“Did you find out what it was?”
He shrugged. “I think part of it was Mom.”
“Why am I not surprised?”
Getting to his feet, he ran his hands through his hair. Yeah, things were bothering him, too. “What did Mom and Dad say when you told them about not getting the CIs? Or haven’t you told them yet?”
As Harrison sat back on the couch, a smile crossed his face. “Told them yesterday.”
“And how did that go?”
“Doesn’t matter, because he’s not their child. What does Mom have against Carli? The fact she’s deaf?”
“She’s not thrilled that Carli’s whole family is deaf, also. She keeps pointing out that if we get married and have kids, they’ll most likely be deaf.”
“Thus the question you had for me.”
“Yeah.” Sitting back down, Blake leaned back and rested his head against the back of the couch. Deep breath in. Guilt poured through him as he let it out. “Carli asked me about having deaf kids and if it would bother me.”
Harrison narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. “And you answered…”
“I didn’t answer right away.”
“Oh, Blake. That was—”
“Stupid, I know, but she blindsided me with the question. Naturally, when I didn’t answer right away, she assumed it meant I’d have a problem with it.”
“Would you?” Harrison glanced at his son, banging a large plastic spoon on a wooden block. “I mean, I understand. Parker’s hearing loss caught me off guard, too. Unfortunately, I let Mom and Dad’s opinion weigh too heavily on me for the longest time, and it pushed me to do things a certain way. But when Annie was ready to walk away and leave me, that’s when I knew I had to stand up for myself. And my child. They are your parents, but they don’t control you unless you let them.”
“Mom and Dad aren’t the biggest problem now. It’s Carli and the fact she thinks I’m a schmuck, leading her on when the relationship wouldn’t go anywhere.”
“Do you want it to go somewhere?”
“I do. God, I love her, Harrison, and want her in my life.”
Parker crawled over to Blake and climbed to standing. Lifting him into his lap, he cradled the boy. There was no less love for this child because his hearing wasn’t perfect. There wouldn’t be for his own children either.
“If you really love Carli and think she’s the one you can’t live without, then you’ll find a way to make things right.”
The sweet scent of baby surrounded him, and he got a picture in his mind of Carli round and heavy with his child. The image tortured him in its beauty and rightness.
“You know Mom wanted Annie and me to get genetic testing done. Mostly, I think, to prove it was Annie who carried the gene. But we don’t even know if it’s a genetic hearing loss, and I honestly don’t care. We plan to have other children, and if they also have a hearing loss, we’ll deal with it.”
There sat his baby brother, so wise and happy. Blake wanted that happiness also.
“Maybe if you get your act together,” Harrison continued, “my children might have an aunt and her whole family who sign just like them.”
That family picture materialized in his mind. “A whole passel of Deaf grandkids. Wouldn’t Mom and Dad love that.”
Finally, he hit a home run. Blake’s gaze followed the tall man as he lumbered along the sidewalk heading to Barney’s. He’d been staking out the bar and grill in Medford for a few nights. Carli had mentioned her brother, Evan, liked to hang out here after work sometimes. Luckily, the early spring weather had warmed up enough to be tolerable, though the night breeze still blew through him. Oddly, it felt the same as the fear he wouldn’t be able to get Carli back.
After wiping his damp palms on his pants, he stepped forward and put up his hand.
“Can we talk?”
Evan tilted his head and scowled. Great. What had Carli told her family about them? It had been almost two weeks since she’d walked out on him, and he was getting desperate. Every time he’d gone to see her at work, she’d ignored him. Not wanting to embarrass her, he hadn’t pushed. Joy had certainly given him some strange looks.
You speak my language? ASL?Evan’s smirk didn’t do anything for Blake’s confidence.
