Chapter 5

It was arranged that Lois would pick up Paul at the hospital Wednesday afternoon at 3:30. This would permit his regular physical therapy session and give him time, afterward, to prepare for their date.

In the car, Lois explained that her chosen activity was a Gray Line tour of the city of Philadelphia. "I've never taken the tour myself," she said. "It'll be educational for both of us."

The next three hours were educational, but they featured too-frequent exits and re-entries to the Gray Line Tour bus, and when the tour ended, both of them were pleased that it was over.

"Educational, but tiring," Lois said. "I'm sorry, Paul, it was thoughtless of me not to consider what the bus would be like, for you."

"Forget it," Paul said. "You notice, they had a power-lift mechanism at the buses' entrance. I could have used it, but I didn't choose to. If I'm tired and my legs are sore, I have only myself to blame."

"Are your legs sore?" Lois said.

"Yeah, they are. Too much strain on 'em, I guess. Maybe we ought to head on back."

"What about dinner?"

"We can skip it," Paul said.

"Why don't you come back with me, to my place?" she said. "You could relax -- put your feet up."

"Better not, Lois, thanks. The only thing for this is to take off these braces, let my legs -- my stumps -- breathe for awhile."

"You need the nurses to help with that?"

"No. But I need to be back at the hospital."

"Special medicine? Salves?"

"No, no. Just a rubdown with skin cream. Nothing special, but..."

"So. You could do it at my place, then. Paul, it's not even seven o'clock yet!"

"You don't need to see this business, Lois."

"I've seen you without your braces before."

"Yeah, but. This is different. I gotta take off the wrappings, and go through all sorts of stuff. It would be... It would be embarrassing."

"I could help."

"I like it better, Lois, when we can just pretend that I'm -- like -- normal."

"You're pretty normal. You got your legs blown off. It didn't seem to have blown your mind."

"I feel uncomfortable with it."

"Paul, I can't force you to come home with me, but I can guarantee you I'm not gonna run screaming out of the room if you take off your braces."

"OK, OK. But no cooking. Just make us TV dinners, or something."

"You got it. I've got some nice Healthy Choice frozen dinners. Quite a selection. And no French menu. You can read the labels, and take your healthy choice!"

At Lois' house, the layout was handicap-accessible and Paul, despite his tired legs, elected to leave the wheelchair in the car. After walking inside, he sat on Lois' couch and said, "If you don't mind, I'm just going to take them off, right here."

"Go for it."

Paul removed his trousers, and then the braces, setting them aside where he could reach them on his own, if necessary. "You mind if I go ahead and unwrap these bindings?"

"Want some help?"

"I can get it. Maybe you could go get a towel, and maybe some kind of soothing skin lotion?"

"Coming right up," Lois said, heading for her bathroom.

When she returned, Paul was in his underwear, with the stumps of his legs bare and unadorned. His wounds were, by now, well-healed, and the scarring wasn't as bad as Lois had expected. However, his legs were an angry red color from the strain of the day's activities.

She spread the towel on the couch, just under Paul's legs, and he lifted his torso up, with his strong arms, so that she could put part of the towel under him. He reached for the big plastic lotion container, but Lois held on to it. "Let me do it," she said.

Paul leaned back on the couch as Lois gently rubbed the soothing lotion on his legs -- first on one, then the other. She showed none of the revulsion he had half-expected to see in her eyes. Her touch was tender and careful.

The act, however, was unavoidably erotic, and the movements of Lois' hands, working together around the exposed stumps, were sensuous and suggestive. As she carefully covered his skin with the lotion, she looked up into Paul's face, their eyes meeting.

He felt himself beginning to get an erection. Soon, there was no hiding the fact.

"I'm -- sorry," he said.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," she said. "It's a natural reaction."

"I feel like a jerk," he said. "You're trying to make me comfortable, and I make you -- uncomfortable."