Quiet vs. Loud

Silent Family

Riker and Rayne spent the rest of the afternoon just riding around.  Riker showed Rayne the mall, the movie theatre, the mini-golf and finally, the laser tag.  The last one was the one Rayne like the most.  Laser Tag was something she liked to do with her brothers, Jackson especially.  She couldn't wait to tell him about the game.  Maybe Riker and his family would like to play sometime.  But first, Rayne knew she had a few things she needed to tell Riker.  She wasn't sure how he would react, but she figured she would just tell him and see what happens.

"Hey Riker, do you mind if we stop driving for a little while?" Rayne asked.  "I need to talk to you about something."  "Sure," Riker replied.  "There's a park up here at the end of the block.  We can stop there.  Is everything OK?"

"Yeah, it's fine.  There's just some stuff I need to tell you" Rayne said.

When they got to the park, Riker drove to the very end of the parking lot and parked the car.  He and Rayne got out and Riker led Rayne to his favorite spot in the entire park.  It was a small, secluded picnic table under a low-hanging tree.  A few yards from the table, there was a small waterfall that flowed into the nearby creek.  It was quiet and peaceful, which was why Riker loved it so much.  He led Rayne to the table, and they both sat on the table and put their feet on the bench.

"OK, what did you want to tell me?" Riker asked.

Rayne took a deep breath and turned to look at Riker.  "Remember how I told you earlier about the work that Jackson and I do with Riley? Well, I didn't tell you how we got started."

"I just figured that you found out you had a deaf dog, so you did a lot of research about how to work with a deaf dog.  That's what I would do." Riker said.

Rayne laughed.  "Well, we did do a little research on life with a deaf dog, but most of what we learned showed us that it's not a lot different than living with a deaf person.  And we were already used to that."

"What do you mean?" Riker asked with a slightly confused look.

"My brother Jackson is deaf, and Whit doesn't speak.  So sign language is normal in our house.  In fact, Jayce learned to sign before he learned to speak." Rayne explained.

"I'm confused.  Why doesn't Whit speak?  Can he talk?" Riker asked.

"Yes, he can talk, but for some reason, he chooses not to.  Sometimes, we can get him to speak when he's in the house, but even that is rare.  But don't worry.  If you decide to stick around, you will soon learn that Jayce makes up for what Whit doesn't say." Rayne said with a smile.

"What do you mean, 'If I decide to stick around.'  Where do you think I'm going to go?" Riker asked with a slight frown.

"Well, most people don't stick around for long once they realize that two of my brothers can't or won't talk, the other one talks enough for 3 people, and I spend a lot of my time working with animals." Rayne said with a frown. "Trust me, my brothers' issues have run off several of my friend."

Riker smiled and wrapped his arm around Rayne's shoulders. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."