“Is that lunch?”he yelled to his roommate.
“Maybe.If you two are finished gushing about over-paid spoiled athletes.” Mercedes planted her hands on her hips once she’d signed.
“I wouldn’t mind that kind of pay,” he said.
“Then you should have played baseball.”
“I do play.My league starts next week.You can come be my cheerleading squad if you want.”
One eyebrow rose on her pretty face.“Do I need to get pompoms and a short skirt?”
He laughed.“If you do, the guys on the team will love having you there.”Heck, the guys would love having her there in anything she wore.
Mercedes waved for him and Pierre to come eat.They washed their hands and sat at the small kitchen table.
This is excellent!Evan signed because his mouth was still full of the scrumptious chicken dish.He hadn’t even realized they had ingredients for it.Unless that’s what was in the large canvas bag Lisette carried in.
“Mom is the best.”Mercedes grinned, then winked at her mother.
The meal was mostly silent—well, meals were always silent for Evan—but at least when he was with friends or family, there was lots of conversation through signing.
A few times, Mercedes’ parents looked up and spoke.He appreciated that she took the time to interpret what was being said, both their questions and her answers.Most people didn’t bother.He’d gotten used to it, but often he still felt unworthy of people’s words or their time.
When they finished up the meal, Pierre stood and waved at Evan, then pointed to the dishes.He faced Mercedes and asked something.A pretty smile grew on her face and she signed, “Our turn” to her dad.
Pierre then repeated the sign to him.He might not be fluent in ASL but at least he made attempts to communicate with him to some degree.
Mercedes and Lisette settled on the couch in the living room while he and her dad rinsed and stacked the dishes in the dishwasher.When they were done, Pierre dug his phone from his pocket, tapped on his notes app, then showed it to Evan.
—I sometimes get tickets to the Red Sox games.Would you want to go with me next time?—
Evan nodded at the nice gesture and shook his hand.“Thank you.”
Pierre tapped his wrist where a watch might be, then pointed to the door.He said something to his wife and she nodded, then stood.
“Thank you so much for coming up and making us a great meal.” Mercedes gave her parents each a hug and kiss as they headed to the door.
Lisette gave Evan a hug and a peck on the cheek.The gesture was endearing and made him think about how Mercedes and his own mom hugged every time they saw each other.
Once her parents had left and driven off down the road, he and Mercedes plopped onto the couch.He was exhausted from attempting to follow the conversations back and forth for the past few hours.It was almost as bad as being back in school.Eating a meal with non-deaf people was tiring, and he could use a nap.He had to stop being so lazy.
“Your dad has great taste in baseball players, and your mom is super sweet.Kids must have loved coming to your house to play when you were younger.”
Her eyes darkened.“Lots of kids weren’t allowed to come to my house when I was growing up.”
“What?Why not?”
“Because my parents aren’t the same color.”
He scowled.“You mean skin color?What the heck does the color of your skin have to do with anything?It’s not like you can choose it.Like being deaf.Hardly my fault.And it doesn’t change who I am as a person.”Though it may have colored how he saw things in life.
Mercedes snuggled into his arm and smiled up at him.Man, that expression could make him do almost anything.“That’s why I love your family so much.They always accepted me for me and didn’t care who my parents were or what they looked like.”
“Because it’s a stupid reason.You cut me off in traffic, and I’m all about judging you.But hair, eyes, skin?Geez, that’s ridiculous.”
He felt her chest rise and fall as she sagged against him.He shouldn’t let her stay there, because he’d want it more and more.She could become an addiction, and he didn’t have any way to break the habit.Yet at some point, she’d find some guy who was as smart as she was, and they’d go off and read encyclopedias together.It wasn’t something he could do.
But masochist that he was, he didn’t move.He allowed her to relax against him and rest.She’d done a ton of interpreting today, and it was probably as tiring as reading lips.That was a great excuse anyway.The truth was he enjoyed having her close a little too much.
