Joyce accepted Roger's hand as she exited the taxi that he'd arranged an hour before they were scheduled to arrive at Reno's to meet Joyce's sister Abigail and her date Tucker. Her slim fingers rested snugly in his strong hand. They were welcomed into the restaurant where Roger pulled a small card from inside his jacket, handed it to the hostess and then they were immediately taken to a small table in the corner.
Roger's eyes brushed over Abigail rather quickly, not sure if she was serious about agreeing to the conversation her and his wife had earlier in the day. The quick glance did give him enough ammunition to make his fantasies about the after dinner entertainment increase with more erotic colors. He pulled out a chair for Joyce, glided her up to the table and kissed her neck before claiming his seat at her side.
"Where is Tucker?" Joyce signed to her sister. She angled her head to the side and waited for an explanation as to why her sister's date was not at the table with them.
Abigail blushed and placed her goblet of white wine down on the table then lifted her delicate fingers and signed back to her sister and her brother-in-law. "Tucker is a Doctor and was called in on an emergency."
"Oh," Joyce signed. "A doctor...impressive."
Roger shifted in his seat and tried not to look too happy about having the evening's meal include only him and the ladies, but it was apparent in his grin. Abigail noticed his unmasked happiness and laughed before rolling her eyes and sticking out her tongue.
Lifting his hands he quickly told his sister-in-law that she would now have to watch herself with her tongue. He had every intention of trying it out later. This brought a blush to Abigail's cheeks and a punch in the ribs to Roger from his wife's small fist. He jerked back and laughed at them both, raised his hands in mock confusion.
Their attendant came and both Roger and Joyce signed to Abigail what they wanted to eat and she in turn informed the restaurant employee. The young girl stared at the deaf couple. A look of both curiosity and pity crossed her face, but she smiled an artificial smile and left with their orders in tow.
Abigail rolled her eyes.
Joyce passed the tip of her right index finger and ran it from the index finger to the little finger of her left flat palm. "What?"
A puff of air escaped Abigail's lungs and her blonde bangs lifted slightly. "I do not like it when they do that... stare at you," she signed.
"I see," her sister replied. "We are used to it. I thought you would be by now too."
Abigail shook her head. "I still do not like it."
"Neither do we, but that is life," Roger signed back, joining the conversation.
"It sucks," Abigail signed.
Joyce giggled. "For some yes. For us it is beautiful."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
Roger wrapped an arm around Abigail and pulled her close before signing to his sister-in-law. "You hear everything around you and that is good. I am jealous sometimes... I want to hear my wife say my name. I want to hear the words come out of her mouth when we make love. . .I can't. But... I also know we are lucky. We go through life seeing the things you refuse to hear. The sad look of a child for example. They will tell you something, but we can see it with our eyes that their words do not match their feelings. You rely on their words to guide you... we rely on their faces."
Abigail watched her brother-in-law's hands fly quickly and for once she was lost in his words and not in the stares that were coming from the restaurants' occupants.
"You also speak of things you don't like to hear, or so you have in the past. Noises that happen when you made love or had sex with your husband. We do not hear these things... You have said they distract you." His lips rose in a smirk. "We are rarely distracted," he added with a wink and a thumbs up.
Joyce blushed and pinched his side. She then lifted her hands. "Abbey, remember when we were kids and you would pretend you could not hear?"
"Yes. I used a lot of cotton. It upset mom," Abigial signed turning her palm forward and nodding her right 'S' hand up and down.
"You could hear though couldn't you, even a little?" she asked with her slim digits.
"Yes," Abigail repeated her actions from earlier.
Roger watched the two women intently, unsure of where his wife was going with the discussion, but curious as to how it was going to end.
"Roger's hearing students are required to spend one week wearing ear plugs. Industrial strength. They wear them so they know what their partner experiences living with silence," Joyce said.
Roger leaned back against his chair, understanding that his wife was speaking of his American Sign Language class and what she was saying was true. The spouse or partner of the deaf individual or hearing impaired individual had to "be deaf" for as many hours they could possibly be: without harming themselves or others or placing their jobs in jeopardy. Most of his students were able to do a few days out of the week or a few hours everyday. It was a jolting experience for all of them. When they came back to class it was with a sense of awe that their loved one had survived the world around them for so long. They also came back with feelings of mixed emotions. . .some envy over never hearing the noises that pollute the day and some with pity and that was quickly dealt with in exercises Roger provided.
Joyce explained all these things to Abigail and then finally "pitched" her idea to her sister. "You are still wanting tonight to happen?" she asked.
Abigail glanced at Roger and then back to her sister; she shifted nervously but nodded yes.
"Then I want you to experience love making like you have never experienced it before," her sister signed.
"You mean with the ear plugs?" Abigail asked her hands forming the required motions.