Can You See Me/Can You Hear Me

Take My Hand (Take My Whole Life Too)

Connor arrived at Evan's house ten minutes early. Evan was putting on his shirt when he heard the car honk. He rolled his eyes and smiled as he exited his bedroom. He had his cane with him. He decided to leave Charles at home.

He left a note for Heidi in case she got home early and slipped his shoes on. Another honk was heard as he bent down to tie the laces. He sighed and stood up, grabbing his keys from the hook by the door. He called out a quiet goodbye to Charles as he slipped out of the door. He locked it and put his keys in his jacket pocket. Except he didn't have his jacket.

He hurriedly unlocked the door, hoping Connor wasn't about to honk again. The closet was still open from when he put on his shoes. He took the jacket and walked out the door again. Once the door was locked and he knew he had everything—keys, wallet, cane, gloves, hat, etc—he started down the hallway.

He pushed the apartment complex door open right as Connor honked again. The boy jumped back and almost slipped on a small patch of ice on the top of the stairs. He held on to the railing as he walked down the stairs as slowly as possible.

He made his way over to the parking lot. A hand grabbed his elbow and he nearly screamed. Two taps on his shoulder calmed him down. Connor lead Evan to his car. Once Evan was buckled in and blasting the hot air from the heater, he asked Connor where they were going.

'There's this celebration thing at a park nearby and today is the last day,' Connor replied. 'It was a family tradition to go but we stopped a few years back. I kind of want to keep the tradition.'

Evan smiled. 'Sounds fun.' He leaned his head against the cold window as Connor drove out of the parking lot. He took off his gloves, not wanting for his hands to get sweatier.

It took them fifteen minutes to get to the park. Evan unbuckled himself and climbed out of the car. He put his gloves back on before grabbing his cane and taking Connor's elbow. A strong wind made Evan shiver and huddle closer to the taller boy.

Connor stopped walking to talk to Evan. 'There's a store that sells Christmas stuff—I know you're Jewish, there's probably some Jewish things there too—there's a hot chocolate stand, an ice rink, music. What do you want to do?'

Evan shrugged. 'I want to check out the store but I don't have much money.'

'I invited you, I'm paying.'

Evan shook his head. 'I should at least pay for some things. I don't want you to waste money on me.'

'If I agreed with you, I wouldn't've suggested it.'

Evan sighed and the two started walking again. The snow crunched beneath Evan's boots and the sound of music and children running flooded through his ears. He smelled popcorn, meat cooking, and other foods. He drifted over to the area the smell was coming from but Connor directed him away.

'We'll get food soon,' Connor said, 'but I'm not sure how well a full stomach would do with ice skating.'

'We're ice skating first?' Evan turned his head towards Connor. 'I've never ice skated before.'

'It's easy,' Connor assured. 'I'll help you the entire time.'

The boys walked around for a few minutes until they came to a stop. The music was louder and Evan could faintly hear the sound of skates on ice. He was handed a pair of skates and Connor lead them over to a bench. Evan bent down to remove his boots and slipped on the skates. They were tight around his ankles. He laced them up—with the help of Connor—and stood up—also with the help of Connor. He folded up his cane and tucked it in his front pocket. It poked his stomach.