No Rebound

Chapter 3

Chapter 3‘No!’ and she grabbed my hand ‘text me please?’ she said in a calmer manner, a pleading look in her eyes.

I was starting to get really irate now. I’d had the day from hell and now this silly cow was dictating how I should contact her to get the insurance details for an accident SHE was responsible for.

‘Why?’ I demanded forcefully

‘Huh?’

Why? Why do I have to text you when it’d be so much easier to call you?’

‘Easier for you maybe’ she said in a mousy voice while staring at me in that piercing way again.

‘I’m sorry but this was your accident, why shouldn’t it be easier for me?’

‘You don’t understand’ she said as she blushed deeply ‘I’m deaf.’

‘Well I’m sorry but being deaf doesn’t excuse lousy driving or absolve you from blame!’ I ranted at her, my anger at the day in general boiling up and spilling over.

‘No -- but it makes it very difficult to use the phone.’ And she smiled at me in such an innocent and disarming way that I instantly felt floored by my stupidity.

‘Oh crap’ I muttered as I stared at my feet, feeling like a complete prick. Now I understood why we didn’t lift the bike together, why she ignored me speaking to her as I examined the damage.

‘Why the hell didn’t you say something before?’ I muttered, trying to stay angry at her but failing miserably.

I was surprised to feel her fingers under my chin as she lifted my head gently and turned my face toward her.

‘I need to see your lips to be able to see what you’re saying’ she said softly and in that instant, something changed fundamentally. I don’t know if it was the gentle touch of her hand or the softness of her voice but I stopped thinking of her as the silly cow who had hit my beloved bike and actually saw her as a woman for the first time. And she was really very pleasant on the eyes.

‘Listen, I’m really, really sorry for coming across as such a b***h, I’m just having the most horrendous day.’ I said whilst staring at her eyes as they in turn studied my lips.

‘Well, I’m really sorry I hit your bike and made it even worse. If it’s any consolation I’m not exactly having a fun day either. I just got turned down for a promotion that I know damn well would’ve been mine if I could hear but I have no way of proving it.’

‘Ah s**t, I’m really sorry to hear that. At least you still have a job; I just found out that I’m probably going to be made redundant.’

‘Yeah, I guess it could be worse.’ She sighed in a resigned way ‘At least it’s Friday so we can get drunk and drown our sorrows. You should make your boyfriend take you out somewhere special tonight to cheer you up.’

‘Actually I broke up with my girlfriend this morning -- that was the start of my bad day.’

‘Girlfriend? You’re gay?’

‘Yup. Fully paid up member of the lesbian fraternity since I was about 16 years old.’

‘Jeez, I’m really sorry.’

‘What, that I’m gay?’ I responded getting miffed again.

‘No silly! That you split up with your girlfriend!’ and then she laughed and it sounded like sparkling water trickling over the babbling brook of my senses. Her laugh instantly lightened my mood and I found myself grinning at her inanely.

‘So who are you going home to? Girlfriend, boyfriend, goldfish? Who’s the significant other in your life.’

‘I have a cat called Jasper. We make a good pair because he’s also deaf -- either that or he just ignores me!’

‘You mind me saying something?’ she shook her head so I carried on ‘How come you speak so clearly? I’ve met deaf people before and no matter how well they speak there’s always a difference, the tone is muted or something; oh hell I don’t know how to explain it.’ And I started to get embarrassed and wished I’d kept my mouth shut.

She touched my elbow in a reassuring way, making me look up at her again.

‘It’s ok, I understand. I wasn’t always deaf. I lost my hearing due to meningitis about 6 years ago so my speech patterns were already established. I can also hear myself a little bit which helps. I do have very slight hearing but it’s so minimal it doesn’t really help on a day to day basis, but if I have music loud enough the slight sound and the feeling of the bass lets me experience it if not really hear it. I can lip read pretty well though and have excellent eyesight which means I can eavesdrop on conversations from quite a distance.’ And she smiled that smile again; innocence mixed with a hint of mischievousness

‘Listen, I don’t mean to seem forward...................’ Oh for god sake -- had I really just started a sentence in a conversation with a deaf person with the word “listen?”