Adam and Heather Ch. 01: Wine Festival

"Another night in Spokane" Adam thought to himself, mentally sighing.

He generally enjoyed his job, but about once a month, he ended up spending a night or two in Spokane, a town quieter and more conservative than he enjoyed. And once again, he was driving across the state. He had to handle a sales demonstration the next day, on a Monday afternoon, so this was a Sunday afternoon and evening over there, which wasn't his usual time for a visit. Adam usually found some way to entertain himself. This time, someone had tipped him off to a wine festival. He wasn't deep into wine as a hobby. Still, he enjoyed several varieties and it seemed like a good way to spend an evening.

Being a frequent guest at the same hotel with status has its privileges, such as being able to check in when he arrived around 1pm in the afternoon and discovering they'd upgraded him to a corner suite. He went up the elevator to the top floor, which is only the third floor in this smaller town.

Adam settled in a bit and decided to change to head to the festival, which had just opened. He'd made the drive in a t-shirt and gym shorts. Plenty comfortable for his 40-year-old, almost-in-shape dadbod, but if he was going to have some fun at a wine festival, it seemed like he should look the part. Adam had been single for a few years after an amicable divorce. He dated here and there but wasn't attached at the moment. Given how often he found himself in this town, connecting with someone new here wouldn't be a terrible thing. Adam decided to keep things relatively casual with a dark green button-down shirt and some nicer (if that's such a thing) khaki shorts.

The festival was at a city park about three blocks from his hotel; after the quick walk, he passed through the entry and was given his tasting glass and tokens for sample pours. There was some decent jazz playing from a live band and the festival attendance was light. He walked over to one of the winery tables and got a pour of a chardonnay. After sniffing and tasting, he turned left to walk up the concrete path toward another table, observing that everything was laid out along this wide path circling the park. As he did so and got closer to the booth, he couldn't help but notice the two women approaching from the opposite direction. They caught his eye for a couple of reasons. First: they were both incredibly gorgeous, although quite different. One was a quite tall, tan, toned, long-haired blonde that had likely been compared to Barbie many times in her life. The other was a physique that was more of Adam's interests: short height, slender, pale skin, and chin-length straight black hair with a streak of bright blue. The second thing catching Adam's eye (and many others, of course) was that the other woman was in a power wheelchair and appeared to be sitting nearly motionless. Both were likely in their late 20s or early 30s.

Adam had been a devotee - someone with an attraction to disabled women - for as long as he'd had attraction to women. His experience had been limited, and all of a sudden this wine festival became a lot more interesting. Adam and the two women reached the booth about the same time; Adam smiled and gestured to let them go ahead of him. The tall blonde replied with a cheery "thanks," and her friend on wheels smiled as she turned her chair toward the table where wine was being poured. There were a few folks there already, and so as the two women waited, Adam stood slightly back and to one side, his eyes taking in the scenery. There was a lot for him to like about the woman on wheels.

As the two women reached the table for their tasting pours, Adam observed the blonde with both tasting glasses, receiving a pour for her friend as well. They moved to the side past the table, and Adam got a pour in his own glass before walking over near them.

"This beats a lot of things we could be stuck doing on a nice day like today, doesn't it?" Adam said to the two women in general, curious to see if they were friendly.

"It sure does!" said the tall blonde, who had just finished pouring one of the tasters into a plastic cup which she then placed into a cup holder on the wheelchair and added a straw so that her friend could drink the wine. Adam may have had a slightly quizzical look on his face.

"They're so uptight about the alcohol tasting regulations that they won't pour my wine directly into the cup so I can drink it on my own," the disabled woman said with an annoyed tone. "So Samantha here has to pour each taster into my cup and put it where I can drink it. You'd think some common sense might apply, and they'd realize that a quadriplegic girl just needs to have a drink, but there's not a lot of common sense with booze laws. I'm Heather, by the way."

"I'm Adam. Nice to meet you Heather... Samantha" he quipped, looking at each woman. Samantha extended a hand and Adam shook it, then gave Heather a nod.

"Hey, you're smarter than most," she said in a friendly tone. "You wouldn't believe how many guys stick out a hand expecting me to shake it with arms and hands that I can't move."

Adam chuckled. "Occasionally I do something smart. It's always nice when I don't screw up right away when I meet someone cute."

Over the next five or ten minutes, the three of them engaged in various small talk. Adam shared how he regularly visits for work. Samantha and Heather are lifelong friends who grew up in the area. They each sipped their wine; Samantha and Adam from the festival glassware and Heather from the cup with her straw. Adam noticed that while Samatha's ring finger indicated she was married (or at least engaged), there was no such ring on Heather's left hand. Like her right hand, it lay motionless on the wide black padded armrests that supported her forearms and hands. Adam noted what appeared to be a fresh manicure of a dark gray polish on her nails, although he thought that if you never move your hands, it probably is hard to mess up your manicure. During their conversation, Heather's body below her chest remained still, with no movement of her arms, hands, or legs. As Adam was checking out Heather's chest, he noticed a scar at the base of her throat. He surmised that she once had a tracheostomy, presumably from whatever incident led to her disability.

At a pause in their conversation and after they'd all finished their wine, Samantha said "Shall we continue along to the next winery table?"

"Solid plan" said Heather as she moved her head and pressed on the headrest, first to the side and then behind her. Adam realized she was using a wheelchair control called a head array, designed for folks who couldn't use a regular joystick control. She turned and began rolling along the concrete path through the park to the next booth, probably 50 yards away. They walked past a few craft vendors; one woman was struggling to reach something attached near the top of the pop-up canopy. Samantha said "I got this" and used her height to help. "Turns out being a 6'1" woman is useful at times" she said in her bubbly voice as they paused.

"I suppose it is," Heather said with a bit of a chuckle. "I was a full foot shorter than that when I could walk."

"Short is sexy," Adam said with a smile toward Heather. "Just sayin. Can I ask how long ago it was that you could walk?"

"Hell no you can't ask!" Heather said and then a smirk gave away that she was just seeing how Adam would react. "It's fine; there's no reason to be secretive about it. I fell while bouldering when I was 19, so it'll be ten years in a couple of months. I only fell about seven feet, but my head and neck hit at just the wrong angle onto a rock, and that was the end of me using my arms or legs."

"I'd say something like 'that sucks' but I suppose that's a little obvious," remarked Adam. They continued along the path and reached the next winery's table. They approached and moved up to the table. "Tell us about what you have today!" Adam said, and the winery's representative began sharing about the offering. As he finished chatting, he took Samantha's glass from her and poured a few ounces. Samantha took Heather's cup as Heather spoke, "I don't suppose you can just pour into this?"

"Sorry, afraid I can only pour into the official glassware," the representative said, as Samantha then handed him Heather's glass as well. As he filled Adam's glass, Samantha again poured Heather's into her cup, put the cup into the cup holder, and added her straw so she could drink. Heather took a sip and then slightly shifted her head to touch her headrest controls. Her wheelchair turned to the left, and she cruised across the walkway to an area of shade. "Wanted to get out of the sun," she said as she took another sip of wine from her cup.

Adam decided to take the risk of some direct flirting. "It seems your mouth is good both with your chair and with the wine." He noticed Samantha with a subtle smile. He wasn't subtle.

Heather smiled and slightly narrowed her eyes. "My mouth is pretty good with many things you may or may not expect."

"Good to know," said Adam, as Heather took another sip and finished the wine taster.

"Samantha, I'm going to recline," Heather said, looking to her friend. Samantha took each of Heather's wrists and put her hands on her lap. Adam then noticed Heather shrug her left shoulder and realized she was hitting a button mounted near it. She then moved her head to activate the head array controls again. The leg and footrests elevated a bit, and with another movement of her head, the chair began to recline until she was only at a very slight angle. While this happened, Samantha said, "She has to make sure she doesn't stay in one position for too long."

Adam replied with "Well, it's good to enjoy a variety of positions."

As she finished leaning back, Heather added, "Now you've seen me in two positions, and we just met 15 minutes ago. That's a good start for you," with an exaggerated wink in Adam's direction.

They chatted about their favorite non-local wineries for a couple of minutes and then Heather resumed a normal sitting position, reversing the process and coming back upright. The three of them continued some friendly banter for a bit. Samantha then said, "I need to freshen up a bit. Heather, do you want to hang here or join me?"

"I'll wait here and entertain our new friend," Heather replied with a smile.

"Cool deal!" Samantha exclaimed as she headed off in the direction of the park restrooms.

Heather turned her chair a bit to face Adam more directly. "So you visit over here every month? Does anyone back home miss you that often?"

"Nah. I've been single for a while if that's what you're getting at. I enjoy some time away, and it's not that often. I get plenty of time around home."

"I guess you're right. Even a long weekend once a month isn't that much. Are you usually here just long enough for business, or do you like having some fun as well?" Heather inquired.

"Often, I'm just here for work. I drove over this morning. I have a presentation tomorrow afternoon, and I decided to stay tomorrow night so I didn't have to drive into the night. I would enjoy spending more time here if I had someone to hang out with. Fortunately, I kind of have a thing for short women with dark hair."

"Yeah?" Heather replied. "I can't complain about my present company. And I assume if my wine straw and reclining wheelchair antics haven't put you off, you're okay with that short dark-haired woman being paralyzed?"

Adam replied quietly, looking directly at her eyes. "Truth be told, I enjoy gently taking the lead, and it seems you might need someone to do that, don't you?"

"I... I do. Just know that getting to know me and my situation is a whole adventure. The wheelchair is just the beginning. If you're up for it, you could find I'm rather into serving in all the ways I can."

He smiled gently and simply said, "Good girl" to which Heather very quietly replied, almost in a whisper, "Oh fuck." She paused, then said, "That phrase... it's been too long." Adam smiled slightly broader.

"Did you miss me?" came Samantha's voice as she walked quickly up to the pair.

"Adam was just giving me a reason why we should hang out again," Heather said.

"Was he?" Samantha asked, and then she exclaimed, "Oh god, don't tell me he's obsessed with pub trivia like you are!"

"I guess there are two reasons then." Adam remarked, bringing a smile from Heather.

She said, "Do you normally stay in this neighborhood because there's a place about three blocks away that's fantastic. Or sometime I could take you back to my place." Then a beat. As Heather's face blushed red, she quickly said, "For trivia. My trivia place. The pub by my house."

Adam chuckled a bit. "I'd love to go back to your... place... sometime."

"Well, at least I wasn't trying to impress you with my quick linguistic skills," Heather said as her face slowly returned to its normal pale color. "We're at a wine festival; let's get more wine."

Heather started her chair along the path to the next booth; Samantha walked alongside with Adam shortly behind them. At the next booth, they got their pours and stepped aside to enjoy. Adam inquired more about their recent lives and learned that Samantha was engaged with a wedding date in the fall. She was the office manager for a small real estate group and was at the festival without her fiance because he was helping a friend move.

"And you?" asked Adam, looking toward Heather as she sipped her wine. "What occupies your time when you're not enjoying a beverage or playing trivia?"

"Would you believe I'm a middle school PE teacher?"

"Not really... no." Adam said.

"You're smart," she said. "Nobody in their right mind would voluntarily teach anything at middle school."

"Hey now! My niece is in middle school and... you're right." Adam commented.

"I tried to get her into real estate where I work but... no such luck." Samantha said with a shrug.

"Yeah no," remarked an unimpressed-sounding Heather. "I am so not a people person. I work as a copy editor and proofreader for an indie book publisher."

Adam responded, "Oh that's cool. Do you work from home then?"

"Yeah, and I did before the pandemic as well. There's a fun coffee shop on the first floor of my building where I will hang out for a change of scenery."

"Sounds like a great setup... hey ladies, I'm going to step away for a bit. You going to be around here for a while?"

"I think so," said Heather, looking at Samantha, who chimed in with "Yeah, for at least a couple more hours I'm sure."

"Right on. This place is small enough. I will find you in a bit, okay?" he said.

"Do I have a choice?" Heather asked with a devilish look in her eye.

Adam looked at those eyes and said, "I think you know what's best," and then turned to walk away. Behind him he heard a confused-sounding Samantha. "What does he mean you know what's best? Did I miss something?"

Her voice faded away among the crowd noise as Adam walked to the restrooms. He contemplated his good fortune. Heather would be pretty sexy as a walking woman to him (he does have a thing for short, dark-haired women), but the fact she's paralyzed is a bonus. And from their banter while Samantha was away, she might be a perfect partner in the gentle dom / sub dynamic that Adam enjoys.

Following his pit stop, Adam hopped onto his phone to catch up on Instagram posts and wandered over to a few vendors selling wine-related merchandise. He was intrigued by someone who made wallets featuring wine bottle labels and might have bought one if he hadn't recently switched to a minimalist wallet that was attached to his phone. He acquired another taste of some wine as he checked out a few of the booths.

However, his mind was less focused on vino and more on Heather and getting to know her better. Adam had hooked up with a paraplegic woman and was familiar with spinal cord injuries. Still, he'd never known or been with anyone whose disability prevented the use of their arms and hands. Clearly, Heather required a lot of assistance for personal care and other daily activities. Getting to know her would mean getting to know about that situation. He realized that she's probably rarely, if ever, entirely alone. What does that mean for dating or otherwise hanging out?

After perusing a few booths for a while, Adam got another pour of a Riesling and decided to sit and sip. He walked over to the side of the seating area in front of the stage. A local jazz trio was performing, and they were surprisingly decent. Some folks were up front sitting on the grass, and there were quite a few round tables with folding chairs behind and to the side. Adam sat at an empty table in the grass a few steps off the concrete path.

As he watched the musicians, he heard a "Hey there's Adam over there" and turned his head to see Samantha and Heather approaching along the path in his direction. He smiled and gestured to them, taking a moment to get a look at Heather from a distance. Her petite figure was quite attractive, and she looked good in her maroon-patterned sundress. She didn't have a large chest, but what was there looked good with her small frame. The ladies got close to Adam's table, and he wondered if Heather's wheelchair could roll across the grass easily.

"Would you like to join me?" he asked, and Heather replied, "Sure, just a moment." She said something quietly to Samantha, who picked up her wine cup from the cup holder then Heather's head moved to turn her chair and drive across the grass to the table. Although the park lawn was neatly maintained, it was still less even than the concrete, and as Heather got closer, Adam noticed her body jostling gently. He noticed support pads on either side of her torso, presumably for the exact purpose he just saw of keeping her upright.

Heather stopped her chair at the table to Adam's right side. As she did so, he looked over and saw her right leg and foot were vibrating in spasms, bouncing slightly on the footrest of her wheelchair. She noticed his eyes watching and said, "Checking out my little dance or my sexy footwear?" with a sarcastic tone.

"Nothing wrong with sandals with your sundress," he replied, not commenting on her spasms.

"True, but you don't always see those sandals with compression stockings, do you?"

"Well, I hadn't really noticed until you pointed it out. I'm definitely not a fashion critic, but it looks fine to me. I'm impressed you found compression stockings in a color so close to your dress."

Heather mused, "I suppose the leg and foot snobs aren't exactly into me, anyway. And don't mind those spasms; it happens with spinal cord injuries and can be random."

Samantha changed the subject and said, "So are you normally into jazz, Adam?"

"My music tastes are pretty eclectic. I can't say I listen to a lot of jazz, but I always appreciate live music regardless of the style. I would never listen to country music on Spotify, but I was in Nashville last month and had a lot of fun at the country bars downtown as the local musicians did their thing. How about the two of you... I'm just guessing but Heather you don't strike me as the jazz type. And Samantha... I could be wrong but you seem like you're probably a pop girl. You probably went through crazy hoops to get Taylor Swift tickets in Seattle, didn't you?"

"Oh shit, girl, he has you totally figured out!" Heather said with a big smile, looking at Samantha.

"Damn, am I that easy to read?" the blonde sighed and took a dramatic final drink of her current wine glass. "I need more wine."

"Not to be your father," Adam said, "but you probably need some water. And you want more wine."

Heather got a sly smile on her face and said, "She doesn't need a daddy, but I might."

Adam looked to Samantha, "I'll get us all some water" and then to Heather, "Gotta keep things wet, right?"