Jo hated to leave the warehouse during the day. Well, honestly, she hated to leave the warehouse at all, but she refused to tell anyone. Her group all had gotten used to seeing her slowly limp along and they got over staring at her relatively quickly (especially when threats from her or one of her boys focused on relatively important- or sensitive- appendages). But, out in the civilized world, everyone stared at the poor, little crippled girl.
They looked at her as though she were someone to be pitied...or taken care of.
Thus was the case on the day she had scheduled a lunch meeting with one of her boys that she had placed in the police.
Just like any other time, she tried to ignore the looks that everyone gave her as she slowly limped behind the waitress showing her to her table. She was doing just fine until someone stuck out their foot and tripped her. Embarrassment flared as she landed awkwardly on the hard concrete and had to struggle to get her legs under herself.
"Apparently we haven't learned anything over the centuries," a pretty young woman sneered. "People like you should have been taken care of at birth- or before, if your issues had been detected." Jo stopped for a moment before continuing to try to get to her feet. "What, are you deaf too?"
Once she was able to get to her feet, she faced the pretty brunette. "I'm not sure I understand what you're talking about," she informed her, trying her best not to get pissed. It had been quite a while since she had been so insulted.
The woman looked to her lunch companion (who looked thoroughly uncomfortable) with a grin before looking back to Jo. "So you're mentally handicapped as well." She looked Jo square in the eye and stated (with slow, over exaggerated enunciation), "People like you- the handicapped- should never have been allowed to become a tax on our society."
Jo ground her teeth, reminding herself that killing the ignorant woman was not an appropriate response to her hateful words. "You don't even know anything about me."
The woman sneered, "You're nothing but a cripple- a burden to everyone around you."
This woman reminded her too much of Ryan (and it wasn't like she had handled that problem effectively- what with her killing him and all). Part of her wanted to curl into a tight little ball and cry like a baby. Another part wanted to stab her.
Who was this woman to judge her? Jo was reliant on no one but herself. So what if she had a limp? That didn't make her a burden.
The last part of her wanted to just walk away.
Jo decided to walk away.
The woman snorted a derisive laugh. "How typical. The lame don't even bother to defend themselves- always needing someone else to fight their battles. How pathetic."
Jo felt her hands tighten into fists. This isn't the place for a fight, she reminded herself bitterly. She couldn't allow herself to get into an altercation that would result in her boy taking her in.
"Does this make you feel better?" Jo demanded. "Is your life so pathetic that you need to judge and belittle those who are less fortunate than you?"
"I...w-well, I-"
"Yes," Jo interrupted. "I have a physical disability that impairs my ability to walk. However, my mental facilities are in perfect working order. I do not, nor have I ever, relied on anyone to take care of me." She glared at the woman with disgust. "You think my life so pathetic- which is well within your right-, but yours disgusts me. You have so many privileges in your life, but instead of sharing them or being kind, you want to make everyone feel as small and useless as yourself."
The entire café had fallen silent during her speech. For a brief moment afterwards, silence reigned until people started applauding her. She tried to fight a blush, but her face heated up uncontrollably.
An elderly woman stood up and hugged her tight. "You have such a wonderful way with words, dear. Have you considered a career in public speaking or politics?"
Jo snorted as she stepped away. "No one would want to listen to anything I have to say."
The older lady shook her head again. "There's something about you," she murmured thoughtfully. "When you speak, something about you makes people listen."
She didn't quite know how to respond to that.
"Jo!" Looking around, she spotted John making his way to her. "You okay?"
She glanced at the woman who started the altercation before looking back to John. "Yeah, everything's fine here. Let's go eat."
