Chapter 21

Liam stayed in Middletown until Sunday and took a late bus to Tacoma bus to arrive at his Monday classes on time.

When the lunch break arrived, Andrew appeared at Liam’s side, grabbed his arm, and practically dragged him to an empty classroom without saying a word. A small group of fellow teachers was waiting for him.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Andrew?” Liam exclaimed, and shook his colleague’s arm off. “I hope you dragged me here to apologize for your behavior with my girlfriend last Saturday.”

Andrew pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. “Believe it or not, Liam, we all care for you.”

Several heads nodded. Liam was getting on his nerves. It looked like an intervention of some kind.

“After what you have been through with Tiffany, you deserve a medal, Liam. I know your confidence took a hit, when she left you the way she did. She is a bitch,” Andrew said.

“Amen to that,” a chorus of voices repeated.

“Your self-esteem took a hit and you feel you are not worthy enough. But you deserve better than a girl in a wheelchair. You are lowering the bar too much, Liam,” Andrew’s voice had risen in pitch.

“Fuck you!” Liam spat on Andrew’s face.

“What?”

“You heard me, you piece of shit. Jenny is much more than just a girl in a wheelchair.”

Liam threw a defiant look around. “None of you know Jenny. She is an amazing person. She is everything I’m looking for in a woman. The kind of person I see myself spending my life with.”

“Really? Do you have any idea how exhausting taking care of a disabled person can be? You’ll be responsible for her for the rest of your life.”

“This is none of your business,” Liam said, glaring at Andrew. “Jenny makes me happy as she is a positive person full of warmth and care. She is no less of a person because she can’t move her legs.”

“You feel that way now,” Andrew said, as if he hadn’t heard him. “But caregiving strains even the most resilient people. That girl is not good for you.”

Liam was shaking his head while he talked, fighting himself so hard not to punch Andrew’s face. He looked around.

“It’s for your own good, Liam,” another colleague said. His voice sounded weak and a little timid.

“You’re all so shallow and pathetic. I pity you. Loving someone, it’s about who they are inside, not what disabilities they may have. It’s not like I couldn’t get anyone better than her. Jenny makes me a better person and a much happier man.”

Liam looked around. Some of his colleagues looked ashamed now. One by one, they lowered their heads.

“No one is perfect—some people’s imperfections are more visible than others, but everyone has a weakness. And that is fine. Surface appearance can be deceptive. Our most interesting and significant characteristics aren’t always visible to the naked eye,” Liam went on.

Four teachers stood up, shook Liam’s hand, apologized to him, and left the room. One of them said, “Sorry, man. We completely misread the situation.” He looked at Andrew. “It seems you know exactly what you’re doing and you have my respect for it.”

The rest of the group left the room, and Liam was left alone with Andrew.

He started to say something but Liam stopped him.

“Keep your nose out of my love life,” he waved a finger in front of Andrew’s face. “We are not friends. My life is not your business. Keep your judgmental views, and opinions to yourself. Stay away from Jenny, too. Is that clear enough for you?”

Andrew shrugged. “It’s your life you’re ruining. But okay.”

As soon as Liam got home, he decided he had to tell Jenny what had happened. Andrew was going to Middletown tomorrow and Liam was pretty sure he would try to talk to Jenny despite his warning.

He went inside his room, closed the door, and punched her number.

“Liam! I was thinking about you. How sweet of you to call,” Jenny exclaimed.

“I’m always happy to hear your voice, Jen.” Liam cleared his throat and said, “Listen, something happened this morning at school.”

“Okay, it sounds serious!”

“It’s not something you should worry about, but I thought it was better to give you a heads-up.”

Then Liam told Jenny about his conversation with Andrew. She listened, not saying a word. When he was done, Jenny was speechless.

“I don’t get how people can be so cruel, to put someone down simply because she can’t walk,” Liam said firmly. “Our relationship isn’t anyone’s business but ours.”

“I agree,” said Jenny, still lost in her thoughts. She couldn’t shake off the feeling that Andrew was right. Liam could do much better than her.

“No, Jenny!” Liam said, all of the sudden reading her thoughts. “Don’t go there. Andrew’s words are not only laughable, but also insensitive and maybe even discriminatory.”

“That’s true, but the point is that you could find someone else to couple with, someone without special needs,” Jenny said, speaking aloud her fears. She bit her bottom lip hard enough to draw blood.

“Someone better than you? Really? How can you think so little of yourself, Jenny? How can you think so little of me?”

“Liam, listen to me ... Andrew’s words brought my inner demons out. The truth is I’m scared. I’m scared one day you’ll walk away from me. Meeting you, and dating you, it’s like a dream come true. But I’m full of insecurities. It kills me not being able to push them away and trust I am the one for you.”

“Listen, Jenny. I won’t say that knowing you were in a wheelchair wasn’t a shock when I first met you. But once we started dating and got to know you, I stopped thinking of you as a girl in a wheelchair, and instead thought of you as ‘my girlfriend.’ I can’t do better than you because you’re intelligent, you’re funny, you’re caring, you’re loving, and you have great tits. These are the reasons why I love you...”