"Your leg?"
She nodded.
Bear shook his head.
"That's not all you are."
Emily looked at him.
"You don't know me."
"No."
Bear smiled.
"But I know people."
He tapped the table gently.
"And people are always bigger than the thing that happened to them."
Emily's eyes became wet.
Before she could answer, Tyler stood up.
His two friends followed.
They walked toward the booth.
The entire diner became quiet.
Tyler stopped a few feet away.
He looked nervous.
"Emily."
She looked up.
Tyler rubbed the back of his neck.
"I owe you an apology."
Emily said nothing.
"I was cruel."
His friend nodded.
"All of us were."
Tyler continued.
"What we said was disgusting."
Emily stared at him.
For a few seconds, nobody spoke.
Then she said:
"Why did you do it?"
Tyler looked confused.
"What?"
"Why me?"
Tyler lowered his eyes.
"I don't know."
Emily shook her head.
"You wanted to feel bigger."
Tyler didn't answer.
Because she was right.
Emily took a breath.
"You don't have to like me."
She paused.
"But you don't get to hurt me just because I'm different."
Tyler nodded.
"You're right."
"I'm glad you understand."
The three men walked away.
Nobody applauded.
Nobody celebrated.
It wasn't a victory.
It was simply a moment when someone finally accepted responsibility.
Bear looked at Emily.
"That was strong."
Emily smiled faintly.
"I was scared."
"Being scared doesn't make you weak."
Bear raised his coffee.
"It means you did something difficult while scared."
The Story Behind the Crutch
Later that afternoon, Emily finally told Bear about the accident.
Her father had been driving.
Her mother had been sitting beside him.
Emily had been in the back seat.
The other driver had been drunk.
Emily's father died before the ambulance arrived.
Her mother survived.
Emily survived.
But the family they knew before that night was gone forever.
Bear listened without interrupting.
When Emily finished, she wiped away a tear.
"Sometimes I hate when people call me inspirational."
Bear smiled sadly.
"Why?"
"Because sometimes I don't want to inspire anyone."
She looked out the window.
"Sometimes I just want to be seventeen."
Bear nodded.
"I understand."
"You really do?"
"My daughter is about your age."
Emily looked at him.
"Does she use a crutch?"
"Sometimes."
"Does she hate people staring?"
"Absolutely."
Emily smiled.
"What's her name?"
"Hannah."
"What's she like?"
Bear's face changed immediately.
Pride appeared in his eyes.
"She's stubborn."
Emily laughed.
"That's good."
"She's also funny, smart, and impossible to beat at cards."
Emily smiled.
"She sounds nice."
"She is."
Bear leaned back.
"She taught me something."
"What?"
"That disability isn't a tragedy."
Emily waited.
"People's attitudes are."
Emily thought about that.
Those words stayed with her.
Across the diner, Jenny quietly watched them.