Sylvia patted the back of the elaborate bun her black hair was in and pushed her glasses more firmly onto her nose. She wasn’t sure about the whole blind date thing but it was worth a try, right? She pulled her phone out of her purse and fiddled with it while she waited. Maybe she shouldn’t have arrived fifteen minutes early for… what was his name again?
Seeing the gorgeous black hair up in a very pretty bun, Sid paused in his approach to the table the hostess had directed him to. Glancing down at his impeccable white dinner suit one last time, he took a deep breath in attempt to calm his racing heart and tightening nerves. He'd better do this before he chickened out. Rolling the wheelchair up behind the woman he forced a smile and tapped her on the shoulder. "Sylvia?"
Sylvia swung around in her chair and had to consciously keep her mouth from falling open. Some warning would have been nice, Joyce! she thought. Not that she cared about the wheelchair, but then she could have mentally prepared herself. She gulped, "Ye-yes?"
Sid saw the shock in her eyes and felt a chasm opening in his stomach. He smiled hurriedly, desperate to salvage what he could already seeing this was turning into a train wreck. "Hi I'm Sidney Harris, call me Sid, did I keep you waiting? If I did, I do apologize, dang wheelchair slows things down, ya know?" he prattled while wheeling himself around to take a spot at the table opposite her. This required grabbing a chair and shoving it out of the way, which he did manfully. "Did you order yet? Drinks? Would you like an appetizer?" Did you know I was a cripple? Pain stung him as he ran up against his oldest nemesis in relationships. Himself.
Sylvia smiled politely at him, recovering herself. "Hello, Sid." Should she mention she didn’t care he was handicapped or would that make things awkward? "I ordered a drink but nothing else yet."
He maneuvered quite well in his chair. He noticed she was fidgeting with her napkin so she put her hands on her lap under the table. "We can get an appetizer if you want, or just order, it doesn't matter to me."
She couldn't really think about appetizers at the moment. Her mind was reeling about what would happen if she married someone in a wheelchair. How would that affect her life? How would things change? "Give me a moment to check over the menu, please."
Sid bravely forged ahead despite his furtive glances revealing his biggest fear had come true. She's thinking what it will be like to make love to a cripple, blast my body! His spirits fell as he scanned the menu without even seeing any of it. His mind was too preoccupied with how to impress the woman across from him. What use is it? his thoughts asked dismally. Beautiful women liked broad-chested, narrow-hipped Kens or G I Joe guys. He was a slim, geeky type with curly hair and paralyzed legs. All the advice to "put yourself out there" and "women become interested in men who are interested in them" was hoopla. Well heck. He might as well try to enjoy the dinner, ‘twould obviously be the last he had with her.
The waiter approached and asked if they were ready to order. Sid almost scowled at the man's natural good looks, not to mention functioning legs. 'Yes, I'll have the brain transplant for forty million, thank you.' Oh, if only he could trade all his money for a functioning body. Instead he inclined his head towards Sylvia, saying, "Ladies first," with a smile.
Sylvia figured it didn’t pay to hide her appetite. Either things were going to work out or they wouldn’t. She ordered an appetizer and a large steak with mashed potatoes and coleslaw. Maybe if she acted like herself it would push him away and she wouldn’t have to worry about it. She couldn’t reject him for being handicapped with a good conscience, but if he rejected her then it couldn’t really be considered her fault and she could get out of dealing with the situation. She brought her eyes to Sid as she waited for him to order.
Sid barely noticed her order as he rushed to decide his own, desiring to look decisive and collected. After giving his order he smiled across the table towards Sylvia. "So tell me about yourself! Any hobbies?"
"I like horseback riding, hiking, and -" she paused, her mind racing. What did cripples do? Watch movies? Did she like anything he could actually do? Her mind grappled for an answer. She was going to say swimming but that was no good. "-reading." She finished lamely. At least she wasn’t lying. If they ended up together would she have to hang out with other people to do most of the things she truly loved to do? What was the point of being married if she couldn’t just have fun and hang out with her spouse? Was she a bad person for thinking of dismissing Sid for not having usable legs? She took a deep breath to calm herself and gave Sid a hesitant smile. She should get to know him first. Maybe they wouldn’t even end up liking each other and it wouldn’t matter anyway.
Sid tried to hide a shudder as she mentioned horses, being wheelchair bound made those powerful beasts intimidating. “Oh? What books do you read? I love reading. One of the few activities I'm good at!" He winked and grinned.
What was his problem? Did he find it amusing he might saddle her with a handicapped person? She scolded herself for being unreasonable and decided to quit awkwardly avoiding the fact he was a cripple. "So, I hope this isn’t too forward, but what happened to put you in a wheelchair?"
Sid froze for a moment then let his face transform into a look of sorrow. "That's a sad story. My horse Raven, who'd I'd trained from a filly, one day while I was riding her, went mad. Bucked me off and reared up and trampled me. When my friend finally pulled her away, my legs were ruined." Sid sighed with a far away look. "Loved that horse. Vet said she had a brain disease." He could feel a corner of his mouth tug and manfully struggled to control it.
Wow. Now she felt uncomfortable for mentioning horseback riding. That must really suck for him. "I'm sorry to hear that," she said softly. Did he hate horses now? That would be way worse than him being handicapped. "So," she ventured, "do you still spend time with horses?"
Sid couldn't hold his twitching lips any longer and threw his head back in laughter so loud other diners around looked over at their table. "I'm sorry, that was mean of me. I just couldn't resist! No, I was crippled in a car accident. It had nothing to do with horses, nor quite so dramatic! Just a seat folded up on me. Manufacturer defect. Please forgive me for the tall tale." His eyes twinkled merrily. Making up unbelievable stories of his accident was a fun way for him to get some amusement out of the tragedy. It was always fun to see if people believed him.
Sylvia stared through her glasses at Sid in shock for a moment. Then she started giggling. Maybe she would like this guy after all.
~ G.G. Marshall & J. Lindsey Marshall
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