"Nona, where do we start?" Oliver asked, looking over at his maid-housekeeper. She laughed, crinkles forming in her eyes, "You start wherever you want, Ollie deer."
With a grin, Oliver stepped out of the car and immediately wished he had brought his jacket. He wrapped his arms around himself as his hair whipped around his face. Nona raised an eyebrow at this and opened her huge purse, bringing out a navy blue sweater. "Ollie Deer you get your ass over here." She spoke, Oliver reading her lips. He nodded and walked to Nona, who handed him his sweater. He pulled it on over hisn head, thanking Nona.
"Now, Oliver, go have fun. Yo deddy gave you twenty dollars, you use it well." Nona looked at Oliver, "If anybody tries to speak to ya, you answer them politely, so always be looking around to see if anybody's talkin to ya, ya hear?" Oliver nodded, running a hand through his hair, "I will, Nona."
Nona adjusted her headpeice and glasses, just in time to watch Oliver walking away, looking around for something to get. She smiled. "Ollie Deer you are just too sweet." She mumbled to herself, going to look at the mildly used Sunday dresses, "Just want to dunk you in my coffee."
Oliver tilted his head, looking down at a small red box. He moved to open it, only to be met with a slap to the hand. Surprised, Oliver looked up, seeing a woman with too much makeup on and dip dyed hair, yelling at him. He stayed still, reading her lips.
"You hear me boy?! Don't you touch that box, you don't need to know what's in it!" She yelled before stopping.
"Y-Yes ma'am." He spoke, nodding, before running to another table. Biting his lip, he slowed to a jog, and alltogether stopped as he looked at a lone table, with only a few things on it. Slowly, Oliver made his way to the table. A total of five trinkets, he had counted, were on the table. They weren't big; but they weren't small, either. He ran his eyes over them all.
To the very left of the table was a long wand, with a star at the end. He blinked, furrowing his eyebrows. Compared to everything else, this was a childs toy. He didn't pick it up, moving to look at the next item. It was a small box, that was opened to portray a ring, made of black marble, he assumed, and on the top was a blue diamond, cut in the shape of a square. He picked it up, narrowing his eyes. It wasn't real, none of it. Black spray paint. Plastic diamond. 'And people actually buy things like these fakers?' He thought to himself, looking at the third trinket. It was a shoebox. He opened it, laughing out when he saw what was in it. A pair of brand new Batman converses were placed in the box, a small layer of dust on them. He giggled, thinking of Batman's escapades and put the shoebox down, still snickering to himself. The fourth thing was a small keychain that had a picture of a shirtless woman on it. Wanting to look at that travesty anymore, he looked to the last instrument on the table, to the far right of it. It was a white radio, that was worn down, he could tell it had been used over the years. He tilted his head, picking it up. He turned it over and around, and only saw a name on the bottom of it.
'Emmaline Fletcher' Was written in cursive on a peice of tape. 'This,' he thought, 'this is what I want.' Upon seeing movement inf ront of him, he looked up.
"May I help you?" An old woman asked. He smiled;she looked like an older version of Nona, her hair was silvery-white, strands of it falling in her face. He nodded, holding up the radio for the woman to see. "Are you Emmaline Fletcher?"
"No, Mon Ami. But I know of her. She can't hear, she's deaf, so she gave the radio to me to sell in this yard sale here." The woman sighed, "She's a trip, young man."
Oliver read her lips as she spoke, before smiling. "I'd like to buy this radio, ma'am."
"You speak like Emmaline, boy. You deaf?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Then why you want this radio?"
"I w-" Oliver was interrupted by the woman looking like she'd just been hit by a train. The woman ran past him and wrapped her arms around Nona, who was a respectable distance behind Oliver. He just stared, watching the two laugh and converse. By the time they both got done speaking, Oliver was sitting on the ground, messing with the radio, as he couldn't feel any vibrations from the speaker when he turned it on. He finally tightened a small screw and felt vibrations begin to come from the speaker and smiled.
"Winona, I think yo boy got that radio a workin' again. Emmaline would be happy." The woman, whose name was Patience, mumbled, amazed as she watched Oliver's hand on the speaker.
"I believe he did, Pattie, I believe he did." Nona answered, smiling to herself. "That's Oliver."
"That's young Ollie?! He's grown so much! How'd he.. Ya know.." Patience mumbled, gesturing to her ears.
"His daddy came home one day when he was five, bumbling drunk. When Oliver ran up to him, in his footie pajamas, his daddy got angry at him, slammed both his hands, which were filled with glass over the boy's ears," Nona mumbled. "I ain't been talkin' to that monster of a man since that day."
"I didn't know that." Pattie answered, her hand over her mouth. Nona smiled. "He can read lips," she spoke, "And he knows his signin'. He's such a sweet boy, don't know about the horrors of the world yet. I plan to keep it that way."
Oliver stood up and began to wipe the grass off of his pants. He looked up at Nona, who was still talking with the woman. He silently walked up behind his 'momma' and waited until one looked at him. Finally, the woman to look at him was Pattie.
"Ma'am, how much do you want for this radio?" He held out the radio, a polite smile on his features.
"I'll take five dollars for it."
Grinning, Oliver took out a five dollar bill from his wallet, stuffing the twenty into it and placing the leather money-holder in his back pocket. He held out the five, grinning like a kid in a candy shop. Nona smiled, shaking her head. "You just like my Emmaline."
Pattie politely took the five from Oliver's hand, smiling. "The radio is yours, my boy. I'll tell Emma it's in good hands."
"Well," Nona spoke, taking Oliver's hand in hers, "I think it's high time we should get goin'. It was nice meetin' with you again and you tell old Emmaline i'mma be meetin' up with her real soon, ya hear?" Pattie laughed and Oliver looked down. He had always wanted to hear people laughing. He soon looked back up, and Nona was looking at him expectantly. "You ready?"
Nodding, Oliver and Nona walked back to the car, The radio safely being held in Oliver's left hand.
