Story of Ann

t h r e e

"Wait? Mom?" I asked Brandon.

"Jessica, this is Brandon, your father," Brandon looked at me and smiled.

"Did you know I was your daughter?" I asked Brandon.

"Yes, I knew," Brandon replied. I started to cry. I wanted to hug him and run at the same time. He slowly put him arms around me.

"I'm so sorry Jessica," I looked at him.

"I'm sorry I left, I'm sorry I never came back," a tear went down his cheek.

***

"Ann" my mother said walking towards me. I grabbed my fathers hand holding him close. My mother stopped and looked at him then at me then she looked at my hand.

"Brandon," she said.

"Hello, Grace," he replied. My mother looked back at me.

"Ann. How'd you get here?" she asked.

"I took her," Brandon admitted, "Wait? Ann?"

I nodded. I signed "she doesn't like Jessica," so my mother wouldn't understand. We signed back and forth as I told him the whole story about how she blocked him out of my whole life. Made me change my first and last name just to make her happy.

"Stop that thing, I don't understand," my mother yelled.

"You never learned sign language after you found out your daughter was deaf?" My father signed as he spoke so both me and my mother would understand. He also helped me by translating everything my mother was saying.

"No," she looked down.

"She was too busy trying to get everything you owned out of the house." I signed.

"Really?" he asked.

"Ugh. I don't understand sign language," she said.

"That's not my fault," my father replied.

"I know, tell me what she said,"

"No, you should have learned her language,"

"Well I..."

"So how have you been communicating with her?" my father asked.

"Um..."

"I read her lips, and never really answer her. I get yelled at if I don't respond, even if I don't hear it," I signed to him and spoke it. I wanted my mother to know how much she has hurt me.

My father looked at her.

"So after I leave for a business trip, you tell our daughter that I left because of her?"

"No,"

"Yes," my grandma jumped in.

"Wait business trip? You mean you didn't leave because of me?"

"Your mother kicked me out of her house Jessica..."

"Don't call her that! It's Ann," my mother yells.

"The only reason I could see you was if grandma brought your to the store."

"Wait the store, so you took her to the store often?" my mother asked Grandma.

"Yes, every week," my Grandma responded.

"I always loved those trips. It was the only time I got to leave the house other than for school,"

My father puts him hand on my shoulder. "You never let her go outside?"

"No, because I thought what if you try to steal her."

"I don't think we even deserve her, she is the greatest daughter in the world and we treat her like trash, Grace." my father starts. "we are terrible parents,"