Love for a Deaf Rebel by Derrick King (ereader with dictionary txt) 📕

“Yes, but not as smart as you. Tell me about the accident. How old were you when your father died?”

“14. Father was killed with all family except me because I was in school. Mother was driving the car. Father was driving another car with all family except me. The car of father passed mother. Then cars hit and went from the road.” Pearl mimed two cars tumbling. “Everyone throw out of the car but only my father died. He was 35. I was only family to go to a funeral because all other family are in hospital.”

“That’s horrible! Why did the cars crash?”

“Exactly! Why? Newspaper and police question my mother for cause. Police call grandparents and neighbors and investigate my mother. They say accident. I think not accident.”

“You believe your mother wanted to kill your father, so she caused an accident that almost killed her whole family?”

“I will research to find the truth. I love my father even he refused to learn signs. He permitted me to drive a car. I sit in his lap and turn the steering. Many griefs. Years to trust mother again.”

She began to cry, and she gulped down her wine.

“I was 17 when I was raped the first time. I was home from school. My sisters invite me to the hearing school dance. Mom said no, but I demanded. Then she say yes if my sister watch me. My sister and I had good time, only dance. Clean. Three men watched me. I went outside to parking lot, then they took me away. I screamed loud but they covered me. They took me in a car to a road. Two men raped me. One man watched. Then they went away and left me on the road. Later a car takes me to hospital.”

I was astonished when Pearl unzipped her jeans and pulled her panties down to her pubic hair. I saw a vertical surgical scar on flawless skin. One end started a finger’s-width above her pubic hair and the other end, she pointed, went all the way down. She zipped up her jeans.

“Surgery for my womb. The hospital thought I have brain damage because I am mute. Later an interpreter comes and I tell her about my rape. Police arrested men at party. They think they are safe to rape and go back to party because I can’t talk to police. Stupid!”

“You need a ‘Medic-Alert’ bracelet or card so doctors know you are deaf. If you are in an accident you might get the wrong treatment.”

“I refuse to wear deaf bracelet or card. There was a big trial. The man who watched was witness and confessed. Two rapists go to jail for three years. They should hang! They are out now. That is why I have unlisted phone and etc.”

“You wrote you were raped ‘the first time.’ How many rapes?”

“The second time was at a party. I did not resist. No point to shout at deaf party. I did not call police to avoid court and threats.”

“You can survive anything. Will you come for dinner next week?”

Pearl nodded with delight. “I will bring dessert.”

I borrowed The Joy of Signing from the library. I fingerspelled “The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog” again and again. In a year, I would work through the book and learn most of its 1,500 signs. Learning American Sign Language for Pearl was one of the most satisfying things I ever did.

Pearl and I saw each other for lunch nearly every day. Our second date was a week after our first date, at my place. I prepared dinner in advance so my hands would be free for conversation.

My doorbell buzzed, but when I pressed the intercom button, I heard nothing but street noise, then a mumble. I pushed the door button and rushed to the lobby. Pearl followed me into my one-bedroom flat. I pointed to a bottle of tequila on the counter.

“Margarita?” I said, wondering if she could lipread me in context. She didn’t understand me, so I pointed to a bottle of margarita mix. Pearl licked her lips.

While I mixed the drinks, she surveyed my flat. My stereo dial glowed, so she put her hand on the stereo and then on a speaker. She scanned my books and records on shelves that covered the wall. She pointed at How to Make It on the Land.

I handed her the cocktail and mimed cheers. Pearl tasted the margarita, smacked her lips, and sat down.

“What do you make on the land?”

“‘Make it’ means to support yourself from your own business.”

Pearl fingerspelled, “C-a-n y-o-u f-i-n-g-e-r-s-p-e-l-l?”

“P-e-a-r-l,” I fingerspelled. My telephone rang. I ignored it and could see that Pearl hadn’t heard it. “You said something on the intercom. Did you hear me with your hearing aid?”

Pearl pulled back her hair to show me she wore no hearing aid. She mimed her face pressed against the panel, struggling to feel the vibration of a voice in the loudspeaker.

“I am sorry. I have no experience with deafness.”

“Most of hearing men just want to fuck deaf women. They think deaf women are always opening their legs. That’s not true. Many hearing men were surprised how smart I am. Many times I hurt them. I believe laws should change to make hearing men to be death by hanging or electric chair or whatsever. If one more hearing man do it to me again, I would kill him once! I want to kill them because I see how many hearing men do that to deaf women. 80% of deaf women get raped. Mother worry about I go with hearies. She prefer me to stay in deaf group. I told her that deaf group bore me and where I can go and find happiness and etc. One thing I know she already told police about me. I am still going anywhere I want!”

I wondered why her mother and the police had discussed Pearl, but I didn’t think to ask.

“You should carry ‘mace.’ Police use it.”

“No, the man can hold my hands. Mother’s friend RCMP taught me this.” Pearl mimed face-scratching and eye-poking.

“Would you like to go dancing on Saturday at Granville Island Hotel?”

“I do go dancing. Most deafies like to dance. Jodi and I used to go dancing but now she has a boyfriend.”

I borrowed a new company car for our third date. Her lobby door clicked open seconds after I pushed the intercom button, and Pearl walked out in a high-necked, lilac dress. We greeted silently and walked to the car, with no other communication, until we reached the Pelican Bay restaurant in the Granville Island Hotel, one of the most expensive venues in town.

Pearl pushed the centerpiece aside for a clear view of my hands. Her clothes weren’t beautiful, but Pearl was stunning. I took out a notepad.

“The car is from the bank. I am an engineer but I work for a bank because I believed hippies about lifestyle being important.”

Pearl pointed to tiger prawns on the menu, and I ordered them for both of us.

“I did not have any date since a long time.”

“Later there will be music so we can dance.”

“The music must be loud. Every summer we have the deaf national reunion. Last year was in Toronto. At the party many deafies dancing hard to enjoy the beats. The hotel complained, then some deafies messed up their rooms. The hotel said no more deaf! Next year we will stay for another hotel, that’s our revenge.”

Pearl taught me the sign for revenge: the thumbs and forefingers looked like birds pecking at each other.

“You can hear loud noises with a hearing aid, so are you hard-of-hearing or deaf?”

“I do not understand any words with hearing aid so I prefer deaf. HH like Jodi are not deafies and not hearies. Deafies have two communities. Deaf—’D’ and deaf—’d’. Difference is culture. Born deaf and not oral—Deaf culture. Deaf later so oral, or rich parents so oral—not Deaf culture. Some Deafies do not welcome HH. Some deafies have problem to have hearing friends. Some hate hearies. Some deaf men hate when hearing man takes deafie wife because fewer deafie woman left for them. Most of hearing woman don’t want a deaf man—few jobs for support. But deafie woman is good mother. I want to marry a man who cares me then work together to find home business plus salary. Plus 1 or 2 kids. I feel worth to have them because when I get old, they can visit me, so on. I don’t care if I have deaf or hearing. Some deafies prefer deaf children, others want hearing children to be interpreter.”

“Do deafies like hearing people to learn ASL?”

“Yes if the hearing has deaf relatives. Some hearies want to learn ASL, then teach religion to convert deafies or want to feel important to help deafies. I really hate!”

“Do you have a religion?”

“If there is God there is no deafness, no father death, no rape. Get it? If there is God why does he let my sisters blame me? One time my sister break the vase and blame me. Mother did not believe them but I said to my mother that yes I did that accident. I don’t care because I am going to deaf school.”

On Monday, three months after meeting Pearl, I registered for a course in American Sign Language. I was hooked.

Shall We Be Magnificent Couple?

I telephoned Pearl for the first time. “Message Relay Centre,” answered the operator. “What is the number you wish to call, and whom do you wish to reach?”

“555-1212 for Pearl.”

“Please wait.” I heard a keyboard tapping.

“Pearl is on the line. Go ahead.”

“Hello, Derrick here. Are you free on Friday evening to visit me?”

“Don’t forget to say ‘go ahead,’” said the operator.

“Go ahead.” I felt like I was operating a ham radio station.

“I am free. Go ahead,” the operator relayed from Pearl.

“Come at eight o’clock … see you then. Go ahead. … I’m finished talking. What do I say now?”

“Don’t talk to me. Talk to the other person,” said the operator.

“Goodbye.”

“Goodbye,” the operator relayed from Pearl.

I didn’t know it then, but I was one of the first people to use the MRC; the Western Institute for the Deaf and the BC Telephone Company had just launched it.

Pearl arrived on time. She walked around the apartment, looking at my books and collections. I was sitting at my kitchen table, analyzing numbers on columnar paper with a calculator and writing a report longhand; on Monday, my secretary would transcribe everything. I put my work aside and poured drinks. Pearl asked to see my photos, so I brought my albums from the bedroom and sat beside her as she scrutinized them.

“Why so many blank spaces?”

“When Eugénie left I divided our photos. I thought she