Deaf + Blind

The Date

I start to wonder about the date, he wouldn’t really take me to a concert that I can’t hear right? What type of concert is it gonna be, is this and official date? I walk away from the closet and plop on my bed, “UGH!!!”  My phone buzzes and I roll over to pick it up. I start smiling uncontrollably, it’s Eli again:

Eli: Meet me at the county park in 10 mins!

Me: Ok i’ll be there in a sec!

I drop my phone and run to the closet, what the heck am I supposed to wear! I pull out a cute black mini skirt and and a white blouse. Nope too fancy. I shuffle through my closet some more and pull out a knee length floral dress. Nope. I give up and scream for my mom “MOM I NEED HELP NOW!” She walks into my room with tomato sauce smeared on her shirt, and a spoon in her hand. She signs quickly “What?” I hand her my phone and a smile lights up her face as she reads. “Destiny! That’s great!”  she signs, I shake my head “What am I supposed to wear!?”  My mom rustles through my closet and pulls out blue and grey striped top and black jeans. She actually picked out something decent! I smile and hug her “Thanks mom! Now leave so I can change!” I giggle and push her out of my room.

I scan the park carefully, it was a surprisingly busy night! I spot him sitting on a park bench with earbuds in, his foot tapping to the music. He looks up and pulls his earbuds out, “Hey! he signs. How the freak did he learn sign language! He learned sign language just for me! “How did you learn that! It’s impossible to learn sign language if your blind!”  He stands up from the bench and smiles down at me, “Nope, it’s not impossible if you have an amazing mother! She took sign language courses in college and we spent the afternoon learning. I only learned like five words!”

I couldn’t understand everything he said, but I was able to figure out most of it. He really did learn sign language just for me! Does that mean something? “Where’s the concert gonna be?” He smiles and my heart beat speeds up, that smile could light up all of new york for a year! “We’re not going to a concert” a mysterious grin crosses over his face, “Oh god! Where the heck are we going!” He reaches for my hand and pulls me towards the park exit, he must come here a lot. “You’ll see!”

His hand is warm and strong, mine are probably sweaty and gross. He stops pulling me and lets go of my hand as we continue to walk down the street, “Can you atleast give me a hint?” He turns towards me so I can read his lips, “ You probably go here a lot.” I think about it in my mind, “The mall?” He shakes his head and grins. “Starbucks?” He shakes head again, “Not even close!” This is killing me, what other places do I go to a lot! “Umm the library? The art gallery?” He laughs and looks at me with his stunning blue eye’s, “Your way off!” I start laughing and he joins in, he grabs my hand again and my heart threatens to fly out of my chest.

“Ugh! Just tell me!” He shakes his head for the millionth time, “I’m not gonna tell you!” I sigh and give up “Fine!”, we turn the corner and come to the entrance of wal-mart. “Were going to walmart!?” He laughs and pulls me towards the walmart entrance, he’s always so sure about where he’s going. If I were blind I would probably be stumbling around like an idiot “How do you know your way to walmart?” He shrugs his shoulders, “I don’t know, i’ve been walking here since I was two.” Hmm, interesting. “Aren't you scared of getting lost?” He looks down at me and smiles , “As long as I have you with me, I don’t have to worry about anything!” I smile and blush, good thing he can’t see me. I probably look like an idiot! The automatic doors open and he motions me to sit on the bench, “Wait here!” Oh god, I have a bad feeling about this!

He comes back with a long list, “What the heck is that!” He smirks, obviously trying to hold back his laughter. “Oh you’ll see! To the women's clothing isle!” What is he doing! We walk to the women's clothing aisle and stand in front of the underwear wall, how does he know his way to the underwear section! He picks a lacey pink underwear set and pulls one over his head. Then he selects a pink and black  bra and puts it on over his white tshirt. “How do I look?” I burst out laughing, “You look sexy!” He smiles and strikes some poses, “Don’t worry, you can have the bra when i’m done with it!”

I laugh again, this is the craziest date i’ve ever been on! He walks up to one of the women and I try my best to read their lips, “Hello Miss! Would you be so kind as to direct me to the Twinkies?” The woman's mouth drops open, “Uhhh. I-I-I uhh, did you check the snack aisle?” She looks at me and whispers, “What’s wrong with him?” I finally lose it and start laughing like crazy. Two more woman walk into the aisle and Eli runs up to them, “It’s been so long since i’ve seen you! Is that little Jimmy, he’s so grown up!” The little boy hides behind his mother and giggles, “Uhhh, do I know you?” Eli nods his head vigorously, “Guurrrrrlll! I went to highschool with you!” The woman look behind Eli and shoot me questioning glances. I just cover my mouth to stop from laughing, this is the most fun i’ve had in forever!

 The woman leave and hurry away from the crazy scene. An employee walks in and notices us, “Do you need any help?” Eli scrunches up his face and dramatically falls to the ground, “Just leave me alone! What do you want with me!” I double over and laugh so hard that tears start to sting my eye’s. The woman looks at us with concerned faces and scurries away like a terrified mouse. Eli hops up and pulls of the underwear. “That was fun!” He pulls me toward a rack of mannequins and urges me onto the mannequin stand. “Were gonna pretend to be mannequins!” I smile and hop up. We pose as mannequins and run around walmart till we get kicked out.

We walk back to my house smiling and laughing, “this was amazing!” He smiles and nods as we a turn the corner, “Correction, you're amazing! Most girls would freak if I acted like that in walmart!” I giggle, i’m definetly not like most girls! “Well I think it was amazingly awesome!” We walk up my driveway and stop at the steps, “Thanks for coming with me Destiny. I’ve never really had a lot of friends, so it means alot!” He smiles and hugs me, I close my eyes and try not to faint. That was freaking amazing! I smile “No problem!Are you gonna be alright walking home on your own?” He brushed his hair out of his eye’s and looks at me, “Yep! I’ve done it a million time.” I wave goodbye and walk into my house. As soon as the door closes I scream and smile from ear to ear, this is the best night of my freaking life!