Jerome sat comfortably on the worn leather couch in the living room, the soft glow of the laptop screen illuminating his focused expression as he browsed for new clothes. He was scrolling through various online stores, contemplating styles that would suit him best, when he caught sight of Elis gracefully descending the staircase from her room. A genuine smile spread across his face, and he raised a hand in a friendly wave.
Elis returned the gesture with a warm smile, her eyes lighting up as she approached him. She stood close, her hands tucked casually behind her back, but she didn't take a seat.
Jerome straightened up, "Come sit down, darling. No need to stand there all by yourself," he encouraged, patting the space beside him on the couch.
Elis's smile widened, and she willingly slid into the spot next to him, positioning herself so she could easily meet his gaze. And she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she turned to look at him.
Jerome leaned back, his mind racing with thoughts on how to kick off their conversation. He wanted to bridge the silence with something engaging, something that would draw her in, "So... Can I ask you something?"
She nodded,
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I assume you read lips as a way to help you 'hear' me, is that right?"
She nodded
He nodded. "Right, okay, and... If you're reading my lips, does that mean that I should also be trying to make it easier on you? As in... Talking slow and making sure you can see my mouth?"
She giggled and shook her head, she glanced around a moment and spotted one of the small whiteboards for studying she used it to write her answers. 'No, no talk as you usually would. I'm used to it. And doing mouth movements purposely slower can make them look like other words,'
"Oh! Yeah, that makes sense. I never thought of that before" He chuckled, shaking his head.
She wrote another note, 'its alright, so long as I can see your mouth it should be okay,'
He read her note, finding it so endearing how she communicated with him. Even the way she was writing was so cute. He just wanted to scoop her up in his arms and cuddle her, but he quickly shook that thought off. "Right. So as long as you can see my mouth, you can understand me. Got it." He realised he was probably staring at her for too long, so he decided to try and continue the conversation "So... Elis..." he trailed off, trying to find a casual way to ask a particular question. "If you don't mind me asking..... Can you not hear anything at all? Or is it just... Not very much? "
'Nothing. Just slightly ring and my own heartbeat mostly. But air changes kinda feel like sound.' she wrote in her note,
He frowned a little as he started to understand just how isolated she was. Sure she could feel the world around her, in a way, but not being able to hear anything at all sounded so difficult. "Really? Not... Not a single thing?"
She shook her head,
"Huh... That's just, so weird to me. I can't even imagine what that's like" He realised that sounded extremely rude, as if he were insulting her. He backtracked quickly. "I mean, not weird in a... In a bad way! Just weird as in it's so different to my experiences."
She nodded sheepishly,
"No, no, no, I didn't mean it like that, I promise! I just..." he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, trying to find a way to fix this,"I just meant it's different, that's all... You're not weird"
She smiled softly, 'I could try and teach you to sign if you like?'
He raised his eyebrows, surprised she was offering to teach him. From the little he knew of sign language, it seemed like it be really hard to learn. But there was no way he was going to refuse her. Especially as it meant he'd get to spend more time with her. "Really? You'd do that?"
She nodded excitedly,
"Okay then. I know next to nothing about sign language so... You'll have to teach me from scratch"
She nodded and did her best to be slow and explain with her board. Over the course of the next two hours, Elis taught Jerome some basics, Yes, no, his name, her name, hello, goodbye, some snack words and of course a swear or two. The basics of any language.
Jerome was completely invested in her lessons. She was extremely patient, and he was surprised with himself when he was able to pick up how to sign his name after a few times. He really was enjoying this, it was so much fun. And the swear words had him laughing for a good few minutes. "You're a really good teacher, darling,"
She let out a soft giggle, as she signed 'thank you,'
He responded with a broad smile, attempting to sign 'you're welcome' in return, but his fingers fumbled a bit, leading to a clumsy but endearing gesture.
The awkwardness of his signing made her laugh even harder, a sound filled with genuine amusement.
After a brief pause, he concentrated, his brow furrowing as he slowly formed his next sign 'You want... TV... with... me?'
She nodded enthusiastically, a joyful smile lighting up her face as she replied, 'Yes, please. With subtitles.'
He chuckled at her response, the sound of his laughter blending with hers, and nodded in agreement before he grabbed the remote to set up the TV for them.
