Page 284 of Champagne Nights

“We got into a fight last night, and she left. I can’t seem to find her in New York, and I don’t want to hop on a plane if she’s not there. I’m really worried.”

“Did you text her?”

“Yeah, and she blocked me.”

“Oh boy.” He sighed. “Your mother and I are just finishing up our golf game at the country club. We’ll head over there soon.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Ellie

I had placed an order for some groceries since I didn’t feel like going out. When the light in the kitchen flashed and signaled someone had rung the doorbell, I assumed it was my grocery order. But I was wrong when I opened the door and saw Carlyle standing there.

“Hello, Ellie.” He smiled as he signed.

“Carlyle. I forgot you were in California. I’m guessing Henry sent you here?”

“You are correct. May I come in?”

“Yes, of course. Where’s Lillian?”

“She was going to come, but she has a bad migraine. We were at the country club playing golf when it came on. Henry didn’t give me any details about what happened between the two of you, so how about you fill me in? It must be pretty serious for you to hop on a plane across the country to get away from him.”

“I really don’t want to talk about it. Can I get you something to drink? I just made some fresh lemonade.”

“That sounds good.” He smiled. “But I didn’t drive all the way out here for you not to tell me what happened,” he signed.

I poured him a glass of lemonade and handed it to him. The light in the kitchen flashed again.

“That’s my grocery order. I’ll be right back.”

“You stay here,” he signed. “I’ll bring them in.”

He set the few bags on the counter and went out onto the patio. As soon as I finished putting the groceries away, I poured myself some lemonade and joined him outside.

“Henry wants me to get a cochlear implant,” I said as I sat down in the lounge chair next to him.

“Interesting. And I suppose you don’t want one?”

“I explained to him that I had one when I was seven, and it malfunctioned, so they had to remove it. I never wanted one again after that.”

“Why? Because you’re more comfortable living in a world of silence?” he signed. “I’ll admit, it’s less scary that way. You can’t hear thunderstorms, people yelling and screaming, ambulances, cop cars, firetrucks, or all the noises of the city. I guess it would be pretty peaceful to live like that. Being deaf is your safety net from all the chaos in the world.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that,” I said.

“Then what’s your reason for not wanting the implant besides the bad experience you had twenty some years ago? Does being deaf define the person you are? Because if it does, then okay.”

“No. Of course not.”

“So then what’s the big deal if medical technology can help you hear?”

“Like I told Henry, I would be in between worlds. The deaf world and the hearing world.”

“Sweetheart, you’ll always be deaf, even with the implant. That won’t change that fact, but it will give you access to sounds that you, right now, can’t hear at all. You’ll have the best of both worlds because you can take the damn thing off whenever youwant. If you don’t want to hear something, bam. If you do, put it back on. Do you know what I would give to be able to turn off my hearing sometimes? Especially when I have to sit and listen to Lillian. That’s like a superpower.”

I let out a laugh.

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