CHAPTER 33
"What do you mean she's deaf?" Leighanne was staring at Brian
as if he were speaking to her in tongues. "I've talked to her and
she's understood me! She doesn't talk deaf!"
Brian shook his head in exasperation as he continued to throw
clothes in a duffel bag. Leigh's overt animosity towards Connie
was wearing on his nerves. He didn't understand it. Kevin seemed
more relaxed than he had been in months and it was obvious that
the reason behind his new outlook could be found under a pile
of red curls.
"Please tell me what that means.." Brian was trying to be patient.
"How does a person 'talk deaf'?"
"You know, Brian…" Leighanne's tone was superior and haughty.
"They talk like they have a speech impediment or something - like
their tongue is too big for their mouth. Kinda like they're….
well… retarded, or something…"
Brian zipped the bag and paused to collect his thoughts. He
and Leighanne were going back to Orlando for the weekend and maybe
that would be a good thing. Her obsession with Connie was threatening
to spill over into the dynamic of the group. They had been doing
good work and would soon be embarking on a very stressful series
of promotions. Supporting each other was vital to their professional
success as well as their mental health. Once again, he tried to
be understanding about Leigh's callous remark.
"Connie wasn't born deaf, Leigh. She was hurt in a car accident
when she was seventeen. She know how to talk and she understands
people because she reads lips."
"She doesn't do all of that 'hand twirling' stuff?"
"Are you talking about signing?" Brian growled.
"Yeah, I guess. You know, this stuff…" Leighanne proceeded to
demonstrate her meaning by putting her hands in front of her face
and waving her fingers around in a nonsensical pattern.
"I'm sure she signs when she needs to, Leigh, but she doesn't
need to around here. Okay?"
Brian took a breath and tried to calm himself. He really didn't
understand Leigh when she got all bitchy like this. She could
be so sweet and generous but he hadn't seen that quality in some
time. He took her hands and spoke to her gently.
"Look, baby. Connie is a good woman and I believe she loves
Kevin. I know sure as shit that he's in love with her. She makes
him happy, just like you make me happy. Let them be, alright?
Kevin needs this balance in his life. If you can't find it in
yourself to be supportive, then at least stay out of it."
"What about Brandi?" Leighanne hissed. "She's my best friend!
She and Kevin were supposed to get married! He's screwing around
on her! She's across the country trying to build a career and
he's here in Florida fucking Red! I think he's acting like scum,
playing two different women at the same time!"
"Dammit, Leigh! He's not playing with Connie and he hasn't seen
Brandi or talked to her in ages! And besides, that's between him
and Brandi to get settled so stay out of it!"
******
Connie was in the kitchen when AJ, Howie and Kevin came in from
the studio and took a seat at the kitchen table. She was doing
dinner that night. She smiled shyly at the group but could tell
that AJ and Howie suddenly felt a little awkward. They know…
They were staring at her, not knowing what to say. Kevin rolled
his eyes. Although silence had become a natural state of existence
to Connie, the stillness of lips was not. They’re uncomfortable….
“Anybody want a beer?” she asked, wiping her hands on a towel.
Nick came in just as she asked the question. He bumped the edges
of the table as he took a seat. No one had answered her. It was
as if they didn’t know if they should even speak since she couldn’t
hear their words. Kevin looked at Nick and shook his head. This
was exactly the kind of shit that kept Connie from admitting her
disability. She was already being treated ‘differently’.
“What the hell’s wrong with you two?” Nick blasted at AJ and
Howie. “Connie asked you a question. Are you fuckin’ deaf or something?”
“No..” Connie answered straight-faced. “That would be me…”
AJ and Howie turned rather pale and then began to redden. They
looked at Nick as if he had lost his mind and then at Kevin apologetically.
Finally they turned their eyes to Connie, totally embarrassed
and still not knowing what to say. It was a rare event for Alex
McLean to be speechless and for some reason, it struck Connie
as extremely funny to see him sitting there with his mouth hanging
open. She turned her back so that AJ and Howie wouldn’t see her
laugh, but she couldn’t stop her shoulders from shaking. AJ saw
the movement and panicked. He thought her feelings had been hurt
and she was crying.
“Shit….”
He had started to apologize and then realized that Connie wouldn’t
know he was sorry because she wasn’t looking at him. He pushed
his chair back and padded over to her, feeling as if he had committed
some unpardonable sin, but when he bent down to get her attention,
he frowned and looked back towards the table in disgust.
“She’s laughing her ass off!” he blinked incredulously.
“I’m sorry, AJ…” Connie grinned, trying to catch her breath.
“I couldn’t help myself and you were begging for it…”
AJ stomped back to his seat, pouting. “She’s got a real mean
streak, Kevin. I’d watch her if I were you…”
The comfort level in the room had risen dramatically. Connie
had managed to erase the tension with humor while showing herself
to be quite capable of holding her own. The men at the table acquired
a new respect for Connie and felt quite certain that she’d be
able to take it as well as she seemed to be able to dish it out.
Kevin, in particular, was pleased with the outcome of this encounter
and the way Connie had handled it. His love for her seemed to
be growing exponentially.
Connie reached into the refrigerator and brought out five beers.
Nick was pleased that she had automatically included him in the
beer swill without making deprecating comments about his age or
the fact that he was ‘the baby’. After she sat herself down at
the table and passed out the bottles, she leaned back in her chair,
crossed her arms and faced her small, but attentive, audience.
She was ready to lay her cards on the table.
“What do you want to know….about all of this?”
Kevin watched his friends look at each other and shift in their
seats. Howie ventured out first.
“Kevin said that you could hear until you were seventeen and
got hurt in an accident. What happened? I never heard of anybody
going deaf from a car wreck….
Connie nodded. It was a pretty good question. “My deafness is
the result of what they call sesorineural hearing loss caused
by head trauma. The car rolled several times and my head was banged
up pretty bad…”
“You weren’t wearing a seat belt?” Howie continued.
“Yes, but I was pulled out of it a little by the force of the
impact and the roof of the car was pushed in when it rolled. Metal
met skull…”
Howie winced and shook his head. He had broken the ice and a
barrage of questions followed - all of them answered patiently,
objectively and with humor when possible.
“How did you learn to read lips so well?”
“How come you talk so good?”
“Do you do that sign language stuff?”
“When do you ever have to use that?”
“How do you dance when you can’t hear?”
“How do people talk to you when you’re not looking at them?”
“What do you do when you get a phone call?”
“Do people treat you funny?”
“Can’t they fix your hearing?”
“What’s the stupidest thing people do when they know you’re
deaf?”
They were interrupted when Brian and Leighanne came into the
kitchen to say goodbye. Leigh walked over to Connie and bent down
to her face. They were nose to nose. Her words were slow, deliberate
and, Connie guessed, quite loud and condescending.
“WE’RE LEA-VING NOW, EV-ER-Y-BOD-Y…. SEE YOU IN A COU-PLE
OF DAYS. O-KAY?”
Connie nodded and turned back to the group.
“That answer your question?”
CHAPTER 34
It was Wednesday of the following week when
Kevin got the email from Brandi. He knew that he had to talk to
her but this was something he felt that he needed to do in person
and that would mean flying out to LA. He could have taken a day
to do that but could think of no excuse to leave Connie behind and
he couldn't bring himself to go through miles of explanations. He
wanted to see Brandi in person, end it, and come back to Connie.
He wanted everything 'taken care of' before he told her about Brandi.
Their contact had been sporadic at best and somewhere in his brain,
Kevin held on to a grain of hope that maybe Brandi had grown weary
of their relationship, such as it was, and wanted to change things.
Kevin slowly reread the message. Brandi wanted to change things
alright.
This separation is ridiculous, isn't it? I think we need to
talk about moving things along. I think I'm ready to make a
commitment and assume that you are as well.
I have to be on location next week but I really want us to
get together and finalize some things when I'm finished here.
How does a Christmas wedding sound? Sorry I've been unavailable,
but that doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about you. We're
birds of the same feather, Kevin. Time for us to flock together,
don't you think?
I'll get in touch with you soon. I love you.
Brandi
Fuck….
*****
Brian had fallen asleep on the couch when Leigh went up to their
bedroom to place her call. Even though she had closed and locked
the door, she spoke in hushed tones. Brian would kill her if he
knew she had called Brandi earlier to report on Kevin's activities.
It was she who had suggested that she email Kevin and then become
'unavailable'. Talking to him on the phone could be counter productive;
he might be able to wheedle himself out of any responsibility
to her or prevent her from laying any type of claim on him.
Brandi has been shocked by Leighanne's call. She knew that she
and Kevin had never had a particularly passionate relationship
but it had been fairly steady - when they were in the same area
at least. It never occurred to her that he might fall madly in
love with another woman. She and Kevin suited each other and his
celebrity had proven to be somewhat helpful in opening doors for
her. With any luck at all, her message would cause him to panic,
tell that 'Connie person' about her and kill the romance right
there. If his new girlfriend had half a brain, she would realize
that he had been keeping this from her and think of him as a liar.
Leighanne had promised to keep her ears open and to keep Brandi
informed. If he ignored the email or didn't tell Connie about
it, Brandi would fix that, too, with a surprise visit to Clearwater.
She could make it very ugly. Either way, the intruder would be
ousted and Brandi's status quo would be maintained.
Leighanne was calling to see if Brandi had sent the message
and to find out what she had said but she also had another suggestion.
She told Brandi about Hannah and her protective instincts concerning
Connie. If Kevin didn't respond to the note, Leighanne could drop
enough evidence to make sure that Hannah became alarmed and questioning
of Kevin's motives regarding Connie. If Kevin got on Hannah's
wrong side, it would help assure a split between him and Connie.
Leighanne had summed up the situation in eight words:
"As goes the dyke - so goes the damsel…"
*****
Kevin had just finished an interview with Adam when Connie came
out onto the porch. Adam exchanged a few pleasantries and then
left to organize his notes.
"How'd it go?" she asked before seating herself on Kevin's lap.
"Okay, I guess, but I'll be glad when all of this is over. We
have a press conference tomorrow, some more recording to do and
then we can tie up loose ends and get back to a normal life -
if you can call it normal…" Kevin frowned. "Anyway, come on and
go to the press conference tomorrow. Leighanne's going to be there,
not that that's any incentive, but AJ's girlfriend is coming in
tonight and I'm sure she'll go and Hannah will be there to take
some pictures.."
"Maybe…."
Connie was playing with the button at the neckline of Kevin's
shirt. She seemed a little preoccupied, like she had something
to say but wasn't sure how to say it. Kevin decided to tease it
out of her.
"You're playing with my button.." he said seriously. "Is that
a hint? Do you want me to take my shirt off?"
"Noooo.." she laughed. "Don't be so conceited! I wasn't even
thinking of that!"
"Stop lyin', Connie. You're sitting here, grinding your sweet
little ass against my crotch and trying to get me to take my clothes
off." He narrowed his eyes and glared at her accusingly. "You
want me, don't you…"
"Noooo…" she giggled.
"I'll bet you're already wet, aren't you?" His hand began to
travel up her thigh and under the hem of her skirt. "Let's see…"
"KEVIN!" She began to slap at his hand. "We're out on the front
porch, in case you've forgotten!" she scolded as she glanced nervously
towards the front door. "We could have company any second!" She
began to pull herself up from his lap.
"Where are you goin'?" he protested, pinning her back down against
him.
"I'm getting up and looking for a place to sit!"
Kevin's hands went to either side of her head and held her face
mere inches from his. She looked at him wide-eyed, unable to move.
"Baby, let me tell you something. As long as I've got a face,
you've got someplace to sit…"
Connie tried very hard to look offended but she couldn't - not
for more than a few seconds anyway.
"God, you are SO bad!"
"You're lyin' again, Connie. You and I both know I'm SO good…"
"And SO humble…" she laughed.
Connie leaned forward and brushed her lips against his.
"Do you love me?" he asked seriously, feeling a sudden sweep
of insecurity.
"Yes…"
"Then tell me what's on your mind."
Connie sat up and looked towards the beach, forcing a smile.
Busted…
"I need to go back to New York…."
Kevin jiggled his knee, recapturing her attention and causing
her to look at him.
"Why?" His face showed a definite shift in his demeanor.
"Stephen…. He's a little upset with me right now and I need
to go straighten some things out." She pulled playfully at his
collar. "You don't want me to get fired, do you?"
"I want you with me…" Kevin's expression had grown stern and
somber.
"I have a job.." Connie reasoned.
"Fuck it!"
Kevin got up from the chair forcing Connie out of his lap and
stand. He stood against the rail for several seconds before turning
to face her again. He knew he was being irrational. He knew Connie
had a significant career in publishing. He knew he had no right
to say what he was about to say but he was going say it anyway.
"I want you with me," he repeated. "Quit."
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