Dorsai - Taxi

I'll admit that it was a little embarrassing for me to ask one of the store employees to check the ladies room so I could help Evie use it – but that was nothing compared to the relief the employee had on learning that was all the help we'd need from her.

With the way clear, I got Evie appropriately situated before leaving the wheelchair in the stall for her and beating a hasty retreat in favor of 'guarding' the door. As she'd cautioned, it was several minutes before I heard her letting me know it was okay for me to come back in. Once she was back in the chair, it was time for her to do a little more shopping.

As I was slowly pushing her down one of the aisles, I said "You said I should go ahead and talk to you like a real person, so I am. I'm curious about something, and if you want to tell me it's none of my damn business, I won't be offended – but I'm curious to know: you don't need a catheter or something like that?"

Evie gestured for me to stop, then move around to be in front of her. Figuring she probably got tired of having to look up at people, I squatted down so that we were at the same eye level. I saw a brief expression of gratitude cross her face before she softly told me "Yes, it's a little embarrassing for me to hear the question. But if you're willing to ask it, then I'm going to answer. No, I don't need a catheter or anything. I've still got enough control that I don't have to deal with that, thank goodness. And I can still feel most sensations, too – stuff like when there's something on my leg, or when I need to use the toilet, and that kind of thing. The worst problem I have is being able to move and control my arms and legs. It makes peeing and taking a crap a lot harder, but damned if I'm going to have other people wiping my ass for me!", the last with a grin. I grinned back as I told her "Sure, I can understand that!" before standing up and going around to get her moving again.

Before we left the store, Evie did find a couple of things she liked – one of them being a matching bra and panty set that she teasingly asked me if I liked. Teasing right back, I replied that I couldn't tell without having them 'properly filled' – which made her laugh.

The rest of the day went pretty much like that: the two of us chatting about any number of things, the odd bit of teasing, exchanging jokes, and so on.

It was getting toward late afternoon by the time Evie decided she was done for the day. Once we were back in my cab, I got us back to the Central. The concierge had gone home, so one of the desk staff came out to help me get Evie into the wheelchair; one of the bellhops took charge of getting all her purchases up to her room. While all of that was going on, the manager came out to make sure everything was okay – even though the amount of time we'd been gone should have told him it was.

I was a little surprised, and even embarrassed, at how Evie told him what an excellent job I'd done. I was really surprised, though, when she asked me to find a place to park and come up to her room. The manager started to say something, and she turned her head to look at him before asking "That isn't going to be a problem is it?" – making it clear that it had better not be. He hastened to tell her that it wasn't, and she replied "Good. He's coming up as a friend, and at my invitation, and I would hate to think that he would penalized because of it – now, or in the future."

The manager looked over at me, and saw that I was as surprised by her invitation as he must have been; that seemed to convince him that I wasn't trying to pull anything.

With that out of the way, Evie let the desk clerk know she was ready to go to her room. The manager and I were left looking at each other; I finally just shrugged my shoulders, and got in my cab so I could find a spot to park it.

Back inside the hotel, my first stop was to drop off the handicapped placard the manager had lent me; the desk clerk that had gotten Evie up to her room told me which one it was, and I headed for the elevators.

When I knocked on the door to Evie's room, it opened slightly, and I heard her tell me to come in. I did, only to discover that it wasn't just a room, but a suite. Considering that she was limited to moving around in a wheelchair of one kind or another, I supposed that she needed the extra space just to get around without bumping into things. When she heard me close the door, Evie asked me to put the Do Not Disturb sign out, and make sure the door was locked. Somewhat baffled, I did as she asked; after I got back to where she was, I saw that she was seated in her powered wheelchair. Looking at it, I could see that the thing wouldn't have begun to fit in anything like a regular car: it would take a van or something equivalent to haul the thing around.

Seeing me, she smiled and said to go ahead and have a seat. I did, and the curiosity of why I was there must have been pretty plain to her, because the first thing she told me was "I asked you to come up here simply because I had such a good time today – at least, once we got past that me being crippled part. I enjoyed your company, and I'm hoping that you won't mind staying for a little while: you're an interesting person. Of course, if there are other things you have to do, I'll understand; but I really do hope you're able to stay, even if it's just for a little while."

I assured her that I'd gone off-shift before coming up, and that I'd had a nice time, too. I could see that she was pleased at hearing it, and couldn't help but wonder about how much time she had to spend with folks she didn't like being around – and considering what she'd said in the cab about giving people crap, how much of that was her doing. Still, I kept my thoughts to myself, and after a moment she told me "If you're thirsty, there's stuff in the mini fridge over there; it's got both sodas and a couple bottles of other things, as well, if you'd like something stronger."

All things considered, I didn't figure a beer or something would hurt, and went over to have a look. They had my favorite brand of beer – in a bottle, no less – so I took it back to where I'd been sitting. Once I'd opened it and taken a swallow, Evie started things going again by asking me to let her know if there was any trouble about her inviting me up. I told her I didn't think there would be because I figured the manager already knew it hadn't been any of my doing. She said I should still let her know if there was, and I agreed to – though keeping a mental pair of fingers crossed. After that, our conversation ranged far and wide.

With nothing to get in the way of the two of us just talking, we had a fine time for the next few hours. Suppertime came and went with Evie deciding that pizza was called for – and allowing me to pay for it. I fed her a couple of slices while consuming three, myself. We washed it down with sodas that I got from the machines the hotel had – far cheaper than paying for them from the mini-bar.

All in all, it was a pleasant enough way to spend the evening; I enjoyed her company as much as she seemed to like mine.

So I was completely flummoxed when, seemingly from out of nowhere, she asked "Jim, do you think I'm still attractive?"

I made a point of letting her see me looking her over before I answered "Sure. I mean, I can see that your shape has changed some because of the accident, but you're still a pretty girl. What you look like now, I can only figure you must have been a knockout before."

She looked pleased, and then promptly left me stunned by asking "Then would you be willing to go to bed with me?"

She had to have seen the surprise on my face, because she promptly told me "The worst thing about being handicapped and in this fucking wheelchair is that people seem to think that I can't possibly have any kind of sex life – whether that's because I can't have the desire, or they mustn't do anything with me, I don't know. All I know is that before that asshole hit me with his car, I enjoyed the hell out of sex. I was pretty damn careful about who I went to bed with, but when I WAS with someone, I liked it – a lot. Now, I can't even frig myself, never mind getting someone to actually do anything with me!"