Inevitable Silences
Pasta Party
Courtney:
I walk past mother and Aby, while they fix the doorbell. I walk straight into father in the kitchen; he is making my favourite Tuna Lasagne, tonnes of it. I smile and sign the words for “Amazing papa smells wonderful, but papa you’re making too much I can’t take two trays full to University.” He just shrugged.
As I walk down the one story hall to my room I hear noise from inside it, shit we’re being robbed in ‘broad daylight’ under the nose of my deaf parents! I have always feared situations such as this.
I gingerly open my door as my doorbell light flashes on and all my friends faces pop out of the dark, for 5 second blasts.
I scream in terror and then excitement when James my boyfriend of two years, grabs me from behind and giggles “Surprise, baby”. Then I laugh as my friend Amy turns my light on and I see everyone (Kate, Logan, Sandy, Harry, Kelly and Xian) from sixth form in my room, Gabby even came back for the weekend from her summer honours program.
I smile as I walk through to laugh at how my dad managed to not let it slip when I questioned the lasagne quantity, I sign “Good one, papa” and we all sit in the lounge and eat large amounts of lasagne and drink copious amounts of pop until we start to fall asleep from fullness. Eventually everyone else leaves and James and I retire to my room.
Abigail –
Ney seemed to love her surprise party and when she and James retired, mother and father pulled me aside and asked if I would like to move into Ney’s bigger room this year, I refused as I knew Ney would freak out if she did come back deaf and her room had been moved. I fell asleep and enjoyed the silence…. SUDDENLY the door to my room swung open and Ney ran in crying, I try to quieten her then realise something must be really wrong. I click on my light and then see James storming past my door and out towards the front, the door slams shut and for a second we both gasp then sigh about the fact that we indeed could keep this a private moment because of our parent’s shared affliction.
I walk past mother and Aby, while they fix the doorbell. I walk straight into father in the kitchen; he is making my favourite Tuna Lasagne, tonnes of it. I smile and sign the words for “Amazing papa smells wonderful, but papa you’re making too much I can’t take two trays full to University.” He just shrugged.
As I walk down the one story hall to my room I hear noise from inside it, shit we’re being robbed in ‘broad daylight’ under the nose of my deaf parents! I have always feared situations such as this.
I gingerly open my door as my doorbell light flashes on and all my friends faces pop out of the dark, for 5 second blasts.
I scream in terror and then excitement when James my boyfriend of two years, grabs me from behind and giggles “Surprise, baby”. Then I laugh as my friend Amy turns my light on and I see everyone (Kate, Logan, Sandy, Harry, Kelly and Xian) from sixth form in my room, Gabby even came back for the weekend from her summer honours program.
I smile as I walk through to laugh at how my dad managed to not let it slip when I questioned the lasagne quantity, I sign “Good one, papa” and we all sit in the lounge and eat large amounts of lasagne and drink copious amounts of pop until we start to fall asleep from fullness. Eventually everyone else leaves and James and I retire to my room.
Abigail –
Ney seemed to love her surprise party and when she and James retired, mother and father pulled me aside and asked if I would like to move into Ney’s bigger room this year, I refused as I knew Ney would freak out if she did come back deaf and her room had been moved. I fell asleep and enjoyed the silence…. SUDDENLY the door to my room swung open and Ney ran in crying, I try to quieten her then realise something must be really wrong. I click on my light and then see James storming past my door and out towards the front, the door slams shut and for a second we both gasp then sigh about the fact that we indeed could keep this a private moment because of our parent’s shared affliction.