“What are you doing?”Connie whispered.“Stay here.”
Derek continued on his way and stepped down the aisle where the huge man stood, clearly looking for something by the way his gaze kept scanning the shelves.“Can I help you find anything?”
The man looked lost.His mouth opened, and he clamped it closed once more.Frustration rose in his eyes, and Derek saw him tense, like he didn’t know what to do.Derek didn’t let it get to him and slowly signed the same question.That got him a smile, and the man signed “Yes,” but then didn’t seem so sure of himself.
“I take it you can hear me but have trouble speaking,” Derek said and got a nod.“You know ASL?”The man held up two fingers.“A little, I take it.”He got another nod.“My sister is deaf, so I learned it as a kid.I take it you’re looking for a book and can’t find it.”
He got another nod, and the man seemed to relax a little.He pulled another book from the shelf and showed Derek the title from the author’s list.
“Okay.I think I saw that one on the cart to be reshelved.Let me check a minute.”He walked to the back and scanned the carts, finding the book he wanted.“Connie, we need to get these all put away.Can you get some of the volunteers on it?”He returned to the aisle withTreasure,and the man smiled.In an instant, the intimidation was gone, and it was like the sun came out.“Is there anything else?”
He pointed to himself and began spelling.“H-A-R-M.”
“You’re Harm; I’m Derek.It’s nice to meet you.”He held out his hand, and Harm shook it.“I’m here most days, so if you need anything, just look for me.If I’m not here, then Connie is, and she can help you.”Damn, it was like everything had changed in a few minutes.“Connie,” he called, and she slowly came over.He made introductions.“I told him that if I’m not here, he can come to you if he needs anything.Harm isn’t able to speak.”
The fear in Connie’s eyes seemed to evaporate.“I’ll help any way I can.We like our loyal patrons.”Derek was pretty sure that after the almost dazzling smile Harm was giving her, the fear that enveloped the building when Harm came in would be gone.Connie would see to it.
“We’ll leave you to your browsing,” Derek told him, and they left the aisle.
“Well paint me blue and call me a Smurf,” Connie said softly, once they were in the back room.“Is that what was going on?”
“I think so.I remember how hard a time Suzanne had, even with an interpreter and the family knowing ASL.She still got left out a lot and spent most of her time in her own world.And I bet he feels the same way.”He left the backroom area while Connie organized the volunteers to reshelve the books.
At the computer, he checked the internet for ASL classes in the area.He found one at the local community college, but there were none in town, Dickinson didn’t even have anything.Hmmm… that got him thinking, and he grabbed a pad from his desk and began jotting down some ideas.He wasn’t sure if anything would come of it, but it had the makings of an excellent plan.
THAT EVENING,Derek messaged his sister.They hadn’t talked in a while, and they needed to catch up.“How are things going?Any weird mouth stories?”
“Ha ha,” she sent back.“As a matter of fact I was about to text you.I met someone, and we’ve gone out a few times.I really like him and he seems to like me back.But….”The screen went blank, and it took a long time for her to continue.“Some of my friends don’t like him.”
Derek had met a lot of Suzanne’s friends, and he didn’t like a great many of them.Not that there was anything wrong with them.Most of them were deaf as well, and some of them were snooty and sort of exclusive about it.Suzanne had told him that at one point she was considering a cochlear implant, and apparently it caused a great deal of discussion and debate among her friends.When she asked, he told her that he thought it was a decision she needed to make, and that he would support her no matter what she decided.Eventually she decided against it, largely because she was too old for one.For children, they worked well, because the neural pathways for language were being formed.At her age they were set, and an implant apparently wasn’t going to be as effective.
“Why don’t they like him?”
“Because he can hear,” Suzanne sent.“Marshall is really nice.He has a daughter who is two.He shares custody of her with his ex-wife, and she’s as cute as they come.He’s considerate of my deafness and has never pressured me on the whole implant business.And he’s signed up for ASL classes.His first one was last week.”She followed the message with smiley faces.Lots of them.
“Then I need to meet this man.You sound really happy.”He loved that she had met someone.Suzanne had dated a number of times, always guys who were deaf like her, but those relationships never lasted very long.Maybe Marshall was the man she needed.
“I am.So what’s up with you?”
Derek told her about Harm, which took quite a few texts, and then asked her advice.“I think I want to try to help him, but I don’t know if I should offer or if he even wants the help.He does know some ASL.I don’t want to offend the guy, but I really think I could help him learn to communicate and be less cut off.”
“Where are the nearest classes?”Suzanne asked.
“I checked.HACC offers a community outreach class, but the nearest real location is in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh.So I was thinking that maybe I could offer a class of sorts here at the library.I was thinking that instead of being a formal class, it could start off with learning and maybe progress into a group safe space where the members can help each other.”He sent the message hoping he wasn’t totally out of line.
“I think it’s wonderful.And since it’s a community service sort of thing, you don’t need to be certified.Would you charge to take part?”
“No.I think it’s something the library can do to fill a need.Maybe we could even let other libraries in the area know what we’re doing so they could help support the program.I remember when I took my first ASL lessons, they were in a church.You were probably a few years old, and I was six.We went there for quite a while until the program stopped.But by then, we were fairly proficient.”
“Yes.And I know you took more classes in college.”
“I did.I wanted to be able to keep up with my little sister.”He sent her smiley faces.Derek was very proud of her.She’d done well by any measure.“So, do you really like the idea?”
“I do.It will help people and could fill a need in your area.I can talk to a few people to see what materials are available to help you get started.”
“You’re the best.”He was smiling as he sent the message.He hadn’t asked for her help, but he appreciated anything she could do.“I’ll let you know how things go.”
“Do that.If you need me to help convince people how important this is, I’m willing to do that.”As always, Suzanne was there to support him.“You have a good day.I have a patient in fifteen minutes, and I have a date with Marshall this evening.I’m really excited about it.”
