Page 97 of Kiss-Fist
When I saidI wasn’t worried, I meant it. I’m overwhelmed, sure, but no one could be as mean as Rome. Although I may not hate him as much as I had before after he used his voice to apologize.
Gotta give him credit for meeting me partway.
As we turn toward the porch, I hear the little noises I’ve noticed Deaf people make when they communicate. Little grunts and smacking lips. As we near, I see that they’re all on the porch, watching us, a man and a woman signing to one another as we approach.
Two guys our age grin as we step forward, and I realize these must be his brothers. They look like him, actually. That dark hair, those dark eyes, the same set of the nose.
‘My family,” Robbie says as he slowly signs who each one is. Mom, dad, brothers, Quinn and Theo. And then there is his sister Alice and her husband Alex, and the two girls, Rose and Daisy.
Then Robbie introduces me, Thom. His boyfriend. He uses the dimples one as my sign name, and my cheeks positively flame.
I move to shake hands but am pulled into tight hugs from everyone. Even the little girls do the same, patting me on the back. The little girl that Robbie said was Daisy peers up at me. “You hearing too?” She signs and voices this, and it takes me aback.
I wasn’t expecting that.
“Yes,” I say and sign at the same time.
She grins. “My dad is hearing like me.”
Those little hands moving are too damn cute, and I glance at Alex, who gives me a grin.
‘Nice to have another in the family,’ he signs, making his wife laugh.
That makes me blush. I mean, I’m not part of the family yet, but fuck, I want to be.
‘You hungry?’ Robbie’s mom asks me and then signs, ‘Thirsty?’
I nod and let Robbie grab onto my hand and pull me inside. The house is adorable, open concept with a few mirrors placed in odd places on the walls, and when I stare at them a little too long, Alex explains, “So they can see behind them, if they need.”
That makes total sense, actually.
I nod my head as Robbie’s mom hands me what looks like some kind of pink lemonade. She signs it, an L shape on her chin, and I copy it.
She grins at me. ‘Cute.’ Then she turns to Robbie and lets her hands fly in excitement. I’m completelylost, but the blush on Robbie’s face says it all. She’s complimenting me. They wander off back to the kitchen, and I sit in awkward silence for a few minutes with Alex. I don’t know the etiquette here. Am I allowed to speak to him when no one Deaf is around, or…
“Chill. I’ll interpret for you when they come back,” Alex offers. “So you’re not completely lost.”
I could hug him. “Thanks. I am learning fast though.”
“Oh, I bet you are. And in this family, you’ll be fluent in a year. It took me about six months longer because I’m terrible with languages. But now, I don’t even remember what it was like not to default to ASL whenever I’m communicating with someone.”
My heart flutters at that. I want to be fluent in a year. I want to be able to understand them all without any help. I know when I leave here, my ASL vocabulary will be at least a hundred words higher. It’s like a crash course and for once in my life, my brain doesn’t seem to be fighting me. It’s absorbing like I was meant for this.
But that freaks me out even more because what if I fail? What if I just…plateau and it all stops here? Will Robbie put up with me if I can’t get out of my own way?
“Breathe,” Alex tells me. “I can see your panic.”
“I don’t want to screw up,” I tell him, looking left and right to make sure no one is around.
Alex laughs. “Don’t worry, you will. And they’ll make fun of you about it forever. It’ll probably end up becoming one of your sign names.”
The thought horrifies me a little, but I also knowthat it’s different. They don’t do it to be cruel. Not everyone is like Rome.
I lick my lips. “So, Robbie’s friend?—”
Alex scoffs. “Yeah. You saw him, didn’t you?”
The back of my neck gets a little hot. “He really doesn’t like me. He said something…” I trail off. I don’t really want to relive all of that. It’s not worth it. Not when Robbie makes me feel amazing about who I am. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter.”
