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“I am a freak of nature, Callum. I have to tell you something,” I said.
“Whatever you say, I’ll still love you,” he promised. He entwined our fingers and held on tight.
“I’m kind of deaf,” I said and then looked down at our hands.
He sat up and lifted my chin, so we were eye to eye. I couldn’t speak, he had me captured with his stare. It was loving, adoring, and with a bit of humour.
“What do you mean by kind of?”
“I can’t hear speech, it’s just noise. I can’t work out what most people say, especially women, something to do with pitch and tone. Your voice is the first voice that I can understand, something about the tenor of your speech. I’ve been researching why I can hear you but not others.”
He held my hand to his heart and tilted his head to the side with his sexy grin.
“Do you know how special that makes me feel. We were meant to be together Adaline. You can only hear my voice. A lot makes sense now. Scottie spotted it straight away, but he never told me your secret, he said that I should always face you when I talk to you. I thought you might be losing your sight.”
“He’s a smart one for eighteen, he’s wise beyond his years,” I said.
“His mum was born deaf, he had a head start in working it out,” Callum said.
“Are you repulsed by me?”
“No,” he half yelled and then winced, grabbing his head. “No, why would you think that?”
“Because I can’t hold a conversation without staring at people’s lips. I can’t stand being in crowded places, and I can’t hear anyone on the phone. That’s why I needed to get another person to call for the ambulance. What if it was at night and there was no one about, what would I have done?”
“None of that happened, that is a bunch of what ifs. You need to give yourself a break. Is that what you were talking about with your mum. The complications at birth?”
“Yeah, I’ve had this problem since birth, although I didn’t work out what was going on until I was five or six when I went into the hospital. I got away with my parents finding out. They wouldn’t have been happy if they found out.”
“Why?”
“Probably a story for another time,” I said trying to buy some time.
“Tell me now,” he said, but we were interrupted.
“Callum, darling, are you ok?” The woman said from the other side of the bed. I didn’t hear her arrive but caught what she was saying as she was looking at me when she spoke.
My heart stopped for a split second, I knew who she was, I recognised her from her website photo. This was not the time or the place to meet the chairwoman of the charity. She was the pain in my backside and apparently knew Callum well. She bent down and kissed his cheek and felt his forehead.
The woman assessing me must have been in her late fifties. Her makeup perfectly applied. I envied her ability to look unruffled in a situation like this. She was Callum's mother. I thought back to all the harsh words I said about her over the last few months, and Callum never said a word. He quietly chuckled each time I ranted about the changes this woman emailed me about daily.
My mortification increased when Callum introduced me.
“Mum, this is Adaline Starling, I believe you both know each other well through the charity.”
He had the nerve to smirk. He stared at me for a few seconds and suppressed a laugh and ignored my evil glare.
“Adaline, this is my mother and chairwoman of the charity, Darlene.”
If he wasn't in the hospital with a head injury, I might well have done him some serious harm.
She rounded the bed in three strides and gathered me into a tight hug. She spoke, but I didn't hear, one ear was pressed to her chest, and she'd placed her hand on the side of my face. There was no way I was escaping the vice like grip to understand what she was saying. I could see Callum who was chuckling while pressing his lips together. His humour didn't last long when he winced. I poked my tongue out at him.
"You really are a wonder organising the ball. I don't know how you keep your sanity with all the changes. We have to accommodate them, or they won't donate, but it's so stressful keeping them happy. You never once complain. I should have attempted to meet you sooner."
She'd grasped me by the shoulders, gently shaking to emphasise some of her words. I stood speechless, ashamed that I'd been so mean to her. Wrapping an arm around my waist, she turned us to face Callum. His grin dropped as his eyes drifted back and forth from his mum to me. The grimace he showed me made me laugh out loud.
Darlene went back to the other side of the bed. I was grateful that I had a better chance to understand her. I'd confessed twice today about my hearing. I wasn't ready for a third time.
