24 Hour Blindfold Challenge

“Brad, you aren’t going to accept Walt’s dare to be blindfolded for twenty-four hours are you?”

“Sure am. It can’t be that hard. I only have to stay blindfolded and alone in my apartment for twenty-four hours.”

“You have always told me you can’t stand to have your eyes covered by anything so how are you going to keep your eyes covered with a blindfold that long?”

“That is why Walt dared me. He knows I can’t even stand to have someone like you sneak up behind me and cover my eyes with your hands. But I’ll show him I can win the $5000 bet that goes with the dare.”

“How are you going to eat, dress and take care of yourself for twenty-four hours without being able to see anything?”

“I’ve got it all figured out. The day before I can fix my meals and put each in different size and shaped plastic containers. I will stock the fridge with bottled water on the top shelf and beer on the second shelf. The coffeepot can be fixed the night before. I can pour the coffee just before I start the dare. I have stocked up on a few audio books I have been wanting to read. I have already practiced finding my way around the apartment so I can use the bathroom and find the rest. I can wear the same clothes for the twenty-four hours. Easey peasy!”

“Sounds like you have it figured out but how are you going to tolerate the blindfold and change your books?”

“I’ve been practicing. I’m up to five minutes now without panicking. I have lined up the books and Siri can take orders to change to another title.”

“When is this dare supposed to start?”

“Walt is on a business trip and will be back at the end of next week. The day after he gets back I’m supposed to start the dare.”

“Are you sure you want to go through with this? There are so many things that could go wrong. What happens if you lose?”

“I have to pay Walt the $5000.”

“But you don’t have that much money! You just took out a $2,500 loan to meet your expenses this month.”

“All the more incentive to win his money. Then I can pay off the loan and still have $2,500.”

“Okay, but I still don’t like it. I have a feeling it won’t turn out like you think it will. Please be careful.”

“Sure, I promise to be careful. Now come here and kiss me before I go to work.”

Willa walked across the room from the sink to the chair he was sitting in and sat in his lap for the kiss. His arms wrapped around then he titled her chin. His lips joined hers briefly. Their kisses usually lasted longer. Willa was confused but thought maybe it was the dare had him more shaken than he wanted to admit. She got up from his lap and he stood, then started for the door.

“I love you. Have faith in me. I’ll win the dare. See you tomorrow afternoon as soon as I get up. This night shift will be ending at the end of this week and I go back on days permanently so we can go out for dinner together again. Sleep tight. Goodnight, honey.”

“Stay safe on the road. Goodnight, sweetheart.”

The door closed behind him and Willa decided to go on to bed. Tomorrow she would call Walt and tell him the dare was on. Brad had no idea she was behind the dare. She just wanted him to get over his fear of having anything over his eyes. It was an irrational fear and this was the way to conquer it. The one time she had snuck up behind him and put her hands on his eyes he had gone ballistic then ordered her never to do that again. She decided it was truth or dare time only he had no choice, it was strictly dare. It would be worth the $5000 if he went through with it. She wouldn’t miss that tiny amount out of the millions she was worth. Her father was one of the richest men in the world and when he died it had all come to her. She hid her wealth so no man could date her just for her money. 

The morning sun coming in her bedroom window woke her. She took her time taking a shower and getting dressed then went downstairs to have breakfast. Her maid was already busy fixing a heavenly omelet with a side of bacon and biscuits so light they could float away. Coffee and milk awaited her on the table. If she had a man staying overnight, she placed a red flag on her mailbox so Daisy would know to go back home. When she did not have a man stay the night the flag was green and Daisy could use her key to come in. That way no man she dated would know she had a maid.

She took her time eating then took her second cup of coffee to her study. Once settled, she dialed Walt’s number to confirm the deal. Brad was sure he would win but she wasn’t so sure. If he could not tolerate a mask more than five minutes, how would he tolerate one for twenty-four hours? 

Willa left for her weekly appointment with her financial advisor.Her inheritance had been large but her advisor had invested well and she was nudging the two billion mark. At this rate she would be the world’s wealthiest woman soon. One of the original agreements she had with the advisor, her real name would never be revealed. Willa Smythe was her known name. Wilma Shoemaker was her real name. She was the grand-daughter of Willie Shoemaker, the jockey who held the world record for professional jockey victories. His wealth was greatly increased by her father and a savvy attorney. Now it was increased even more by her advisor but Brad did not know Walt was an employees of the advisor’s firm. 

When she set up the dare, Walt had made friends with Brad then dared him to the twenty-four hour blindfold challenge because Wilma would have his job if he didn’t succeed in getting Brad to do it. If he succeeds, he will receive a bonus of $100,000 for the next five years. He can invest it and retire at the end of the five years. He will only be thirty-seven years old with a small fortune free to do as he likes. The hardest part was pretending to be an everyday laborer when he holds a PHD in finance. He had fallen in love with Wilma soon after he first met her but she had never shown a sign she was interested in him. Maybe if he earns the the bonus she will become more interested in him.

The week flew by and Walt made his “return” as planned. He all but badgered Brad to do the blindfold challenge but Brad stuck to the original plan. He would do the challenge next Saturday. On his date with Willa that night, he told her he was up to thirty minutes now. Once he could do an hour, he would have no difficulty doing the twenty-four hours. He walked Willa to her door but she claimed she felt a cold coming on and just wanted to take some medicine then go to bed with the vaporizer. Brad kissed her on top of her head before wishing her a speedy recovery and leaving. 

Wilma put the green flag on the mailbox and curled up on the couch to watch some TV. She had begun to wonder why she didn’t get rid of Brad but there was something about him that wouldn’t let her brush him off. Maybe it was a motherly instinct showing up. He was the type that always brought that out in her. She wanted to take care of him even if she felt nothing else. 

The week crawled by. Brad called her Monday afternoon and asked her to go to the play that was opening that night. She agreed and he picked her up for dinner before the play started. The restaurant was well known for its high prices and excellent food so she was shocked Brad could afford taking her there. The play turned out to be a roll-in-the-aisles comedy. She had not laughed so hard in a long time. Brad walked her to her door and she invited him in. He barely was inside the door when he put on a blindfold. 

“Brad, what are you doing? The dare doesn’t start until Saturday.”

“I just want to show you my progress. I wanted to show you I can win the dare. I’m not afraid now and I don’t think I ever will be again. After I win the dare, I would like to take you back to tonight’s restaurant for a celebration. Will you celebrate with me Monday night? The restaurant is closed on Sunday or I would take you then.”

“I would be delighted to celebrate with you but isn’t it a little expensive? I would be happy to go somewhere else with you Monday.”

“No, I will be able to afford it. Walt upped the money to $50,000 today. I didn’t know he had so much money but I accepted the raise.”

“He what?”

“Yes, he upped the ante. I think he was trying to get me to back down but it didn’t work. He doesn’t know how hard I have worked to get over my fear of having my eyes covered. When I was up to two hours, I suddenly remembered something that happened when I was about two years old. I was at a birthday party for someone in our family. We were playing Pin The Tail On The Donkey. They blindfolded me and spun me around. I was dizzy and so disoriented I thought everyone had run off and left me there all alone. I wandered around for what felt like hours but did not feel or hear anyone else. I guess I was too young to know I could have pulled the blindfold off anytime I wanted to. I suddenly felt something soft and warm under my hand so I started to raise my other hand when I heard a deep- throated growl just before I felt horrible pain in my hand. Then there were people all around me. One took the blindfold off while someone grabbed my hand and wrapped it in a towel then put pressure on it. I was rushed to the hospital where they put stitches in my hand. I have carried this scar since that day. Turns out I had wandered up to the guard dog pen and when I raised my hand, the dog thought I was going to strike him so he bit the hand I had stuck through the wire.”

“Oh, my goodness! So you associated a blindfold with the pain when the dog bit you. At only two years old the memory of the bite went away but not the fear of the pain associated with being blindfolded. I’m so sorry Brad!.”

“Now that I have practiced with the blindfold, I realize what caused my fear now it cannot stop me from winning the dare so will you celebrate with me Monday night?”

“Absolutely! I will be honored to celebrate with you.”

Saturday came and Brad put on the blindfold in his apartment at 9:47 AM. He knew he was being recorded everywhere but the bathroom. He had set everything up just as he told Willa he would. His meals were waiting in the refrigerator in different sizes and shapes of plastic containers. His top shelf was bottled water and his second shelf was beer. He left some snacks out on the counter and the coffee timer was set for 10:00 AM so he would have the blindfold off and his eyes would have returned to normal. The dare had begun.

Now that the blindfold was in place he lost all sense of time. His cellphone alarm was set for 9:47 tomorrow morning. Until then he would not know the time or even time of day. Part of the dare was to close all blinds so he could not use the sun for reference. He felt his way to the couch and stretched out to listen to the first of three audio books he had chosen. It was a mystery story by one of his favorite authors. Now that he knew the cause of his former fear of being blindfolded, he was relaxed and enjoying the solitude. All the practice he had put in made moving around much easier. He visualized his apartment layout and was mentally seeing it when he moved around. Putting everything he would need or want in place before the blindfold was on made it easy to eat, drink and snack. When the first book ended, he went to the bedroom for a nap. He knew he would not sleep longer than a couple of hours because that was his norm.

He awoke fresh and hungry so he went to the kitchen for his lunch. It didn’t matter what time it was, his body said lunch. This time he relaxed in his recliner to listen to the second book. This one was a science fiction story. It started okay but then went downhill and became boring. It was the same old aliens attack Earth and humans fight for their home. Of course, the humans win but he was asleep before the book was half finished.

When he woke up he wondered why it was so dark then remembered the dare before he jerked off the blindfold. He sat up, stretched and went to the kitchen for a snack and a beer. The dare was getting boring. He wondered how much longer before the alarm would go off but had no way of telling time. He did some exercises in the middle of the living room as he usually did. That stimulated his mind as well as his body so he jogged in place for the count of fifty. That took care of some of the adrenalin and made him hungry so he went to the refrigerator for another meal. He felt around and was relieved there was one more set of plastic containers in case he was hungry later. Not knowing time, he did not know if he was eating supper at regular time, lunch time or bedtime snack time. 

Brad decided fresh air was called for so he felt his way to his fifth floor patio. He could not see the view he loved but he could visualize it as he opened the door and felt a delightful breeze on his face. He was thinking about Monday night and taking Willa to dinner. He would propose to her just as he had planned. The restaurant was alerted he would propose just before their food was served. A waiter would come to the table with the ring on his tray. He would be down on his knees asking her to marry him and the ring would arrive just after she said yes. The entire restaurant would celebrate with them and they would set the date right then and there. The $50,000 would pay for their wedding and honeymoon and pay off his loan. They would enjoy a long an happy marriage. As he stood just outside the door lost in his dream, he did not hear someone coming up behind him. Suddenly he was propelled across the small balcony until he felt the rail against his waist. Next he felt something grab his ankles and lift them into the air. The last thing he felt was the wind against his face before his body hit cement. 

Walt quickly stepped back inside the kitchen and exited the apartment before the usual outcry began around the dead body lying broken on the sidewalk. Now that Brad was out of the picture, Wilma and her fortune would be all his. He would comfort her in her loss of Brad then when the time was right, he would propose and they would live happily ever after. What he didn’t know was Wilma had decided to visit Brad that Sunday morning at 9:30 and saw the whole thing. She was already on her way to the police department to give testimony for what she witnessed from the sidewalk. She saw Walt shove Brad then pick him up by the ankles before dropping him on the other side of the rail. Walt was arrested before he reached home. He was tried and convicted for murder with a life sentence without parole thanks to her testimony.

Wilma continued to live as Willa. She finally found someone who loved her for herself - her advisor. They married and had two boys and a girl. They named the first boy after her father, William, Jr. and his father, Winthrop Rockefeller. The girl they named Willa so she could use her alias as Wilma when she grew up..