Page 3 of Finding Hope

Sometimes the adults were just as bad; they’d stare and she could tell what they were thinking. That left a mark on her, so she didn’t talk much. She never remembered what her voice sounded like when she was little so after she got the implant she started going to speech therapy. Her voice still sounded different, but at twenty-five she didn’t really care anymore.

After putting the last bottle away, she broke down the box and put it in the recycling bin. Back up front, she found her brother talking to one of their older regulars, Pete.

“Hey, Michael,” she called out with a smile. “Hi, Pete.”

“Hey, squirt,” Michael said. “Can I get a Bud?” Most of her family still signed when they spoke to her out of habit. Sometimes at the bar when it was really noisy they’d all sign.

“Don’t call me squirt, jackass. How about you, Pete? The usual?”

Shannon grabbed her brother a bottle of Bud and mixed up a seven and seven for Pete. She placed both drinks in front of the guys and took their money. That was one thing her parents always said: No one drinks for free. Shannon didn’t drink much but her brother came in on his days off to shoot the shit and have a beer or two. Pete was retired, so he was always there during the day.

***

The bar was hopping, which was typical for seven o’clock on a Friday night. Shannon was behind the bar with her best friend, Kasey. Her mom and one of the other waitresses, Tiffany, waited on tables. Her dad and brother were working the kitchen. They all knew what they were doing so the place ran like a well-oiled machine.

Shannon was washing some beer mugs when a large group of men came walking in. Her gaze drifted over each one as they passed by, but it was the man who brought up the rear that caught her attention the most. He was lean and tall, really tall compared to her five-foot-four frame. He had dark blond hair and maybe brown eyes. Shannon couldn’t tell since he was looking straight ahead and not at her.

She looked away before he caught her staring and thought she was a freak and went back to washing mugs. One thing she’d gotten good at over the years with her implant was drowning out unnecessary sounds, which was a feat since she worked in a noisy bar and grill. Lots and lots of therapy gave her the tools to deal with being able to hear again. Sometimes if it became too much she could simply shut it off.

“Miss?” Shannon turned toward the bar and went to the guy waving her over.

“What can I get you?”

He ordered a round of tequila shots, so she got a small tray and placed the eight shot glasses on it and grabbed the bottle of Patron. Once they were filled, she grabbed limes and a saltshaker. He handed her cash, including a nice tip, before he winked at her and walked away. She stuck the change in the tip jar and was wiping the bar off when she looked up to see where the guy went. He approached the table of men who’d just walked in and her stare immediately zeroed in on the tall, lean blond.

Shannon felt like a creepy stalker as she watched him pick up the shot glass, put it to his lips, and drink it down. She watched, mesmerized, as his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down when he swallowed.

She started when she felt a bump on her arm, then turned to find her dad staring at her strangely. “Hi, Dad.”

“Who’s the guy?” he signed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Shannon turned away from him, knowing he’d try to embarrass her, which was his favorite pastime. She went back to the stockroom to grab toilet paper for the bathrooms. When she reached the front, she scrambled toward the hallway where the bathrooms were located. As she rounded the corner, the men’s room door flew open and sent her flying back until she hit the floor with a jarring thud.

A man appeared in front of her. She could see his lips moving but couldn’t hear anything. Ignoring him, she looked down around her. His large hand covered her external processor and picked it up. She wasn’t usually embarrassed when people saw her implant, but right then she knew her cheeks were beet red. She quickly put it back on.

The man stuck out his hand and she placed her hand in his. He helped her stand up. When she looked at him, she realized it was the man she’d been watching earlier.

“Are you okay?” She wished she could hear how he really sounded, but instead there was an echo. Shannon could tell his voice was deep and she could bet it sounded so sexy. In an instant, he let go of her hand like she’d burned him. She was certainly embarrassed now.

“I-I’m fine. Sorry.” On quick feet, she scrambled away from him and into the ladies room. Leaning against the door, she took a deep breath and then stared at herself in the mirror. She wasn’t ugly by any means, but she just didn’t have that special something that men liked. Maybe it was the implant or maybe because when she talked her voice sounded weird and it shouldn’t have bothered her, but sometimes it did, like right now. Maybe if she felt more normal she’d be more confident around the opposite sex.

She shook her head, trying to get rid of those negative thoughts and put the toilet paper away before stepping back out into the hall. Luckily, it was empty when she made her way back to the bar.

“Hi, my sweet girl.” Her mom pulled her into a hug.

“Hey, mom.” Shannon pulled back and signed. “It’s busy in here tonight.”

“It is. It’s great. Those policemen started coming in here sporadically in the evenings about two weeks ago and others have kind of flocked in too. It makes Daddy happy.” Her mom kissed her forehead and then went back to work. The corners of Shannon’s lips turned up as she stared after her mom, her role model. She always taught her youngest daughter to be strong, and that even though she was deaf, she could do anything she wanted. Shannon’s parents didn’t baby her or treat her differently than her siblings. For that, she was glad. She didn’t want Michael or Mary resenting her if she got all of the attention.

Turning back to the bar, she started when she found the blond man standing there. She quickly hid her reaction and walked toward him. “What’ll you have?”

“Jack and Coke.” He looked down at her chest. “Shannon.” She would’ve been pissed but she realized that she was wearing a nametag and he was just reading it. She knew she was staring and probably would’ve continued staring like a fool, but he pulled her out of her fog. “Uh…Jack and Coke?”

Shannon went about making his drink. She placed the drink on the bar and threw a straw in the glass, and pushed it toward him. “That’ll be four-fifty.” He slid a five dollar bill across the bar top.

“Keep the change.” His voice rumbled before he turned and walked away. Her gaze followed him on his path back to his table. He turned when he reached the table and of course caught her staring. She quickly looked away and grabbed the five, making change and sticking the fifty cents and the dollar he’d dropped in the communal tip jar.

Her best friend, Kasey, came walking toward her. The two girls met when they were thirteen and became fast friends. Kasey was the opposite of Shannon. While Shannon was petite with strawberry blonde hair and green eyes, Kasey was tall with hair so dark it looked black, porcelain skin, and crazy blue eyes. Michael used to say that they were like two Disney princesses. Of course, Kasey was Snow White and he said Shannon looked like Merida from the movie Brave.

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