I've been living in this town for about three years now. I moved here straight out of college and took a job writing for the local newspaper. Not too glamorous, but it pays the bills and also lets me do some good work.
My house sits on a quiet road filled mostly with families with kids. One of my neighbors is a family of four. There's Tom, the dad, who I hang out with and watch the games on TV. Then there's Sarah, his wife. And then there's the two kids. Joe is the youngest, at age 12. Tegan is their daughter who just turned 18.
Tegan is pretty cute for her age. She's got short hair which she usually wears in pony tails or pig tails, and she's your average soon-to-be college freshman in most respects. The thing that sets Tegan apart from most other people, though, is that she's deaf.
I first found that out when I moved in, and little 15-year-old Tegan was watering the flowers outside their house. I walked over to introduce myself, but she couldn't hear me. I finally walked over in front of her so she could see me. She smiled, and raised a hand to have me wait. She turned off the water and grabbed a notepad and pencil that she had sitting nearby.
Hi. Can I help you?
"Yeah," I began, not knowing what to do or say.
I can read lips. It's okay.
"Well, I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Mike, and I just moved in next door. Is your family around?"
They're all gone for the afternoon. My little brother has a game. They'll be back tonight.
"Okay," I said deliberately. "Tell them I stopped by, and that I'm looking forward to getting to know them."
Tegan nodded and smiled, and I turned and walked away.
That's how Tegan and I usually ended up communicating. Her family was better, because they could all do sign language, but I never really had the aptitude for picking it up. It was just as well, because there was usually someone there to translate or else Tegan had her little notepad.
A few days ago, I'd gone over to their house to ask to borrow their hose. I'd lent mine to my brother, and he hadn't returned it in weeks, and my lawn was starting to crunch. I walked over and found no one at home in the house. I walked around the side of the house to look in the yard, and saw Tegan there, swimming in the pool.
I waved my hands as much as I could to try and draw her attention, and eventually she saw me. She swam over to the side of the pool and started to climb out to get her notebook. I shook my head and stopped her. Using one of the few sign language words I did know, I signed, "Parents?"
Tegan shook her head, and indicated that they were gone. She then mouthed the words "two days."
I pointed to the rolled up hose near the pool, indicating that I'd like to borrow it. Tegan nodded, and waved before going back to swimming. I took the hose and headed back to my house, hooking it up to the faucet and sprinkler, then went inside.
A few minutes later, my doorbell rang.
I climbed out of the chair and walked to the door. I opened it and found Tegan standing there. She was still wet. Her hair was hanging wet around her ears, and her body was glistening with water. She had on only her striped bikini, which highlighted her smooth skin, narrow waist, and small breasts, and a pair of flip flop sandals.
I looked at Tegan, who was looking back at me silently. I saw in her hand her notepad, and motioned for her to use it. She blinked and lifted it up to begin writing, taking glances at me even as water dripped onto the paper pad.
Do you want to have sex with me?
"What? Tegan!" I was dumbstruck. What the heck was this girl doing?
