Again the others were surprised when Carol responded. She looked straight at Carl Jr. and asked. “Have you ever had a stone in your shoe?”

“Sure. What does that have to do with it?”

“What did you do?”

“I took it out.”

“Why?”

“Because it hurt when I walked.”

“About the best way I can explain to a person who has not lost a leg what walking with a sore stump is like is to say it is like having a large, sharp stone in your shoe and walking on it for a day.”

“It can’t be that bad. Women are wimps.”

“I’ve had a sore stump. I can tell you it isn’t fun.”

“You?”

“I’m a leg amputee. I have been for over fifteen years. Do you think you know more about living with one leg than I do?”

“Well.”

“I’ll make you a deal. I can have a friend put a full leg cast on your leg with a crutch tip on it. Let’s see how well you get around. You game to try?”

“That isn’t fair.”

Denise chimed in. “In my more stupid days I thought I could walk with a cast with a walker on it. I couldn’t even swing the leg to make one step.” Carol nearly choked. Denise had no idea that the cast was grossly overweight. Some day she would have to confess that.

“You are a girl.”

Diane had heard enough of the “girl” crap. “Let me suggest something. Let’s you and me, the two of us, go out and do a tower climb. We both put on knee immobilizers and climb. Let’s see who gets the highest.”

“No big thing. How high is the tower?”

“The tower is one of those that radio stations use, it is just under 300 feet. You climb a ladder inside it.”

“Ladder? Three hundred?”

“Scared?”

“Well, I’m not, I don’t do that.”

“Then let’s try stairs. You do climb stairs, don’t you?”

“Well of course.”

“Good. There is a mall down the street that has three stories. We do the flights till someone quits. We get two knee immobilizers, two packs with thirty pounds and go down there. I’m a girl and I am twenty years older than you. It should be easy.”

“How do you figure that?”

“Because guys are wimps.”

Diane had just hit the hot button for a male figure that was half drunk. Carl responded. “Let’s go do it.”

I can get three of the immobilizers and I have four packs that weigh about thirty pounds. And Carol may want to try it on her peg leg.”

“Peg leg?”

“Sure. Do you think she can’t?”

Patti changed the subject. “Julie, I am really glad to be able to have this time together. You and I didn’t hit it off well in school. I somehow think at least half of that was my fault. I often wondered as we got older if we had a chance to get together we might find that those differences were not really that big.”

Julie looked down. “You and Diane were so popular. When she lost her eye I saw that as an opportunity to steal some of that. I really was a bitch.”

“I never should have hit you. It is one of the regrets I have.”

“I was mad at you at the time. But my face hurt so bad I couldn’t think to fight back. I’m glad you didn’t hit me a couple times.”

“Well, I am still sorry I did it.”

“I never thought much about it. But I remembered how bad I treated you two. I am really sorry.”

Thanks. But some things that happened to me made me stronger.”

Diane responded, “Me too. You really helped me later in life. I didn’t let people put me down.”

“I’m glad but I wish I hadn’t done it.”

“We have all done things we are sorry we did. We go on from here.”

Karen: Chapter One – The Attack

Karen Chapter 35 – a Call From the Past

Karen Chapter 37 – the Challenge