College with a Cane Pt. 01-03

"We'll send you a message on Facebook when it's ready, okay, Donna?" one of them asked.

"Sure, thanks Tammy! If we can make it down, just sort your stuff and leave mine on the table." Donna said waving.

"Oh don't worry about it, which room are you in? We can bring yours up if you want."

"That's very sweet of you!" Donna exclaimed, climbing back downstairs to hug her friend. "We're in room Erik and Sean's room... #104!"

*****

"Come on, Erik, it was just a joke!" Donna confessed.

"Uh-huh," I said back, in a disbelieving tone. "I guess my plan to make you stay over by breaking your dorm's pipes was a waste of time!"

She threw and hit me with a pair of her pants she was unpacking. "Hey! Be nice! These pants have a button-fly! Imagine if you hit me in the eye with one of those!"

"You'd be more disabled than you already are!" She laughed at her own joke, but it hit a nerve. I sat forward on my bed, spinning my cane in one hand, unsure what to say next.

Whether it was the alcohol or simply the evening we were having it was pretty clear she quickly regretted making that comment. She ran over to my bed, took my cane and sat down next to me. "Erik," she began, taking my cane into her own hands. "I didn't mean it like that. You're my best friend, and you know I hardly notice your cane, don't you?"

I sighed, but she continued before I could fully answer.

"I'm sorry, you know I didn't mean it how it sounded. Here, you go out of your way to let me stay the night and all I can bring up is your leg. I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Can you forgive me?"

I massaged my knee through my pants and smiled weakly at Donna. "I know you didn't mean to hurt my feelings, Donna. You're my best friend too. It's just when you or Sean or Kura says something like that, it makes me realize how apparent it is that I'm disabled. For you, Kura, Sean, those girls you're friends with in the laundry room, you just don't really know what its like walking into a new class where people don't know you. I always think the first thing they notice is that I have to walk with a cane."

I sighed again and laid back down on my bed, scooting over so Donna would have more room to sit before continuing. "It's hard knowing the first thing people notice about you is that you're different. I don't mean different skin color or religion, but that you're different because of a disability. I'm not 'Erik' to people I haven't met. I'm 'That disabled guy on campus'."

She reached out to hold one of my hands in hers. "Erik, I want you to know something: I never thought you were 'That disabled guy'. To me, you've always been 'Kura's boyfriend', or 'Kura's friend', or 'My Tuesday and Thursday sleepover buddy'. I actually get made fun of a lot for that one. Whenever somebody sees you hanging around and doesn't know you, they ask 'Who is your Tuesday and Thursday friend?' And to be honest they mostly ask, 'Why haven't you introduced me to your boyfriend?' When I ask which boyfriend and tell them I don't have one, they're always like 'That guy who stays with you every Tuesday, Thursday and most weekends isn't your boyfriend?' It gets kind of embarrassing to keep telling them that you're my roommate's boyfriend's roommate who gives up his room so they can have their time together."

There was a couple of seconds of silence before I broke it by asking a question that changed things forever.

"What embarrasses you the most? That you are constantly hosting your 'Tuesday and Thursday sleepover buddy'? Or that he's not your boyfriend?"

Just as I finished asking a knock came at the door. Phew, saved by the bell! "Hey, Donna! Your laundry's done! Can we bring it in?"

She let go of my hand and opened the door for her friends. "Sure, thanks so much! I don't know what I'd do without your help! Hey, come in, I want to introduce you to my 'Tuesday and Thursday sleepover buddy!" Donna put her laundry, still in its hamper, off to the side and invited the girls into the room. "Girls, this is Erik. He's the on you're always asking about!"

"Oooh," one of them cooed coming into the room. "So you're the guy we see all the time and who Donna won't shut up about?" To this, Donna blushed lobster-red. "Well, I'm Tammy. This is Caitlin and she's Kate." The two others entered the room and all three shook hands with me.

"I'm intrigued," I said sitting up and hobbling over to my chair. "What's this about Donna never shutting up about me?"

If Donna could have blushed more, I am positive she would have.

"Well..." the girl called Caitlin said. "Let's just say she's always sad to see you leave after you've spent the night. Every Wednesday and Friday all we hear about is the conversations you two had the night before."

By this point I could see that Donna was about to die of embarrassment. She quickly changed the subject. "Girls, let me ask you. When you saw Erik in the laundry room tonight, what were your first thoughts? And be honest, we were just talking about his cane."

"Oh," Kate said, "Well, I guess my first thought was that his cane is pretty cool. I've never see one that looks like that... all my Grandpa uses is this old wood one that looks really painful to use. Does yours have a shock-absorber or something?"

"Yeah, actually," I said, tossing her my cane to play with. "I've used those kinds your Grandpa uses, in fact, I have a few of that kind here for special occasions, but that kind is my favorite. It's much more comfortable on my hand, arm, shoulder and even both legs when I use it. You'd be surprised how much something like adding a shock-absorber to a cane can make a difference."

"That's awesome!" Tammy said, grabbing the cane from Kate and started to play with it herself. "I didn't know they did stuff like that, I can already feel that this would be easier on the body. Sort of like wearing running shoes with cushioning bubbles and shit compared to wearing heels!"

I scratched my stubble and agreed with her. "I hadn't thought of it that way," I remarked, "but that does make a lot of sense."

"Okay," said Donna, "So one of the girls' first thoughts was about your cane. What about the rest of you?"

"Well, I didn't actually notice your cane until you were leaning on it for support on the stairs," Caitlin replied. "I think the first thing I thought was that I wish I had a friend like Donna has in you. The three of us are in a triple in her building, and even though only a little of our stuff was damaged it was a bitch to find somebody who would let us crash. Obviously, we can't all stay together, but even finding places for each of us go to was a nightmare. Most people want their personal space; especially since so many roommates and their significant others are out of town this long weekend. We all finally found somewhere to go, but we knew the moment we saw Donna in the laundry room that she had no problem finding a place!"

"And you, Tammy?"

Tammy blushed, but wouldn't answer.

"Come on, Tammy!" Caitlin said, jabbing her friend in the ribs.

"Um... Well..." Tammi stalled, continuing to blush. "I didn't even notice your cane at all, Erik. I... uh... only noticed your eyes."

Four jaws dropped to the floor.

"Your eyes..." Tammy said, "They're just so unusual. I've never see eyes that were so gray in color they're almost black."

Now it was my turn to blush. But Tammy's observation seemed to be an open invitation to investigate my eyes.

"Wow, I've never seen some like this either, Tam. You sure are lucky, Donna!" someone teased.

Once my examination had concluded, the girls all said goodbye, and they hoped to get to know me more. They all told Donna that next time I'm staying over with her, they wanted to talk more with she and I, which was nice to hear. Donna escorted them out, and closed the door behind her. Through the door, I could hear them all whispering to each other, followed to uproarious laughter, and then more whispering.

"Girls...." I thought to myself. "I'll never understand them."

After a little more laughter and whispering, Donna came back into the room, still red as a lobster!

*****

"See, Erik," she said, sitting down next to me on the bed again. Even though Kate did notice your cane first, none of them thought of you as 'That disabled guy'. In fact, I'm pretty sure that Tammy has the hots for you!"

I smiled weakly, "It sure seemed that way to me too."

"But..." Donna said, fidgeting next to me. "I think someone else does too..."

"Oh?" I asked.

I didn't get a reply from Donna. Instead, I felt her put her arms around my head and pull me towards her. We embraced and kissed for the first time. This first kiss was quickly followed by the second, third, fourth, and soon I had lost count.

"Erik," she whispered in my ear, "From now on, all I want to think of you as is 'my boyfriend'."