Denise had spent less than five minutes on the phone with the man from the restaurant, who had called himself Robert. He was vague about what he did for a living. Denise assumed that he was, in fact, the head of the bank in Halldale, just as Sandi, the waitress, had reported. But he was above all else a devotee. He wanted to know all about Denise's disability and pressed for detail that she was not about to provide. He asked if she would let him come over and take pictures of her, and suggested that he could make money with them on a website, which he offered to split with Denise.
"I'm sure you probably could use some extra cash," he said smugly into the phone.
She was disgusted with his lack of class and his pompous attitude. He would probably be courting her as a depositor for his bank if he knew that Denise had investments worth nearly a million dollars. This guy was obviously spoiled by women posing as pretenders for his gratification: all paid for their acting, Denise assumed. She grimaced at the realization that the redhead wearing the leg brace perhaps had also had sex with him for money.
Denise was now resolved to carry through her plan. It could be risky, but it would be fun to hurt this jerk a little. She picked up the phone again and called Carolyn, her best friend from childhood. Carolyn was the one person who had always taken Denise's side when mean-spirited kids had teased her about her deformed leg and her crutches. Carolyn was now a divorce lawyer and had become quite wealthy working no-contest cases. In spite of Carolyn's hectic schedule they often got together for lunch, and the two frequently did volunteer work together at a local homeless shelter and food bank.
" Hello?" came the voice Denise knew well, enthusiastic and full of energy, as always.
"Hey, it's Denise," got a few minutes? Denise spent quite a bit of time explaining to an amazed and increasingly disgusted Carolyn about the devotee phenomenon and about Robert. Denise explained her plan and Carolyn giggled with excitement. She told Denise she would play along and they made plans to meet the following Thursday in Denise's office.
When Carolyn arrived Denise was finishing up some paperwork. Carolyn was a tiny woman, a mere 4 feet 10 inches tall. With brunette page-boy-style hair, she had a pretty face and aqua-blue eyes. She was quite petite, with a large bust, making her a hit with most men. Carolyn's torso was long and she had very short, rather un-muscular-looking legs. Perfect for the part, thought Denise.
The two women hugged and Denise motioned for Carolyn to close the door. When they were alone Denise invited Carolyn to stretch out on the plush sofa decorating the office. Without waiting for direction, Carolyn pulled her dress up over her waist, exposing her legs. "Telephone pole legs," as Carolyn referred to them...straight up-and-down, with little visible tone at the calf. The one characteristic she hated about herself.
Denise produced a measuring tape and proceeded to measure Carolyn's left leg from hip to heel and then the circumference of her thigh, calf, and ankle. Denise wrote the measurements on a notepad then picked up the phone to call Ron, her orthotist.
Ron, who had custom-made Denise's patten brace chatted briefly with her on the phone. She had called earlier to explain that she needed a brace made for a friend. Denise said that Carolyn was appearing in a stage play featuring a polio-disabled supporting actress. She had described Carolyn and Ron said he thought he had a knee-ankle-foot-othosis in his shop that might fit her. He explained that he had several braces on hand, which, for whatever reason, had never been picked up. Now, with the measurements provided by Denise, Ron confirmed that, yes, the appliance he was thinking of should work. He would be happy to let Carolyn have it at no charge as a courtesy to Denise.
The two women left for lunch and the orthotics shop. In anticipation of visiting Ron's shop, Denise was wearing her patten brace inside navy pinstriped trousers. The pants matched her tailored suit jacket, and to her mind she looked like a banker. Most appropriate, she mused to herself. One of the advantages of the brace was that it afforded her a much faster swing-through gait on her forearm crutches than when she wore a built-up shoe. Denise had selected her black crutches this morning to complement her suit. She liked color-coordinating her clothing and her sticks; she felt that, if crutches were necessarily part of her every ensemble, she should be able to vary them just as any other professional woman would vary her accessories.
Carolyn noted the reactions Denise evoked from people as they walked together down the street. Some looked at Denise briefly with curiosity, particularly at the bracket of rubber-coated steel protruding from her right pant-leg. The end of the patten brace hit the pavement with a muted clunk as Denise propelled herself along. It was no wonder that people would take a second look at this oddity.
Some people looked at Denise and turned away, pity on their faces. Other people outright stared. While Denise didn't seem to pay any attention to this, Carolyn was angry at this impolite reaction. She could forgive children, but virtually everyone on the street downtown today was adult. And then there was one man that had first passed the two women, going in the opposite direction without taking his eyes off Denise. But he had somehow wound up behind them now as they waited at a pedestrian crossing. Was this one of the "devotee" men Denise had described?
With the white "walk" sign, Denise reached slightly backward with her crutches, lifted her hips, and thrust her legs forward off the curb and onto the street. Catching her balance on her strong left leg, she began a series of long, energetic swings to get across the street quickly. At that moment Carolyn turned to look at the man who had reversed direction. He was on the corner behind them and was pointing a cell phone in Denise's direction. Carolyn realized in shock that he was taking pictures of her friend. She quickly made an effort to get behind Denise to block his view. Carolyn swiveled her head and saw the man retreating into the crowd.
"Pervert!" thought Carolyn. He would probably go home and post who-knows-how-many pictures of Denise on a website somewhere.
The two arrived at their lunch destination, an Italian place specializing in calzones, which Carolyn loved. They enjoyed the food and each other's company. Carolyn shared with Denise how she had observed the man taking her picture.
Denise responded, "Not surprised. That apparently happens all the time. You should see the websites out there, Carolyn...I'm probably featured on more than one of the sites focused on people with one leg shorter than the other. There are also dedicated sites for men who like women wearing braces and others for chicks in wheelchairs. As a matter of fact, we're going to access some of those once you get fitted with your brace. If you're going to act the role of a polio victim you need to be credible. The best place to find videos of handicapped women and study the way they move is on the devotee websites. It's really the truth."
"But doesn't that make you mad...that people are taking your picture for their own sexual....thing?" asked Carolyn.
"Well...it bothers me when I'm ambushed like that without knowing it. But, you know something...I've learned from Bart, my "postal-hunk," that these guys are really not out to harm me or anybody else. Devotees are attracted to people like me, but don't know how to initiate a relationship. Bart is sweet and gentle, and I know that he cares about me as a person. Now, granted, he is ferociously turned on by my little leg....you wouldn't believe that reaction! But, I don't look at that as all bad. It's kind of like the way a normal guy would react if a woman with big boobs was walking down the street topless."
