Don't Bring Me Down

By the time she got into the house, her mother had left her a message on her answering machine. Instead of listening to it, she called her back.

"Hello?"

"Hey Mum! How are you doing?"

"Well, if you were right by the phone, why didn't you pick up?"

"I wasn't. I was outside the door saying goodnight to my new boyfriend after our date."

"Oooooh! How naked of a date-closer was it?"

"Mom! It wasn't like that at all. Nick was a perfect gentleman," the girl protested even as she shivered. She wasn't sure that a 'perfect gentleman' would kiss like that. But with her mother sniggering in the background, she didn't want to explore her feelings too much. "Mom! Stop laughing at me!"

"I'm sorry, Babygirl, but you sound so dazed right now. Tell me everything. What did you wear? What did you talk about?" Nesa told her mother all about her date as she got ready for bed. It wasn't very late or anything, but she didn't really have anything else to wear. Walking around naked was an option too, of course. But she felt particularly feminine right now and wanted to feel satin on her skin. Even if that satin nightgown was too big for her. God, she really needed to update her closet.

"What are you thinking, Babygirl?" her mother said knowingly.

"I was just thinking that I need to shop for new clothes. Everything in my closet except my scrubs is too big for me. Nick volunteered to go with me to pick out things."

"Of course he did. What man would pass up the chance to see his woman parading around in a bunch of sexy outfits?"

"But I don't wear sexy outfits that often," the girl protested. "I'm a 'jeans and tee shirt' kind of girl. The sexiest purchases I plan to make are my lingerie and night clothes, and he's not going to be around for that. I'd die of embarrassment."

"Oh, honey, if you're going to be sleeping with him-"

"I'm not. I still plan to wait for marriage. I know it's too early to call it, but he seems like he's willing to honor my purity. If he's not, then I'll swap left and not look back."

"'Swipe left'?"

"Sorry. The girls on the unit who use dating apps are always talking about how they 'swipe left' on a guy's picture if they don't like him for any reason. I'm not going to be pressured into sex. Reggie Brown couldn't get me to do it and neither will Nick Andros. I don't care how well he kisses."

"Ooh! There was kissing involved? Wait, have you ever kissed a boy before?"

"Nope," Nesa giggled. "We were talking about Lyndon and he suddenly declared that I was his woman. And then he kissed me, Mum! It was so amazing. Just like the kisses in the novels! My mind just went away and everything was all gooey inside and nice."

"'Gooey', huh? Gooey is a good adjective for it. Was he giving you one of these 'gooey' kisses when I called?"

"Uh-huh," she giggled again. "I wonder if all deafmutes kiss like that. Either way, I have a feeling that I'm going to enjoy having this one as my boyfriend!"

Instead of laughing along, Darla suddenly got serious. "You never told me that he was a deafmute, Babygirl."

"Really? I was sure I mentioned it," she blinked. "Not that it matters. Nick is so-"

"You don't have to sell yourself short, Babygirl," her mother interjected. "I'm sure that he's nice and all and I appreciate that you two 'zinged' when you first met, but there are plenty of men out there. Men without disabilities."

"What's with the sudden change in attitude, Mum? Nick is a wonderful man. He's smart, funny, and kind. He treats me well, and he's so sexy! He's everything I could want in a man. Just because he can't hear or talk doesn't change any of those facts." She could almost hear her mother shaking her head.

"Babygirl. You have to think of this logically. If you don't end up 'swiping left' on him, he's going to want a family. What if your children end up as deafmutes too?"

"So what if they do?" Nesa said belligerently. "I'll just have to learn sign language. I'm not giving him up for something that he has no control over."

"And what else doesn't he have control over, Babygirl? Tell me the basic stats of your boyfriend. Obviously, you've left a few things out."

"Nick Andros is a Caucasian twenty-four-year-old deafmute housekeeper at my hospital. He's from Caslin, Nebraska. His father died of a heart attack after a car accident. He wasn't even born yet. Because of the accident, he was born without the ability to hear or speak. His mother was hit by a car that ran a stop sign when he was nine. He was raised in an orphanage after that. At age fifteen the orphanage closed down. He bounced around Middle America after that, working odd jobs and getting first his GED and then starting on a degree in Information Technology. He moved to Calgary eleven months ago to finish his degree and get away from the assholes that gravitate to those that are different. He lives down the street from me in the apartments by the lake and-"

"So, he has a minimum wage job and no house. He's a white deafmute orphan who was a vagabond for years and doesn't even have a college degree. Ganesa…"

"He's got steady work and a good job with benefits. Yes, he is a white deafmute orphan and he was a vagabond for years because no one wanted to give a good man a chance based on his disabilities. And he'll have a college degree by the end of the year, which will present him with brand-new prospects. I'm not seeing the problem here."

"No… You wouldn't."

"I mean, as long as he keeps treating me right, does it really matter?"

"Ganesa, you're a singer! He can't even hear your voice!"

"And?" The silence was deafening. Nesa sighed when the silence became too much. "Mum. Mother. I'm a singer whether he can hear me or not. I'm an African-American, 26-year-old registered nurse with my own house whether you're here to see my accomplishments or not. I'm not giving up a fantastic man just because he has a few problems. It's not like he's an alcoholic or a drug addict or slaps women around or is a Satanist. Those are my deal-breakers and he hasn't hit a one of them. Nick is a thoughtful, highly-intelligent, highly-motivated man who just happens to have a couple of disabilities. He's lived a hard life, but he's come through the fire and has arrived at a place where he's not being beaten up for drinking money by 'them good old boys' anymore. I want to be his woman and as of today, I officially am. I won't give him up."

Darla was in a panic by now. Was her only daughter truly determined to get involved with a disabled white man? Well, the white part was not a surprise. Her daughter had always preferred Caucasians to her own kind. Reggie Brown had been the one exception and it had broken her heart to give him up. Besides, that had been in sixth grade; a lifetime ago. The fact that she could do better was glaringly obvious to the woman. But so was the fact that she didn't seem to want to. Things always tended to land in her precious daughter's lap. Darla had always been a little jealous of her only girl-child for that. She worked hard for what she had, make no mistake. But at the same time, opportunities presented themselves to her a little more often and doors seemed to open for her a little easier than they ever had for the forty-eight-year-old mother of five. She would have to watch this latest development in her daughter's life carefully.

"Well, we'll see how Nick turns out to be. In the meantime, how is it being a twenty-six-year-old African-American nurse in Canada?" The topic changed to her job, and for that, Nesa was grateful. She refused to have her man come between her and her mother. The two women were very close and always had been. They chatted for a bit longer, Darla updating her daughter on the family before getting off the phone.

"Whoo! Sometimes I forget that it's two hours earlier in Calgary compared to here."

"Nesa went on her date?" Arnold asked his wife, looking up from his TV show.

"Oh, just wait until you hear about this," the woman grinned, eager to hear her husband's opinion on their daughter's latest suitor.

This isn't the last we'll hear about this. See y'all next week! :D Last Wednesday of 2022, my dudes! AAAAAHHHHHH!