"I can't see anything. Can't..."
"I'm right beside you ... shut your eyes ... wait ... that's it ... think how nice it was when you went canoeing ... remember those long hikes in the Adirondacks ... how about that time you camped with your mom ... how about that?"
As pain diminished, he imagined a glossy photograph on the wall of his Ithaca office: it was a photo of his first apartment building: three floors, brick, slate roof: maybe it was imitative but so what! Outside, on the street, pedestrians were walking in the snow, shoes crunching: the campus chimes were ringing: I'll be able to do a lot of walking, skiing ...
She kissed him, her mouth lingering on his.
"Don't pity me ... don't!"
The pain was gone.
Later he said:
"Better throw me out ... just chuck me ... suppose I'm impotent. Do you want an impotent man around? I'm not sure I'll be impotent ... I feel..."
His unshaven face continued to bother her, she tried to see him as he was when they cycled along the Nonette, his smooth cheeks ... his smile as the trout hooked his fly.
"Hush ... don't imagine things," she objected.