A Companion's Journey

Chapter 10 - Birthday

After that night, Karson found he could talk about his feelings a little easier with Rachel. Other times Rachel would talk about her past relationships. The two fell into a comfortable friendship as they came to know each other better. She made her best effort to treat Karson like a very close friend, and she enjoyed his company in return.

It was not long before Karson exhausted Rachel's small library, and soon she made a weekly habit of buying him a new book. He scanned the Internet for titles to read, and kept a "wish list" ranging from fiction to romance to how-to books. Rachel was amazed at the amount of information her friend remembered, and he often interjected useful facts into their conversations. She got the distinct impression that not all Companions possessed Karson's level of intelligence.

Weeks turned in to months, and Rachel made it a point to take Karson on outings whenever possible. She once took him to a hockey game, and it was both an exhilarating and frightening experience for him. The sheer number of strangers and the noise terrified him, and he clung to Rachel at times. But he also got caught up in the emotions of the crowd and the excitement of watching the sport. Overall, he enjoyed the event. Occasionally, Rachel caught a disgusted look from other spectators that did not care for Companions attending the game. At the time, she simply hoped Karson had not noticed.

It was of course not the only time Rachel experienced the sideways glances and rude behavior when accompanied by Karson. She chose to ignore the negativity as best she could, and hoped that Karson would not take it personally. She knew that he had plenty of previous experience in being confronted with prejudice, and he always handled himself very calmly in public. But Rachel also saw the more subtle signs, since she lived with him and had learned his mannerisms.

Sometimes, Karson was very quiet and Rachel found him curled up on his futon holding his plush. She often left him to his own thoughts during these periods, but always offered that she would listen if he needed to discuss anything. He always politely declined and said he was fine, but she knew better. However, she never pressured him and just kept herself open in case he needed her company.

It was nearing the end of the year, and Rachel was secretly planning a surprise for Karson. She knew from his personal file that his birthday was on December 14, two weeks away. Rachel did not know if the Carlson family ever celebrated his birthday, but she felt it was important to show Karson that she remembered.

In hopes of distracting him from the event, she often talked to him about celebrating Christmas and asked what he wanted for a present. He never gave her a straight answer. He believed that she did not need to get him a present if he could not return the gesture.

Rachel insisted and Karson relented, finally asking her to get him clothing if she must get him a gift. She liked the idea and said that he would need to pick out an item for her to buy as a present so they could exchange gifts. The logic of the plan did not make complete sense to Karson, but he finally agreed knowing that it would make Rachel happy. He played right into her plan as it took his attention away from thinking about his birthday.

Meanwhile, Rachel made her secret plans. She booked a reservation at an upscale restaurant downtown on the waterfront. Since his birthday fell on a Tuesday, she was able to get a table for two without too much trouble. She planned to take a half-day and surprise him with an evening out on the town. She admitted to herself that it felt like a date, but decided to think of it as a friendly dinner with a close personal friend.

She had already gotten two presents for Karson that she kept hidden in the trunk of her car, since he knew every corner of the apartment. The first was a framed picture of the group shot she took that first weekend, and she had signed the corner of it with "Best Friends" and a heart symbol next to her name. She thought it was cute and hoped it would give him a sense of camaraderie with her.