A snowstorm suddenly begins dumping another few inches an hour on the ground late Wednesday afternoon in near whiteout conditions. The crowd in the bar is huge. She sits on the stool on the other side of a large man. I don't think he is with her. I hope not. What I can see, she is a knock out - great face, not much makeup, and curly reddish brown hair down to her shoulders. A pair of crutches leans against the wall next to her, but I assume she has a sprained ankle or a broken leg. After all, this is a bar in a ski lodge. It would be too much to ask that she is missing a leg.
There are no free stools at the bar and few standing places for several rows back. I watch for a moment as I assess how best to order a drink and find a way to be close to her. Soon a man standing between the large man and the woman leaves and I rush to fill the space.
"Whiskey," I yell over the noise to the barkeeper. I glance to the left at her face and it is even lovelier up close, maybe she is even about my age. "Sorry to be so loud," I tell her then smile while still looking at her.
"No problem. It's loud in here." She takes a sip of her drink leaving a small amount in the glass.
"Do you want another while I have his attention?"
"Sure. Scotch."
The barkeeper puts my drink on the bar and I order a scotch while pointing at her glass. I exchange a few bills for the two drinks and push hers next to the near empty glass.
"I'm Matt. Are you up here to ski?"
She glances at the crutches then at me. "Nah. I came up this morning with my sister and her husband for a few days. Oh, I'm Leslie." She holds a hand out and I give it a small shake then keep the hand in mine for an extra moment.
"Nice to meet you," I say before sipping my drink.
"Do you ski?"
"Nope, I'm too big a klutz." I laugh. "I like to watch though."
"They went back to the room a while ago. I think they got a little horny." She chuckles.
"Lucky me," I say and clink my glass against hers then sip.
The large man stands and I scoot the still warm stool closer to her. It is then I notice the reason for the crutches. She's missing her left leg above the knee though the lighting is bad and I can't tell how much. My heart pounds uncontrollably.
"Yeah-h," she drawls as she realizes what I'm looking at.
"Not a problem."
"Have you known others?"
"If a married woman next door when I was growing up counts, then yes." I chuckle.
"Sure, we can count that." She laughs then finishes the old drink and pushes the empty glass away. "We live in Conway, not together, and drive up often during the winter. This'll be one of the first times we've spent several nights."
"I know where that is. I'm from Monroe."
I spend a long moment looking at the way her sweater has a small curve over her breasts. For some reason, the lighting improves as she turns slightly my way and I now can see the left jean pants leg either wraps over a hip without a leg or is tailored to fit nicely around it.
"At the hip," she casually says as she looks at me over the glass before she sips.
I grin knowing it is my favorite kind of stump. I only know from pictures having never been this close to a woman missing a leg. The neighbor story is purely fiction, but I felt I had to say something like that.
"About a year ago," she adds. "I don't mind."
"Oh?"
"I make it a fashion statement." She laughs.
I grin as I look at her. "Did you break the leg off your Barbie dolls?"
"How'd you guess?" Her stare matches mine for a while then changes into a simple smile as she sips.
I watch her long slim fingers gripping the glass as she gently sits it down. They still hold the glass and gently rub the sides a few times.
"Ah, I once read some book where a woman did that. Eventually she lost her own leg."
"On purpose?" she quizzes with an intense curiosity.
"Uh-huh." I watch, as she seems to process both the response and my reaction as she takes several sips over nearly a minute of silence.
"Oh." She sips again.
I flag the barkeeper down and order another round.
"Thanks. I'm enjoying talking to you."
"Me too."
"About the woman in the story, how did that make you feel?" The glasses arrive. "You know, that she did it on purpose." She finishes the old drink in a large gulp and pushes the empty glass away then pulls the new one closer.
I take a moment to consider the ramification of being honest with my answer. "I wouldn't have a problem. People make changes to their bodies all the time ... piercing, breast enhancement, stuff like that."
"Good answer." She glances at the clock on the wall. "Say, are you up for dinner? I'm getting hungry and all the booze is hitting me.
I look out the window at the growing darkness and the blowing snow in the building lights then unconsciously at my watch.
"I have reservations at the restaurant here. Much nicer than the cafeteria." I laugh. "I asked for a quiet table. It'd be great to have you join me."
"I think so too." She gives me a big grin that makes manly parts of me swell in my pants.
"Reservation for Matt Mathews," I tell the host standing near the front of the restaurant. I hold both glasses I've carried from the bar. Large windows fill one wall facing the mountain. The rate of snowfall has increased and even the lifts are invisible. "It was for one, but there's a second person. If we could be by the window away from the others...."
"Yes. I have a perfect table for you." I notice him giving Leslie a careful study as he takes a second menu from the stack and places it on top of the other already against his forearm. "This way."
She leans her crutches against the wall between it and the chair. I scoot the chair underneath her as she sits then take my seat at the other side of the table.
She holds her glass up in a toast. "To a new...."
"Relationship," I quickly finish her toast as I clink my glass against hers.
"That might be nice."
"Yes, I think it would. Of course we've just met," I say.
"Are you seeing anyone?"
"No," I simply reply without saying I'd dump anyone I might be seeing just to be with her. I know such a thing could be a deal breaker or at least make me seem overly insensitive for sure.
"Me either. Guys don't like the broken Barbie doll look."
"There're fools."
"And you do?"
I take her hand in mine and rub her fingers lightly. "Yeah, as long as it's you."
She looks at an attractive woman with a man as they walk towards the door of the restaurant. She leans across the table and whispers, "If that woman was missing a leg, would you be interested in her?"