An Awkward Moment

 A small woman with dark hair pushed open the to the restaurant. Her eyes roamed dining room, searching, settling on the empty tables toward the back. Behind her were two little boys looking to be close in age. She held the door for the two little boys, looking over their heads to a little girl looking a bit older than the two little boys, and on crutches. All with similar coloring and features. Dark hair and dark eyes. A family, and you could tell by the shared looks. Behind her was an older man dark haired balding on top, and taking sharp notice of the placement of the little girl's crutches. It was summer, and all were wearing shorts and summer tops. 

   "Ashley, you got it?" he asked. 

"Got it Dad," the little girl said. She glanced up at her father and smiled. The small group headed for an empty table in the back. The little girl going slowly, placing her crutches carefully. Her right leg was withered, twisted, weak looking. The need for the crutches was obvious. She moved slowly, carefully placing her crutches very precisely.  

   The small group seated themselves at one of the round tables, while the woman and man both helped the little girl to maneuver herself into one of the chairs. The woman held the crutches while the man guided the little girl into her seat. "Thanks Mom, ...Dad " said the little girl. The woman slid into the seat next to her, while the father of the three sat in the last chair next to the two little boys. 

   "Hey....Dad," said the little boy who looked to be the youngest. "Dad," said the other little boy ...smiling. 

   A waitress approached pad and pen in hand. "What can I get you folks?" she asked. The restaurant was a steakhouse, and the little girl looked at her mother and said, "Mom, I don't know what to say. What should I pick?"

   "I'll help you," her mother said smiling at the waitress. "She'll take a small steak, with mashed potatoes and whatever the house vegetable is." "How do you want your steak, honey?" the waitress asked the little girl. The little girl stared at the waitress, not speaking her mouth slightly open. Her face turned pink. 

   "She'll take her steak rare," said her mother a little too loudly. The little girl's head swiveled back and forth from her mother to the waitress. She looked relieved. "Rare" she said, in the exact same tone as her mother and just as loudly, ducking her head. 

  Giggling erupted from the table behind them. It was a table full of teenagers and they were all laughing. The woman"s faced crumpled, just for a second. She turned to look at the teenagers.  

   "Please," said the little girl's mother, looking at her daughter's red face. "She just got out of the hospital." The waitress stated straight ahead her smile frozen refusing to look at the teenagers. 

    "So that means she doesn't know how to order in a restaurant?" asked one of the young boys sitting there. 

"Was her hospital in a cave?" He was very pale, with a heavy bang falling down covering his brow. He laughed slightly, a self-assured small grin matching his tone of voice. 

The little girl turned to look at them trying to smile, her smile refusing to remain in place. Her cheeks were stained red, a moist sheen of sweat covered her forehead. She was trembling slightly. She looked miserable. 

"Psychiatric?" asked the teenaged girl who was sitting next to the boy who had spoken. She was studying the little girl's face. 

  "No," snapped the little girl's mother. "Her name is Ashley, "Orthopedic. Her right leg needed to be reconstructed. She has spent a lot of time in the hospital. She doesn't have a lot of socialization skills. We're her parents and these are her two little brothers.  She indicated the little boys with a sweep of her hand. "David and Kyle." This is something of a social outing for her. "

  "She has a lot of health issues," said the father of the three kids sitting there. He turned to look at the table full of teenagers. Two big tears slid down his face. "She nearly died on us. We're lucky to still have her. We almost lost her. She almost died on us."

   The girl who had spoken blinked a few times and quickly looked away. The teenaged boy with the long heavy bang looked like he wanted to say something, then changed his mind. 

" What can I get you sweetie?" The waitress smiled at the little boy seated next to his father. His father was busy mopping his face with a napkin, he finished quickly and glanced at his son, swallowed audibly and sighed. 

   " He'll have a small steak, french fries and whatever the vegetable of the day is," he said. The little boy nodded. The look on his face serious for his age. He glanced toward his mother who smiled at him reassuringly. 

   Their mom spoke up, then, and indicated the second little boy. "He'll have the same as his brother. And I'll have the same as my daughter." 

   The waitress wrote on her pad, smiled at the woman and nodded. With a quick glance at the teenagers she headed for the kitchen, shaking her head. The little girl watched her go, then lowered her head in embarrassment. " Mom," said the little girl, " I don't like everybody knowing about me."

"There's nothing to know and it's nobody's business," responded her mother somewhat tartly. 

   There was a snort from behind her. The woman squared her shoulders and sat up straighter. Her daughter was staring down at her hands which were clasped in her lap. 

   "Only the ignorant make fun of the handicapped," said the woman tight-lipped. As if by pre-arranged signal the teenagers all stood at the same time. "Thank God, " said the woman softly, but audibly enough to be heard. One of the other teenaged boys looked like he was going to say something., but the girl standing next to him put her hand on his arm. Instead, they filed out silently. 

   The little girl was still staring down at her lap. She hadn't raised her head even once. "I hate this" she said. "I hate it." 

   Her mother reached over and put an arm around her shoulders. "S-h-h-h" she said. "It's nobody's business."