Author's note: This is the first part of a very long story. It is a work of fiction and if you are looking for something quick, this is not it.
I hope it will be enjoyed. Comments and votes will be appreciated.
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Katelyn read the first two lines of the second paragraph on page twenty of the manuscript for the third time and still it made no sense. What was the author thinking, Katelyn asked herself. She quickly pushed the question aside. Her job was not to worry about 'why,' it was to read the manuscript and determine if it would be worth publishing.
The green light above her office door flashed on and off twice. Katelyn called "Yes." Her assistant Megan entered. Thanks to a scuba diving accident some years ago, Katelyn was completely deaf.
Megan Reece was five foot five and twenty six years old. Today she was wearing a lilac shirt with small ruffles around the collar and sleeves. The shirt fit perfectly, accentuating Megan's well endowed chest, and was tucked into the short black skirt that fell just above Megan's knees. Her firm legs led to feet that featured two inch black heels today.
Megan's hair was an unusual golden blond color that you just could not find in a bottle or at your local salon. She kept it long, past her shoulders, and styled to frame and highlight her face.
That face had eyes of blue, so blue that you thought they sparkled like the stars in the sky. Her nose was extremely straight and was framed by high cheek bones and a lovely jaw line. Perfectly straight white teeth were covered by thin but rather sexy lips that she invariably painted pink. Those lips were both a blessing and a curse to Katelyn.
On the one hand, they were cute and the smile they produced made everyone within view smile too. On the other hand, those lovely lips were murder to try to read. Katelyn pulled herself together when she realized she was staring at the younger woman. Megan wasn't bothered by it at all. It was something that always surprised Katelyn.
Megan smiled and began to sign "I'm glad you approve boss," referring to Katelyn's staring. The girl smiled and continued.
"Your eleven a.m. appointment has just canceled with an emergency. I've rescheduled for next week. Would you like to take the time off and have a long lunch, leaving the afternoon appointments as is, or should I move the appointments up so you can have a late lunch?"
Katelyn smiled at Megan and remembered why she was such a good assistant. She always came in ready with suggestions instead of waiting for Katelyn to always come up with all the ideas.
"I'll take lunch early Meg and leave the appointments as is," Katelyn said as opposed to signing it. Megan was one of the few people outside of Kate's family who she actually used her voice with.
Kate had learned the hard way that if you were deaf but your voice seemed pretty normal to others, people quickly forgot and turned their heads when they spoke, making it impossible to read their lips. So it was just more practical to not speak at all and use an interpreter to communicate.
Megan nodded and left without another word. As the door closed, Kate turned in her swivel chair and looked out the large office windows. She stared at the other buildings, the skyline and the mountains beyond. As she did, her thoughts drifted to what her life had become.
Katelyn Amelia Price was born to James and Sabrina Price. She was the second of three children and the only girl. Hers was a close family because neither of her parents had any other family.
Puberty, when it came, blessed Kate with a frame that was five foot nine inches, long legs, full hips, a slim waist and modest breasts. Her face was sculpted with high cheek bones that movie stars would kill for. Her lips were full and oh so kissable, her nose small and delicate looking.
And you could drown in her large, dark eyes. Her hair was raven colored; Kate always liked keeping it boy short but styled. If she had to be labeled then she would be called a 'soft butch.'
Her body was toned and lightly muscled because of a demanding workout routine she had started just after she lost her hearing and still continued to this day.
Kate had fallen in love with scuba diving. It became her greatest passion and she became an instructor at eighteen while attending college.
During her second year, just after her twentieth birthday, Kate had a horrible accident and became permanently deaf in both ears.
A surgical solution that might give her some hearing was possible, but the odds of success were not positive. Kate had decided that it was not worth the risk of going under the knife for what seemed to be a questionable outcome. It had taken her a lot of time to adjust, but she had come to terms with her new way of life.
James and Sabrina had always remarked at how much they were looking forward to welcoming two daughter-in-laws and one son-in-law into the family. Someone somewhere up high must have had a sense of humor.
Kate's parents would get their wish but in a different way. Kate at fifteen knew she was gay because when all the girls were thinking about the boys, Kate was thinking about the other girls. To top that off, her younger brother was also gay. So the son-in-laws and daughter-in-law dream wasn't dead, just different.
Being as close to their kids as they were, Kate's parents weren't upset or disapproving of their children's preferences. It was a shock, but they dealt with it the only way they could ― by accepting it. That had been a blessing.
But now, as Kate stared out the windows at the endless azure sky, she felt that maybe there wouldn't be any more in-laws in her parents' future.
Her older brother, Sebastian Eric, was already married with two kids and her younger brother, Logan Richard, had already found his significant other.
Only I, Kate thought, am still alone. And, pushing thirty, there didn't seem to be any prospects in sight.
Her mind wandered towards Megan, her lovely assistant. She had met her four years ago. Kate had just joined her long time friend, Steven Wroth, in starting the small editorial company, and she was interviewing assistants.
Most of the hopeful applicants were qualified but put off at the fact that in addition to their office skills, they would need to learn sign language to be able to competently work with Kate.
Then Megan arrived. She was fresh out of secretary school, had very little experience in office work, but was willing to take the time to learn the proper way to communicate with Kate.
With no one else lining up for the position, Kate had agreed on a trial basis. The first few weeks were tedious at best. Megan began taking night and weekend classes in order to quickly learn the new language. Communication was slow, with Kate using her voice more than she liked and Megan using written notes.
It was frustrating at times. Megan would sometimes forget and start talking while moving around, which caused Kate to lose sight of Megan's already hard to read lips, thus losing half or more of the conversation.
But after about a month, things improved. Megan's signing steadily improved and working with her became easier. But just as the frustration ended, other problems came up.
