Lucy

The alarm clock was getting louder as Jim struggled to stay in his dream world. It was wonderful, because Lucy was there.

Finally, he was forced awake, turned off the alarm, but no lamp. He didn't need light to know there was no one with him. Lucy wasn't in the so called real world any more.

It was in that instant that he decided that he wanted the dream world for real. He needed another Lucy.

He knew his way to the back door, and across the still damp grass. Something he'd done every morning since she'd left him. There was a small stone carved with "Lucy" to mark her resting place.

As he traced her name with his fingertips, he said "I'll never forget you."

At his usual stop at Dunkin' Donuts, Mary couldn't help greeting him with a smile. He wouldn't see it, but she felt that he'd hear it in her voice.

"The usual Jim, a medium black, and a cinnamon doughnut?" Mary asked.

"Sure," Jim replied, and his face lit up with a smile.

"It's great to see that again," Mary thought. Everyone in the neighborhood knew of and shared Jim's loss. Lucy had been special.

After enjoying his "usual", Jim took out his phone, and called a familiar number.

"Standard Taxi," was the answer.

"Good morning. I'm at the Dunkin' at the corner of Pine. I'd like a taxi to take me to the Fidelco office on Vision Way off of Bloomfield Avenue," Jim said. "And, please ask the driver to come into the coffee shop to get me."

As he entered the office, the memory of meeting Lucy here for the first time flooded in. There wouldn't be another Lucy, but he know that a new guide dog would become another lifelong friend.