Page 88 of Carson

“I am so sorry, Luna. That will never happen again. I promise.”

“Well, I ran out on you once, so we’re even,” she says while wrapping tinfoil over the glass dish she just placed the sausage in.

The way she smiles brings me comfort I’ve never felt with another woman. Like she sees all of me, even the parts I hide from my family. The insecurities. The shame. She knows it’s all there and yet she chose me.

“Just so you know, this picnic basket is Cole’s. I don’t own anything as …”

She looks down at the basket and smiles. “Aw, that’s sweet. Cole likes picnics?”

“Well, I do too, but …” Dammit why didn’t I say this fucking thing was mine.

The melodic laugh that leaves her mouth halts my thoughts.

“You’re teasing me,” I accuse.

“Maybe.” She takes my free hand and walks closer to me.

I’d enjoy it a whole lot more if the thought of seeing my mother didn’t make me want to jump out of my skin.

“I just wish I could do something for her. Besides breakfast. Like, you know, I wish I could somehow help with this whole hearing thing.”

“You can,” she says as we continue down the path.

“How?”

“Well, first of all, no more coming up behind her and speaking. She might not hear you there and you don’t want to startle her.”

I hadn’t thought about that.

“And when you speak to her, look directly at her and speak clearly. Like, don’t exaggerate it. Just speak normally. It will help her understand you as her hearing decreases. It will also help her learn to read your lips.”

“How do you know all of this?”

She smiles. “My mom was born deaf.”

“You never told me that.”

“You didn’t tell me that your mother wasn’t,” she says.

“Oof, point taken.”

It makes her giggle. “You didn’t offend me, Carson. My mom’s deafness was just a normal part of life. I don’t think about it much, if at all.”

Her statement eases some of my worry, because if she adapted to a mother who was deaf, maybe my siblings and I can too.

“Wait. Did you ask them for a ride home or did they offer?” I ask.

“What difference does it make?”

“You asked for their help but were really offering yours.”

Her face lights and she starts waving wildly. I look up and find my mother, waving with one hand and holding her big hat on her head with the other.

She’s working in her flower garden. That’s a good sign.

The two women embrace and I swear to god, I never could have imagined how fucking happy that makes me.

“I hope you haven’t eaten. Well, I do, because I wouldn’t want you to be hungry, but if you haven’t, we brought breakfast,” Luna says.