Fly With Me

On tour, we did a lot of sightseeing. And, even though Juliet had schoolwork to do, we saw sights with her as well. As someone with only four of the five senses, Juliet had exceptional vision. Since that was the case, sight seeing was fun for her, as she’d only ever been in New York and New Jersey. As sort of a surprise to her, we were going to a center for deaf and blind children. They were aware of our visit while Juliet was not. I hoped she would be okay with it – her being deaf wasn’t exactly something she tended to flaunt around.

Juliet and Joe sat next to each other in the black Escalade we were riding in. Kevin and I sat in the very back, and my brothers and I were keeping up a conversation. Juliet stared blankly out the window, occasionally replying to text messages she was receiving. I had been disappointed to learn but ignorant to realize that Juliet was completely deaf. That being said, no amount of hearing aids could help her. I came to realize that there was a difference between being deaf and being impaired to hearing. Neither was good, but at least there was hope with the latter. “She doesn’t know, does she?” Kevin asked, obviously referring to Juliet’s knowledge of the institution we were about to visit.

I shook my head. “Not unless Mom or Dad told her.”

Joe put his arm against the back of Juliet’s seat. “I hope she doesn’t feel offended.” It was hard to tell sometimes: She was in a mild depression about having no hearing, but, then again, she always sort of had been.

Juliet tapped Joe’s shoulder and signed something that I couldn’t see. He merely shrugged and she returned to looking outside. I looked at him with a curious expression, and he answered my question. “She wanted to know if we’re close.”

“Do you know who she’s texting?” I had no idea why I was so curious. But the thought of her liking some guy that I didn’t even know upset me. Although Maya knew him better than I did and she was a reliable source, I couldn’t help but feel protective.

Joe nonchalantly glanced at the phone in Juliet’s lap after it vibrated. “Ben? Who is Ben?”

“The guy she likes,” I said uneasily. Something about him stirred up unfamiliar feelings that I was not open to. “He’s deaf, too.”

“Jealous?” Kevin asked, noticing my dismay.

For some reason, my face felt hotter. “Of course not. You know, Miley has been flirting with me a lot lately.”

“Yeah,” Joe said like I was missing out on something. He proceeded to explain, “Because it’s no secret that she has the hots for you and everyone knows we’re touring with Juliet now. Miley is jealous of what you and Juliet have.”

I looked out the window as a way to avoid him. “Juliet and I don't have anything.”

“Exactly,” Joe said, facing forward again. “Just like Camilla and I had nothing.”
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I squeezed Juliet’s hand as we walked into the front lobby of the building. The company which we were visiting was called Helping Hands, and I thought that was fitting. The few people in the large lobby whispered around to each other as we waited to be assisted. Juliet let go of my hand and I looked at her. Is the way people always act around you?

I shrugged. Pretty much.

Juliet nodded thoughtfully, then linked her arm with mine. Her hand clutched my bicep and I suddenly became glad that I had accepted Joe’s offer to go and work out.

“You must be the Jonas’.” A woman said. She, as well as another woman, walked over to where we were standing. “I’m Kayla, and this is Dana.” I observed them both. Kayla was a perky, short blonde while Kayla was tall and brunette with a blank look on her face. Both looked to be in about their late-twenties, early-thirties.

“I’m Joe,” he said, shaking both of their hands.

“Kevin,” he said, doing the same.

“This is Juliet,” I said as she stuck her hand out to greet both women. “And I’m Nick.”

“Nice to meet all of you,” Kayla said. There was a chorus of repetition before she clapped her hands together. “So, let’s get started, shall we?”

We followed Kayla and Dana, who seemed silent. I wondered if she was like the other members here, or just shy. Either way, everyone seemed nice enough to leave us be. Coming to a stop at the end of a long hallway, Kayla turned to us. “These children are blind. They’ve all heard of you, but, needless to say, cannot see you.”

“That’s terrible,” Joe said. He quickly followed up with, “That they’re blind.”

Dana nodded, speaking for the first time. “Yes, it is.” It dawned on me that Dana was blind, which explained her vacant expression. I didn’t say anything, still unsure if my brothers had caught on yet.

We walked into a room, where children sat in chairs which had been filed down the center. Their heads followed the sound of our footsteps, eventually coming to a stop as we did. “Everyone, I’d like to introduce you to Nick, Kevin, and Joe Jonas, and their friend Juliet,” Kayla said.

Chatter broke out amongst the children.

Kayla chuckled, “Feel free to ask them any questions and talk with them – they’re here to see all of you.” The children must’ve known that it was okay to break the silence because noise flooded into the room. They got up, their parents which I hadn’t noticed helping them find their way around.

We each talked with a handful of the children, getting to know them personally. They were excited for us to be there, and didn’t seem to understand that we felt the same why. Famous people had feelings like the rest of the world.

Next, we went to a room with children who had the misfortune of being deaf. It was when Kayla started using ASL did Juliet realize what we were doing. I figured she wasn’t paying much attention to the people speaking before. I watched her talk to the children excitedly, a huge smile on her face as she told each one that she was deaf as well. I felt honored to be the one with the bright idea of visiting the center and making Juliet react this way.

After the children had filed out of the room and left us alone, Juliet walked over to me and hugged me tightly. You did not have to do that.

I shrugged and smirked, I know. I am just a good person like that.

She giggled and gave me a seemingly long kiss on the cheek. Thank you.

I gave her the sign for “I love you” and she did it back immediately.

Although we didn’t need to inform each other constantly, it was a good reassurance to have. Because I loved Juliet, and nothing could ever change that.