Page 12 of Inherited Light
“Piece of cake,” I answered. Her sink was lower than most sinks and I quickly realized it was at a wheelchair user’s height. When I looked around earlier I noticed the countertops were lower as well. It didn’t leave as much space in the cabinets below, but she could safely cook in the kitchen without hurting herself. “This is super cool,” I said, spinning in a circle.
When I got back around to face her she was blushing. “Thank you. I’m sort of embarrassed to admit I’ve spent a lot of money on the inside of the house making it handicapped friendly. My bathroom has been completely redone, too.”
I dried my hands after washing them and swiveled toward her. “Why does it embarrass you? I think what you’ve done in here is wonderful, and useful. I think it was a good way to spend your money.”
“The interior seemed more important than the exterior of the home, but now I need to save to pay for the upkeep on the rest of the house. I can’t save at the rate it is falling into disrepair, but I’ll do the most important jobs first and wait on the rest.”
I leaned down and braced my hands on my knees. “If it would help I’d be glad to come over and give you an idea of what has to be done now and what could wait. I’m not angling for the work, don’t worry, it’s just a way to use my skills to help a friend.”
She held my gaze and smiled. “I would appreciate it, Ren, but only if you have time.”
I threw caution to the wind and kissed her cheek. “For you, I always have time.”
Her smile got bigger with my kiss. “Great, I’ll take you up on your offer then.”
I stood up straight and pointed at the door. “If you’re ready, we should probably head out before they give our reservation away.”
She wheeled toward the front door and I opened it, allowing her to pass me, and then closed and locked the front door. She rolled down the ramp carefully, and I noted how the whole right side of it moved in a wave as she rolled down. The frame barely had any life left in it. I realized it wasn’t just in need of repair. It needed to be torn down. The thing was downright dangerous.
I trod carefully as I walked down it and met her at the bottom. She seemed uncomfortable and I leaned down and cocked my head. “What’s wrong?”
She pointed to my car, her hand palm up as though she was trying to be nonchalant. “You’ll need to move your car so we can take my van. I thought you were driving your truck.”
I shook my head a little and put my hand on her shoulder. “I don’t pick a lady up for dinner in a greasy work truck. I pick her up in a ride worthy of her beauty.”
Her shoulders sank and she shook her head. “Thoughtful of you, Ren, but the truck would have had a place for my wheelchair.”
“As does my car. There’s a backseat and your chair comes apart. It will be fine.”
She stared at the car for a moment, biting her lower lip while she decided if she could trust me. It made my groin clench to watch her worrying her lip back and forth and I had to make her stop.
“I’ll put you in the front seat and the chair can go behind the driver’s seat. It breaks down, right?” I asked.
She finally let go of her lip to answer and I almost sighed audibly. “The wheels come off and the back folds down if you take the cushion off, but it won’t break down any further.”
“Cat,” I said and she trained her attention on me. “Do you trust me?”
“Can I trust you?” she asked and I nodded, forcing a smile to my face so she lost the fear on hers.
“You can trust me, Cat. I have nothing but good intentions. I want you to have fun tonight, not second guess everything we’re going to do because of the chair. Trust I have your safety and comfort in mind, okay?”
She nodded and wheeled toward the car, stopping by the passenger side. “This is a BMW. I don’t think you want my dirty chair in the back of your car, Ren.”
I hit the unlock button on the key fob and pushed her chair the rest of the way past the door, so I could open it. “I don’t care if your chair is dirty, Cat. I can wash the car. Now, your chariot awaits. May I lift you into the seat?”
She handed me her purse and I set it in the car on the floor. She scooted forward in the chair and waited.
“Ready?” I asked and she nodded her answer. I scooped her up and gently sat her in the seat, her tiny figure hardly filling it. “I’ll take this around to the other side and you can tell me if I’m taking it apart right.”
I closed her door firmly, glad I finally had her in the car after her misgivings. She zipped the seatbelt across her chest while I opened my door and popped the handle to fold my seat forward. I set the cushion from the wheelchair on the backseat and she told me how to take the wheels off the chair. Once they were gone, I folded its back down and rested it on the floor of the car with the caster wheels pointing up. The car clearly wasn’t going to get dirty from her chair. I tugged my seat upright and slid in, closing my door.
I glanced toward her and grinned. “See, piece of cake. Are you ready for an enjoyable evening?” I asked as I started the car and buckled in.
“I think I would enjoy doing nothing but riding around in this car, it’s so luxurious.”
I backed out of the driveway and put it into drive, heading back toward town. “We’re driving toward Little Ivywood a bit, so you have plenty of time to enjoy it,” I said, turning the jazz station down low enough you could barely hear it over the hum of the car.
“Where did you get a car like this?” she asked and I peeked at her and then back to the road.
