Alexander's Resort Ch. 03

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The Union Springs community call center employed many of the elective amputees living in town. Established to provide wheelchair friend employment by contracting with large companies around the country, it was greatly successful.

Mack pushed against the rims of the sporty red wheelchair as he rolled along Main Street. For three days, he had done his best to not use his feet and was more successful each day.

"I'm Mack and I'm supposed to start today," he said to the older woman wearing the halter-top and missing most of her left arm. Her long gray hair pulled back in a ponytail, her lips lightly coated with red lipstick, Mack thought she was attractive and let his mind wonder what the rest of her hidden behind the desk looked like.

"Hi. I'm Lidda. Let me show you to your desk." With a click, her wheelchair powered up and she moved into the aisle. Her legs were missing high above the knee but her skirt hanging just over the edge of the cushion hid just how much. Her right hand rested on the joystick for controlling the wheelchair. The little finger of the right hand was missing.

"Do you like your powered wheelchair?" he asked as he followed into one of several rooms filled with people wearing headsets in front of computer monitors.

"Love it. Since I got rid of the arm, it makes things simple. When are you having your amputations?"

"I haven't decided, soon I guess."

"Is this a new thing?"

"Not really ... just now being honest to myself and open about it to others." He chuckled and parked in an empty workstation. "How'd you decide?"

"Max, my husband, prefers women missing both legs and an arm. I just knew I wanted several stumps." She laughed and wiggled the short remains of her left arm. "It's all good. If he'd preferred both arms and one leg, I'd done it for him. It just would have been more difficult to do anything."

For the next half hour, Lidda taught Mack how to answer calls and look up answers. Later each placed a headset on and he took calls while she listened.

"Flip that switch and you'll be taken out of the call router."

"Great, too much coffee." Mack laughed and rolled his chair back. As she turned her wheelchair, the light from the window poured into her lap and he saw for the first time how little of her legs appeared to remain.

She looked up as she realized what he was watching. "It was hard to decide between all and leaving just a little." Her hand smoothed the skirt over the right thigh stump. "I went for just a little." She smiled and straightened out the skirt over the mostly empty cushion. "Maybe someday I have them trimmed up even more."

"I'd like to talk to you about how you made that decision. It's the one I'm wrestling with."

"Maybe later. I think I need to go to the bathroom too."

-

"Hi Mack," Leslie called as neared the intersection less than a block from city hall. "How's the wheeling treating you?"

Mack turned his wheelchair towards her then rolled closer to the wall of the building so they would be in the shade. "Great. I'm getting the hang of doing things sitting down." He laughed. "Just got off work ... first day at the call center. Maybe I could buy you dinner."

"Sure. Dinner with my favorite guy, I might have to hold onto my chest ... don't want to lose my heart." She laughed. "I'll follow you."

The server moved both two chairs and they rolled up to the edge of the table. "Two Merlots, please," Mack said with a smile to the woman wearing a short skirt with a peg leg extending below the left side. Leslie and Mack both watched her walk away.

"Would you want something like that? I mean to have a peg leg. I already know you'd probably hump her in a heartbeat."

"Darling, I'm with the woman I want to hump forever." He laughed and rubbed the back of her hand.

"Well, well. That is a wonderful thing to hear. Maybe you can show me after dinner."

"I need to be honest with you about my feelings. It's only fair to both of us. It's not just sex. Of course, that is a fantastic piece of our time together. I've hidden my feelings about my legs for most of my life. I've picked jobs that would make if impossible to be legless. Since I've been here, all of the walls have fallen and I can't hide anymore. I want to be with you AND I want to have my legs amputated. All of them, so they will be like yours."

"That would please me ... a lot."

-

The small sign beside the door read 'Dr. Martin Anderson, MD'. A woman with a single leg held the door, Mack smiled at her then rolled his wheelchair into the waiting room. "Good luck," she whispered then left letting the door close slowly behind her.

"Mack Barton for Dr. Anderson at ten," he said firmly to the middle-aged woman with the short-sleeved blouse behind the desk. Her left sleeve was empty and lay flat against her side. She held up a single finger indicating for him to wait a minute then continued to write.

An older man wearing a white doctors coat with unreadable blue letters over on breast stood behind her holding a file folder. He glanced up towards Mack. "I'm Dr. Anderson. Why don't you come with me?" He waved the folder as if to say follow me.

Mack parked in one corner of the exam room and the doctor settled on the stool beside the short row of cabinets with a small sink in the counter. The doctor crossed his legs and wiggled the stool into a different position.

"Leslie and I have already talked," Martin began not even bothering to ask why Mack had made the appointment. "I trust her judgment on these things." He squeezed his chin between the thumb and forefinger for a moment watching Mack sitting in his wheelchair.

"I would like both legs amputated."

"Yes, yes, I know. I usually assume someone wants an amputation when they are sitting in this room talking to me." He chuckled. "When?"

"Whenever. No rush, but I don't want to wait either."

"This week? I guess I have some time Friday or next Monday."

"Friday sounds nice." Mack smiled. "Both at the top of the thigh ... like hers."