"She's here," Jeff thought excitedly as his electric wheelchair wove its way amidst the dingy, cluttered tables.
Being raised a Southern gentleman he placed his black velvet cowboy hat on his lap as a show of respect. With trembling fingers, he brushed his chocolate brown hair to the side. He thought he saw her sneak a look at him, a furtive glance out of the corner of her eyes as she took her place behind the front counter.
"I love the way she looks in that peach mini-dress uniform with a number two pencil stuck behind her left ear," he told himself, gazing at her with covetous brown eyes.
"Hi Jeff, what can I get you today?" Bonnie poised her pencil over the order pad. Her wide, toothy smile implied that she was glad to see him.
Peering out from behind his menu, Jeff made a lame joke.
"For the life of me, I can't find you anywhere on the menu. Where's management?"
She giggled flirtatiously.
"Seriously, what will you have?"
"Just give me the Salisbury Steak covered in brown gravy, a side of the creamy mash potatoes, and a dinner roll. That's it." Jeff paused. "On second thought, add your phone number."
I thought you'd never ask," Bonnie declared. "Not that I expect you'll call, but…"
She wrote her phone number on the cheap napkin and handed it to him. He folded the napkin in quarters and tucked the number in his right breast pocket.
"I
will
call. What time do you leave here?"
"My shift ends at three," Bonnie said, offering a brilliant smile with a wink of one of her shimmering Maya blue eyes.
His heart thumped like a jackhammer when she looked at him like that.
***
Over the next three years, they were inseparable. Having grown into each other's best friend they spent most of their free time together. They enjoyed the same things: slap-stick comedies, country crooning, and the same reality television shows.
Jeff considered himself a "gimp"; he'd completely lost the ability to use three of his limbs in a motorcycle accident five years before. Trying to take an S-shaped curve at sixty when the limit was twenty, he lost control and the bike flew out from beneath him. The steel blue Honda street bike flipped seven times. Finishing the last roll, it struck him on the back, crushing his spine with the silver chrome handlebars.
Since the day he first wheeled into the diner and saw the new waitress, Jeff had wanted to get close and personal with Bonnie, but he believed that she saw him first as a customer and second as a friend. He noticed fly-by-night boyfriends come and go, but he knew she wanted to settle down in a steady, committed relationship.
Lightning struck one day as he thought about it.
"I
am
going to lose her if I don't make my move," Jeff realized. "I need to let her know how deep my feelings run. I'm not a quitter. I've never let losing the use of my legs hinder me. My disability will not be the reason I don't tell Bonnie how much I care."
He wheeled himself out to his two-toned blue Ford Custom Conversion van that had been modified to order with hand controls especially for him. The once mysterious controls were now second nature, and in short minutes he'd moved his wheelchair into the space where the driver's seat normally would be found, and was on his way to Bonnie's two-bedroom home.
The closer he got, the more nervous he became. By the time he arrived, his heart was beating like he'd just run there on his now non-functioning legs instead of driving in his perfectly functioning van.
Bonnie waved from the kitchen window as he pulled into the driveway, signaling she'd be out momentarily.
"Heya, Jeff!" Bonnie greeted him as she slid into the passenger seat, leaning clear across the center console to give him the usual peck on the cheek. "What's happenin'? You sounded so serious on the phone."
The lump in his throat almost strangled him, but he managed to start what he'd rehearsed in his head a million times.
"Bonnie, I've cared for you…"
"Oh God," Bonnie began, "How do I tell you this?"
Thinking he had screwed up, Jeff immediately went into "save a friend" mode.
"I realize you may not feel the same for me, but I hope…"
"But I do feel the same…" she trailed.
They shared what started out as a simple brushing of the lips. Soon the kiss had escalated into an outpouring of emotion. Jeff reached out with his arm and cradled the back of her head. His fingers were tangled in her long, silken tresses.
"Let's go on a real date… a date where I treat you," Jeff suggested eagerly with excitement shimmering in his eyes. He was acting like a toddler who just received his favorite piece of candy. "I've always wanted to snuggle with you at the Tri-Plex. What about the new blockbuster, "Austin Powers?"
"I hear that Mike Meyers makes the movie," she agreed. "He plays two characters, good versus evil, and people laugh their asses off when they see it."
After Jeff purchased two adult tickets, two medium cokes, large popcorn with "extra butter", they entered the movie theater. He rolled his wheelchair into a space reserved for the handicapped in the back row. When his left hand reached in popcorn bucket, his hand
accidentally
brushed her right that was reaching at the same time.
