vanilla.”
James swallowed. “So… what do you like about sweet romances?”
Michael thought about it. “I like the idea of two characters who are both caught up in their own lives and with their own problems and seeing how they meet and how they figure out they’re meant to be together. I dunno. It sort of fascinates me, I guess. I mean, how do you meet the one , and how do you know that you have?”
James made a face. “I don’t really think about it.”
“You don’t?”
James looked at Michael, wondering how he could be so dense. “Not likely, is it?”
But Michael shot him a troubled glance with those big brown eyes. “Why isn’t it likely?”
James got a flash of annoyance so he looked out the window at the passing pine trees. They were off the freeway now, and the scenery was lushly wooded. Pretending to be interested in the view was a good excuse to not answer. He knew Michael wasn’t being merely obtuse, that he meant it sincerely, but it still hurt.
“So sci-fi… what other authors do you like?” he asked, changing the subject.
I T TURNED out Michael’s secret destination was Mt. Rainier. As they wound up the mountain on curvy roads, the views mesmerized James. Sometimes, the road dropped away steeply, seemingly just a few feet outside his passenger seat window, revealing the tops of pine trees and deep gullies. It was stunning.
“Does this make you nervous?” Michael asked.
James looked at the sheer drop and realized it might make some people anxious. But not him. It reminded him of being in a plane or—a spaceship, that sense of exhilaration and freedom, of slipping the surly bonds of Earth.
“I love it,” he said honestly. “I’ve never been here before.”
“Never?”
James shook his head.
“Wow. You need to get out more.”
Tell me about it. It did feel good to get away from home and see something new. It felt… invigorating. He could feel some of the cobwebs in his mind blowing away.
They parked at Paradise. It was crowded with cars and visitors. Michael pulled in near a set of restrooms, which, James was relieved to see had a blue handicapped accessible sign on them.
“We should probably hit the restrooms first. They have a paved trail we can take to the lower meadows. I brought stuff for a picnic.”
James looked in the backseat where an overstuffed backpack awaited. “You’re starting to worry me. Rainier, a picnic…. How am I supposed to compete when it’s my turn? I’ve got pizza and TV. That’s what I’ve got.”
James was joking, but as soon as he said it, he wished he could take it back. There was no reason to assume Michael would want to hang out again.
But Michael laughed. “Pizza and TV sound perfect to me. Also Heinlein and underwear.”
“What?”
“Never mind. Let’s go.”
U SING THE restroom was something James had worried about ever since Michael invited him for an outing. But it turned out to be fine. James kept a backpack hooked on the back of his wheelchair, and it contained a number of essential items. One was a plastic urinal with a screw cap. But he would rather die than use it in front of Michael. Fortunately, the restroom had a handicapped stall that he could wheel into and shut the door.
As a man, it was not very easy to pee while sitting on a toilet, and even with the bars in the handicapped stalls, it wasn’t all that convenient to get in and out of the chair. He could do it when he absolutely had to, but it was a bit of overkill for peeing. Neither could he stand to pee like any other man. The small urinal he carried was basically a clear plastic jug with a thin neck and cap. It allowed him to pee in his chair. He did that, then poured it into the toilet and flushed it down. Normally, he would rinse the urinal in the sink afterward, but he wasn’t going to do that in a public restroom, especially not with Michael anywhere in the vicinity, so he just screwed the lid back on tight and put it in his
James swallowed. “So… what do you like about sweet romances?”
Michael thought about it. “I like the idea of two characters who are both caught up in their own lives and with their own problems and seeing how they meet and how they figure out they’re meant to be together. I dunno. It sort of fascinates me, I guess. I mean, how do you meet the one , and how do you know that you have?”
James made a face. “I don’t really think about it.”
“You don’t?”
James looked at Michael, wondering how he could be so dense. “Not likely, is it?”
But Michael shot him a troubled glance with those big brown eyes. “Why isn’t it likely?”
James got a flash of annoyance so he looked out the window at the passing pine trees. They were off the freeway now, and the scenery was lushly wooded. Pretending to be interested in the view was a good excuse to not answer. He knew Michael wasn’t being merely obtuse, that he meant it sincerely, but it still hurt.
“So sci-fi… what other authors do you like?” he asked, changing the subject.
I T TURNED out Michael’s secret destination was Mt. Rainier. As they wound up the mountain on curvy roads, the views mesmerized James. Sometimes, the road dropped away steeply, seemingly just a few feet outside his passenger seat window, revealing the tops of pine trees and deep gullies. It was stunning.
“Does this make you nervous?” Michael asked.
James looked at the sheer drop and realized it might make some people anxious. But not him. It reminded him of being in a plane or—a spaceship, that sense of exhilaration and freedom, of slipping the surly bonds of Earth.
“I love it,” he said honestly. “I’ve never been here before.”
“Never?”
James shook his head.
“Wow. You need to get out more.”
Tell me about it. It did feel good to get away from home and see something new. It felt… invigorating. He could feel some of the cobwebs in his mind blowing away.
They parked at Paradise. It was crowded with cars and visitors. Michael pulled in near a set of restrooms, which, James was relieved to see had a blue handicapped accessible sign on them.
“We should probably hit the restrooms first. They have a paved trail we can take to the lower meadows. I brought stuff for a picnic.”
James looked in the backseat where an overstuffed backpack awaited. “You’re starting to worry me. Rainier, a picnic…. How am I supposed to compete when it’s my turn? I’ve got pizza and TV. That’s what I’ve got.”
James was joking, but as soon as he said it, he wished he could take it back. There was no reason to assume Michael would want to hang out again.
But Michael laughed. “Pizza and TV sound perfect to me. Also Heinlein and underwear.”
“What?”
“Never mind. Let’s go.”
U SING THE restroom was something James had worried about ever since Michael invited him for an outing. But it turned out to be fine. James kept a backpack hooked on the back of his wheelchair, and it contained a number of essential items. One was a plastic urinal with a screw cap. But he would rather die than use it in front of Michael. Fortunately, the restroom had a handicapped stall that he could wheel into and shut the door.
As a man, it was not very easy to pee while sitting on a toilet, and even with the bars in the handicapped stalls, it wasn’t all that convenient to get in and out of the chair. He could do it when he absolutely had to, but it was a bit of overkill for peeing. Neither could he stand to pee like any other man. The small urinal he carried was basically a clear plastic jug with a thin neck and cap. It allowed him to pee in his chair. He did that, then poured it into the toilet and flushed it down. Normally, he would rinse the urinal in the sink afterward, but he wasn’t going to do that in a public restroom, especially not with Michael anywhere in the vicinity, so he just screwed the lid back on tight and put it in his
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