Wheelchair Accessible

Part Four

                There seemed to be a strange pause in the conversation, so I lifted my eyes from the ground to find them looking at me expectantly.

                I blinked, "What?"

                "You're not going to pay for her?" the vendor guy asked, as if that should've been obvious.

                I shuffled my feet, "Well it was her idea to come here."

                "And you're not going to insist?"

                I glanced over at Shawna as she took a big lick of her triple scoop cone and then down at my own cone that I hadn't even asked for, with two kinds of ice cream that I didn't even want. "Um... no."

                I thought the guy was going to start yelling at me or something equally awful and scene-causing, but then a smile made its way onto his face. "I like this one."

                "That's what I was thinking, too," Shawna nodded, passing him some money, "Thanks, Gerry."

                "Thank you," he tucked the money into his pocket. "See you next time."

                "Bye!" she beamed and then turned her wheelchair. I followed her, still slightly confused as to what had just happened. Everything this girl did was confusing and I had no idea how to keep up. 

After a moment I realized she was struggling, holding her ice cream cone in one hand and trying to move her chair with the other, but she had to constantly switch sides to continue going in a straight line.

                "Do you want me to hold that for you, or whatever?" I asked hesitantly. Would she be upset that I thought she needed help? The last thing I wanted to do was offend her again.

                She looked up, "...duh." Then she passed me the treat and moved us towards a picnic table where we could sit while we finished our cones. "This is good stuff, man," she told me between licks.

                "I don't even like bubblegum," I told her, staring down at the multicolored pieces in my scoop.

                "Awesome, because I ordered it for you so that I could eat some."

                "That was nice of you."

                "Right?"

                I sighed and silently ate my ice cream. It actually wasn't that bad, not that I would tell Shawna that or anything. Whenever I got to a bubblegum piece I would take it out and place it in my napkin and then continue on with the good stuff.

                "So was that a test?" I mumbled after I was halfway through my cone.

                "Nah, I just wanted free ice cream," Shawna said, and then giggled when I narrowed my eyes at her. "I mean, I was hoping that you would pay for me. But... I think I kind of like that you didn't even more."

                I sent her a sideways look, "You're weird."

                She grinned taking a big lick of ice cream and getting some on her nose. I didn't bother to tell her.

"So," she began, and I stared at her nose, "Let's get to know each other. What are you all about? What's your story? What are your parents like?"

                My parents? There was no way I was going to--