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Faith smiled. Adam scowled. I heard Angela make a funny noise and glanced at her. She had a napkin over her mouth, but she couldn't hide the shaking of her shoulders.
Caleb looked at his mother and tugged on her sleeve. His fingers moved nimbly when she looked at him. I felt Jax stiffen at my side and realized he'd just figured out that Caleb was hearing impaired.
Adam grabbed hold of one of Caleb's arms and stared hard at his son's face, whose big, round eyes looked back into his daddy's. "How many times have I told you not to do that? Use your voice when you're around normal people."
Mama gasped. Caleb tried to move as close to his mother as he could.
Normal people? I'd always suspected Adam was strict toward his son regarding his impairment, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine it went that far.
"I won't have you speak to Caleb that way in my house even if you are his father." Daddy's glare sent a chill down my spine. Bad vibes with Adam had been escalating, but this was the first time anyone had directly spoken back to him.
I laid my napkin next to my plate, prepared to say or do something to try to keep this dinner from becoming a fiasco. What that was, I wasn't sure, but the look of devastation on Caleb's face was more than I could handle. I didn't understand why Faith didn't say anything. I had no such issues. My mouth opened, only to be halted when I felt a warm squeeze on my thigh under the table.
Jax looked at me, and something about his expression made me back down. He squeezed my leg again, then leaned back in his chair casually. He turned his dinner knife over and over again in his hand before he put it down and looked at Adam. "Yo creo que siempre es bueno poder hablar otro idioma, no?"
Adam stared back blankly. He wasn't the only one.
"I think it's good to be able to speak a foreign language, don't you?" Mama translated quietly. I guess she'd retained more than a little of the Spanish she'd learned growing up as a missionary's daughter in South America.
Jax spoke to Faith. "Can you translate for me?"
Faith's eyes swam with unshed tears. "If you look directly at him, he can understand most of what you say. Speak normally. I'll help clarify if needed," she responded.
He nodded and leaned forward, smiling at Caleb who watched him with wide eyes. "Can you really read lips?"
Caleb nodded.
"That's amazing. Were you able to understand what I said to your dad a minute ago?"
Caleb shook his head, frowning.
"That's because I said it in Spanish, a language other than English." He pointed at Caleb. "You can speak a different language, too. You just use your fingers instead of your mouth. I can't do that. Most people can't. So that means you're special because you have a gift to help people who can only speak with sign language. I think that's pretty amazing."
"Amen," my mother breathed.
Caleb smiled shyly, but he was obviously grabbing onto Jax's words like a life preserver.
Jax continued. "Not to mention it must be cool to know what other people are saying across the room. I read an article once about a woman who was hired by the FBI as an agent to work with them because she could learn secrets by reading lips. Guess your mom and dad have to be careful around you, especially for things like birthday and Christmas surprises, huh?"
Caleb's head bobbed enthusiastically while a tear slid down his mother's cheek.
"Thank you," she whispered, kissing the top of her son's head.
Adam stood. "Yes, thank you all for your input on how to raise my own son. Now, if the rest of you will excuse me, I need to make a call." He threw his napkin on his chair and stalked out of the room with his cell already to his ear.
Jax glanced between my parents. "I'm sorry if I stepped over the line and ruined dinner."
"Don't apologize. It was better than what I was going to say." Daddy's voice boomed from the end of the table. "Faith—"
"No, Daddy. Don't. Not here. Please." Her voice wavered as she stared at her lap.
"Hey, Caleb," I interrupted, waving my hand to get his attention. "Why don't you and I go get dessert?" I deliberately signed to him, motivated by Jax's words. I wasn’t as good at it as Faith was, but everyone in our family had tried to learn the basics of sign language.
His eyes lit up, and he hopped up from his seat and ran around the table to me. He took my hand and pulled me to the kitchen. He must know his grandma made chocolate cake, his favorite.
"I'll help, too," Jax declared. He grabbed some plates from the table and followed us. As soon as we cleared the dining room, I heard Daddy's deep voice grumble and mama hushing him. Angie's voice tried to drown them both out.
At times like these, I was glad Caleb couldn’t hear the arguing.
