Chapter Three - Lessons

It took me two weeks of thinking on it to decide to give special education a try, and I wanted to start by learning American Sign Language. I signed up for a class and went, and in doing so learned that it was going to be a hell of a lot harder than I thought.

I'd decided on ASL after my encounter in the book store, since I couldn't stop thinking about it. I found myself trying to imagine what it would be like if I couldn't hear. What if I'd never been able to hear music? My favorite bands had gotten me through my angsty teen years. What if I'd never been able to hear my Gran's soothing voice? And all I really had of my parents were the memories of their faces and voices.

I even stood in front of my bathroom mirror and tried to see what it was like reading lips. Of course I knew what I was saying since it was me saying it, so I took to randomly staring at people who were talking, trying to see if I could do it. Mostly, I just made myself look like a weirdo for staring.

After attending one class I knew I was going to need some help. That's what brought me back to the bookstore, hoping that Eric would be there, and willing to assist me. I took one last deep breath and headed in. There was a older lady at the front setting up a display, so I went up to her.

"Hi, I was wondering if Eric was working today."

"Yes, he's stocking in the children's section right now, I believe," she told me, holding a kind smile on her face.

"Thank you," I said, and then headed off to the back of the store, where the brightly painted children's section was.

I had to look around for a minute, but I finally found Eric on his knees in a corner, an open box of books in front of him. He looked just like I remembered. Not that I'd expected him to have changed or anything. I suddenly realized that I wasn't sure how to get his attention. I couldn't speak, and I thought it would be rude to try and just get in his line of sight. Ultimately I settled for a tap on the shoulder, which worked just like it would with someone who could hear.

He turned his head and smiled when he saw me. He stood up to his full height, towering over me in the process, and pulled out his paper. I laughed when he showed me what he wrote.

Thanks for not yelling at me this time.

"You're welcome," I said, recalling the embarrassing encounter. Still, I was glad he remembered me.

Do you need some help finding something?

"No, I actually came to see you. I was wondering if you could help me," I said, enunciating my words properly in the hopes that it would help him out. He didn't write this time, but gestured for me to continue with his hands. "I'm a teacher, and I'm trying to become special education certified. I just started a class to learn American Sign Language, and I was hoping you would be willing to help me learn."

Eric didn't respond right away. He just kept staring at me, a curious expression on his face. At first I wondered if I'd spoken too fast, or if he wanted me to repeat myself, but he didn't make any gestures. He just stared, like he was trying to figure out my motives. I felt like I was under a microscope. After probably a full minute, he wrote on his pad and showed me.

I've never taught anyone before, but I think I can help. Can we meet at a library?

"Yes," I said, relief flooding me. I told him the name of the one I used, and he seemed to know it. We set a date and time, and then I told him goodbye, but he stopped me and wrote again.

What's your name?

"Sookie Stackhouse," I said, and smiled at the strange look on his face. I gestured to his paper, and he handed me his pencil. I wrote my name out for him, and the look turned into a goofy smile.

You have a unique name. I like it.

"Thank you," I laughed. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

He nodded and gave a small wave, then got back to work.

That night Bill came over, and I told him about Eric, how we met, and how he was going to help me.

"You really yelled at him?" he asked.

"Shut up," I said, burying my face into a pillow.

"How embarrassing for you."

"I know," I said, groaning into the soft fabric before lifting my head again. "I'm surprised he even agreed to help me."

"I'm not. He's young, right?"

"My age, I think."

Bill was about three years older than me.

"And you're a beautiful, kind woman. It doesn't surprise me at all."

"We'll see what he thinks after he realizes how hopeless I am. I didn't think it would be so hard."

"You'll be fine, Sookie," he said, but I got the feeling that he was only placating me. Like he was tired of my whining. I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt since he'd had a long day.

"Let's just go to sleep. I've got class in the morning."

Bill accepted without question, and soon enough we were spooning, and then I was asleep. He was gone when I woke up in the morning since he had to be at work early, but I was used to that. I got up, showered, ate a power bar, then headed to class.

The professor's name was Niall Brigant, and according to him we were all at about the same skill level. Well, except for one girl who was fluent in French, so she had one up on the rest of us since ASL is based on French word order. I felt a little better knowing that I wasn't alone in finding it hard, and even better to know that I had Eric to help me.

The next morning I was at the library about fifteen minutes before the time I'd set up with Eric. I was hoping to catch him out front so I wouldn't have to search for him inside. He showed up about ten minutes after me, and alerted me to his presence by sitting next to me on the bench where I was waiting. I was startled at first, cause he's a big guy, but then I saw that it was him, and his smile, so I relaxed.

"You scared me," I laughed.

He gave an apologetic smile, then gestured to the building. I nodded, and we headed in together. Eric motioned for me to follow him, then led me to one of the privacy rooms that most college kids used to have group cram sessions. They each had a table and chairs in them, and a door with a small window in it.

I sat down in one chair, and Eric took the one across from me. He had a messenger bag with him, and pulled out a dry erase board and marker, then wrote on it.

Saves paper.

"Very environmental of you," I said, and he smiled, then erased his board and wrote again. I wasn't quite used to him staring at my lips while I spoke yet, but it was becoming more normal to me.

May I see your course materials?

I nodded and dug into my own back to pull it all out. He took a few moments to look over it before writing something down again.

I know your teacher. He's a good guy.

"Oh, well, to me he's the person who keeps telling me I'm doing it wrong."

Eric laughed then, and it was the first time I'd heard something like that from him. For some reason, it surprised me, like I expected him to not be able to vocalize. Laughing, however, was instinct, and his was beautiful. It dazed me for a moment, so he had to tap the table to get me to see that he'd written something else.

We can start small by going through the alphabet. I'll make sure you're getting the finger positioning right.

And that was that. He started going through it with me, stopping every once in a while to reach over and rearrange my fingers slightly, then we'd repeat the signs over and over. We ended up letting two hours go by before Eric realized he had to be at work soon. I had to get going to meet Bill for lunch, so we packed up our stuff.

"Thank you so much for doing this, Eric. It's helped a lot," I said to him as we stood in front of the library before parting ways. He wrote on his board again. I couldn't wait until I knew enough to eliminate him having to write everything down.

You're welcome. Same time on Friday?

"Sounds good," I said with a nod, then he surprised me by giving me a very quick hug. It was like his way of saying bye.

I watched him walk to the parking lot, but it was the one on the other side of the building from where I parked, so I didn't get to see what kind of car he drove. Instead, I headed to mine and drove to the restaurant I was supposed to meet Bill at.

"Sorry I'm late honey, we lost track of time," I said as I sat down across from Bill in the booth.

"It's only ten minutes, don't worry about it. How did it go?"

"Really well," I smiled, and looked over the menu in front of me. "He's very patient with me, and really nice."

"I'm glad," he said. "I waited for you to order so we don't get our food separately."

"Thank you."

Bill could be very considerate, and I liked that about him. My first boyfriend, Stan, wasn't like that all the time. He was actually a bit socially retarded. Very, very book smart, but you put him in a situation where he had to deal with others in public and it was just an embarrassment waiting to happen. A waitress came up and took both our orders and menus, then flitted off again.

"Want me to come over tomorrow night?" Bill asked after we got our drinks.

"I have class the day after, it's probably not a good idea."

He frowned, but didn't argue, and I was thankful. Bill's marathon-style sex was just not conducive to me getting up early. Plus I didn't want to hear Pam bitch, and I knew she'd be there because she was on her period and therefore couldn't stay with her fuckbuddy.

"The guys want to go out to the bar tonight."

"Are you going with them? You can keep me company since it'll be slow."

"Will I be invited back to your place after?" he asked with a smirk that was meant to be cheeky, but his comment just rubbed me wrong.

"If I said no would you still come see me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He realized his mistake, and reached across the table to hold my hand.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. I was planning on going anyway. I was just trying to be funny."

"You missed the mark a little there, Bill."

"I see that now. You know I don't always have to come over, right? I like to just spend time with you."

"When have you ever come over and had us end up just cuddling? Sometimes I feel like a booty call more than a girlfriend, and that's not me being clingy, that's just how I feel."

"I don't mean for you to feel that way. Why don't I come to the bar tonight and just the bar?"

I could see the sincerity in his eyes, and that he really was sorry, so I nodded in response.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Yeah," I smiled.

That really was the beginning of the end for Bill and I.

A/N:

Hello again! Thank you all so much for reading this story! I'm having a blast writing it!