of him. “Why? Because your housekeeper is a bloody human being, Patrick. Manners don’t cost anything. But your lack of manners has cost you several housekeepers by the sound of it. Now eat! Your spoon is on your right and there are two pieces of buttered bread on your left.”
    I took the chair across from his and picked up my own spoon. I saw him tilt his head as if listening for something. “You’re eating with me?”
    I was starting to get angry with his lord-of-the-manor act. “Yes. Where do you want me to eat? Out on the veranda like a good servant?”
    He frowned. “No. It’s just that not everyone wants to eat with a blind man. I can be messy.”
    Just like that, my anger deflated. “Patrick, I practically raised my younger sisters. As long as you don’t need to be spoon fed and I don’t have to wipe your mouth with a wet cloth afterward, I can put up with a bit of mess.”
    “Oh.” I could tell he was surprised but pleased I was staying. I’d never thought of how hard it might be for him to be blind in public. He fumbled for the cutlery and we were both silent for a while, eating with gusto. Finally he said, “So how many sisters do you have?”
    “Three. Ellie, Lizzy, and Maria.”
    “And they’re all younger than you? What do they do?” He seemed genuinely interested, not just making conversation, so I gave him a bit more of their personalities.
    “Yeah. Ellie’s twenty-four, two years younger than me. She has a little girl, Skylah, who’s five. They live over in Palmyra. Ellie’s a good sort—she’s got a decent job now, answering phones in an office or something like that. She’s closest to me, I guess. We shared a room for most of our lives. She’s got a fireball of a temper and is as stubborn as heck, but I love her still.
    “Lizzy’s twenty-two and she’s the smarty one of the family. She’s got another three weeks until she graduates from university. God, that’s been the longest and shortest four years of my life. She lives over near the Murdoch Uni where she’s studying. I’m glad she’ll hopefully be earning some decent money soon and I don’t have to help her out anymore, but I can’t believe she’s nearly finished. It seems like yesterday I was driving her to her first class.”
    I shook my head, not that Patrick could see. “And then there’s Maria. She still lives with Mum, but there’s nothing much I can do about that. I live in a three-bedroom unit with three other people and Lizzy’s the same. Maria could go and live with Ellie, but they just butt heads all the time. Ellie insists on being in charge, and Maria never listens to anyone but me. She’s in her final year at school and wants to go to university. Her exams start next week.”
    Patrick nodded. “What does she want to study?”
    I sighed. “Chemistry. I don’t know where I went wrong with her.”
    It was a joke but Patrick didn’t laugh. He had an affronted look on his face. “I have a degree in chemistry. What’s wrong with that?”
    I chuckled. “It was a joke, man. I’m as proud as any big brother could be that Maria has her head screwed on straight.”
    He looked abashed and scooped up some more soup. “This is really good soup. How did