Clean Shorts

The dress spoke for her. It did all the talking she needed to do. Well, it and her assistant. She was born deaf, which limited her ability to speak. She knew when she tried that people were upset by how she sounded, so she hired a girl who had a deaf sister and could speak sign language to do customer service for her so that she could focus on the dresses.

Anna honestly didn’t feel as though she needed to speak. She discovered at a young age that she had a gift for dressmaking. The wedding and formal gowns she made were one of a kind, and the looks on her customers’ faces were all that she needed to see. The dresses always did the talking. Anna would meet with the client with Susan there as an interpreter. She would find out the wedding’s color themes, what the men were wearing, and if it was more traditional or modern, then she would show them a series of flash cards with basic dress designs. Do you like this one or this one better? It reminded Susan of her eye doctor appointments. By the time she was done, she would know what dress to make, and the bride would go on her way. Six months later, they would come back for their first fitting. She took on one new client a month. She made the bride's gown and all of the bridesmaids' dresses, too. If a client ever didn’t like the dresses, then she wouldn’t charge them, and they could start looking again. Originally, clients came to her a year ahead of time so they would have six months more to search if they didn’t like the dress. But as her notoriety grew, so did her client list and people demanding to get fitted sooner. So one year had dropped to seven months. Six for the making of all the dresses, and one for the fitting, and decided to go somewhere else. They never did.

Susan had talked her into watching this show where they fitted people into new clothes, and one about bridezillas. None of her brides had ever been monsters, at least not to her, but then again, she did remember a few conversations where she had to ask Susan later if she had read the planner's lips right. “Did they really say, Be nice to this woman, or I will drop you as a client here and now?”

Susan would confirm that was what they said. Anna would just shake her head. Maybe Bridezilla was a real thing. And the wedding planners were petrified she would stop taking their calls, or rather, Susan would. Today was a fitting for her longest-standing client and her bridesmaids. It was the great dress reveal, as Susan put it. It was also the first dress she ever made with activity in mind. Both the bride and the groom intended to go mountain climbing on their honeymoon. They had their heart set on it. She also wanted a gown she could wear more than once. This one was a slick, narrow dress with a detachable train and a sleeve of antique lace that slid over the top. The whole thing was made from a heavy muslin. It wasn’t the least bit delicate other than the removable pieces. The hem of the dress was high enough off the floor that she could easily climb hills in it as long as she didn’t go rock climbing or something. It would certainly get her to their honeymoon location without having to change, even if they stopped at every park between here and there and had sex against a tree. She found herself grinning at the prospect.

None of her clients was nearly as openly affectionate as this bride was. She was very tactile in nature, feeling the need to touch everyone and everything. She had asked the wedding planner through Susan if she was as touchy-feely with the groom as she was with everyone else, and the wedding planner blushed. That was all that needed to be said. The truth was obvious. These two loved each other, or at least were in lust with each other. Susan assured her that he was devoted to her. It broke her heart anytime one of her dresses turned out to have been worn during a wedding that didn’t survive the common culture. She spent a lot of time with a broken heart.

“Anna, we not only have the fitting today, but your fabric guy is coming by to show you some new prints that can be used for bridesmaid and formal dresses. Oh, and this season's colors,” Susan signed, then laughed as Anna rolled her eyes. She wasn’t a big believer in what New York and Milan said the season’s colors were, but her supplier could speak sign language, and to be honest, he was hot. She usually ended up ordering at least some of the new fabrics from him just so she would have an excuse to see him again.

“When?” she signed back.

“Before close, but only by a few minutes.”

Anna smiled at Susan. She was the perfect helper. She was always one step ahead of Anna. Giving Susan the sign for thank you, she turned back to her work, putting the finishing touches on the dresses. Soon, the bride would be here, and she would have to perform the ritual she hated; trying to communicate with people who could hear was like the dance of the Cobra and Mongoose. Neither side could be sure when one false move would upset the other. It was usually the interpreter’s fault. If they didn’t convey tone properly, then a simple, “It’s beautiful,” Could be conveyed as something the bride loved when in fact she had a bad day and she was being sarcastic.

The vibration under her feet told her that the bridal party had arrived, and she did her best to smile and put on a happy front. Showtime had arrived, and who knew how it was going to go. This was why she only had one client a month, and it took six months to get all of your dresses. She just couldn’t handle hearing people for long periods of time, day in and day out. Thanks to Susan’s skill, they were out of there in time for her to clean up before Rod showed up with the new fabrics. The bride had been ecstatic, and only one of the party needed adjustments to her dress. They would be done before the end of the week. She was letting out a sigh of relief as Susan opened the back door for Rod and waved goodbye to her.

Rod smiled and said, “Hello,” as he approached her.

“Where is your usual case of samples?”

“I left it in the truck.”

“Why?”

“Because Susan and I agreed there was something more important than fabric swatches. You won’t date because you have to have an interpreter. My girlfriend dumped me about six months ago because all I could do was talk about you. I left it alone until now, but Susan called and said she was worried you were becoming jaded after that last couple divorced and she sold the dress you made.”

Anna just stood there staring at him. “So instead of just a blind date or a surprise party, you two decided to throw a surprise blind date?”

“Well, I couldn’t exactly call and ask you out now, could I?”

She understood what he meant. The phones used for deaf people could be expensive. Since she had Susan, she didn’t have one. She did have a cell phone, but she didn’t give the number out to many people. Grabbing a piece of paper, she wrote down the number and handed it to him. Under the number were the words, “Text don’t call.”

“Does this mean that you will go out with me or that I need to go get the swatches?”

“Swatches first, we will see what happens after.”

He grinned at Anna’s words before turning to sprint back out the door to his van. Bringing the swatches in, he did his usual spiel as he spread them out over the nearest table. Anna couldn’t stop herself from watching him. His strong fingers gently placed each swatch on the table's smooth surface. She wasn’t seeing anything he was signing to her. All she was seeing was him. His scent always took over the entire room when he was there, but this time, she couldn’t help but notice just how good he smelled. When it came to work, they were going to get nowhere. Reaching out a hand, she placed it on top of his, stopping him. When he looked at her, she smiled and signed, “Make it someplace nice and quiet.”

“You, the person who can’t hear the noise, want quiet?”

“I don’t want anything to distract me, and noise equals vibration that can be distracting.” A look of understanding came across his face.

“Alright, I have the perfect place. How do you feel about Pizza?”

“I love pizza.”

He took her hand and led her out to the van as he called in a pizza order. Signing quickly to her before opening her door, he told her it would be waiting for them when they got to his house. The trip was short and silent. The delivery guy was just pulling up as they arrived. Rob unlocked the door and ushered her in before turning to the delivery guy and paying for their pizza. Anna wandered inside and looked around. Every wall of the house was covered in some form of art. There was a tapestry on a wall near a loom with the same pattern he was showing her a few moments ago. “Wait,” She stopped him as he entered behind her.

“Did you make this? This is your design?”

“Yes,” he answered as he went to the table with the pizza. “Come on, let’s eat. We can talk shop later.”

Anna nodded to him as she walked across to the table, but couldn’t take her eyes off the images on the wall. “Why didn’t you tell me you were a fabric maker and not just a middleman?”

“It didn’t seem important at the time. Anytime I started to tell you, Susan seemed so tired and like she just wanted to get out of there. I didn’t intend to even tell you I could speak ALS, but you were upset about something, and Susan was fed up with a particularly complicated client.”

Anna held up her hand to quiet him for a moment. “Wait, Susan knows what the wedding planners mean about bridezillas?”

“Of course she does. They all take the brunt of it so the brides won’t disrupt your genius.” Rob pulled out a chair for her before rounding the table to his chair. “You have to understand, you get really frustrated when you don’t understand something. I’ve seen it myself. So to keep the bridezillas from upsetting you, they take the brunt of it. They feel your genius is worth the headache of running point for you.”

“So, that day you started signing?”

“A customer got to the back while you were working on another client’s dress and started complaining that you weren’t working on her dress. Susan did her best to get the woman out, but you read lips well enough...”

She nodded, remembering the day well. “So you tried to calm me down by signing.”

“I figured it might help to know you had another friend and that Susan could use a break as an interpreter. I have told her that anytime it gets to be too much, just call me. All I do all day is sit around and think of new fabric designs anyway.”

“Rob, do you set the style for Fashion Week?”

He laughed at her question before shaking his head. “If only I had that much power. Eat your pizza, it's getting cold.”

Eating required hands, so they were both quiet for a while. When she finished eating, she just sat and stared at him for a while. He finally finished his pizza, and she smiled sadly before sighing, “This was fun. And I am glad you convinced me to do it. But, you can take me home now.”

“So, you aren’t interested in me?”

“I didn’t say that. But why would you be interested in me when you can have a girl who can hear your voice?” Anna shook her head. Besides, you said so yourself, this was pretty much a pity date.”

“I never said that.” He didn’t wait for her to insist that he had. He leaned across the table and placed a hand on either side of her face. Rod leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “I wasn’t taking pity on you. I was taking pity on Susan.” He sat back down in his chair and smiled.

“It is pretty awkward for her to go on a date with me to interpret what is being said.”

Rod grinned, “I’m sure it’s even more awkward when you’re attracted to someone. I mean, you can’t exactly take her into the bedroom with you unless she is into that sort of thing.”

Anna blushed at the idea, making Rod’s grin grow even bigger. “Don’t worry, that is not the intent of tonight, even though I did bring you here. No, my intent tonight was to show you where I live and what I do. I wanted you to understand that you and I aren’t that different, even if you can’t hear and I can.”

“So, how did you come to learn sign language?”

“I was raised by my maternal grandmother, who had Meniere’s disease. It isn’t a common disease to take your hearing. It usually comes and goes. But when she was sixteen, it went and never returned. My grandfather learned sign language so he could teach it to adults with children who lost their hearing and help adults who did so as well. That was when he met my grandmother, though they didn’t marry until many years later. It has always been something that was just a part of my life. My grandfather spoke to me. My grandmother wasn’t born without her hearing, so she could talk as well, though she knew it sounded funny and hated doing it. I don’t remember a day before I moved out to go to design school, where I didn’t speak and sign at the same time. I learned one with the other.”

Anna nodded. “It wasn’t quite that easy for me. I was frustrated by the fact that I couldn’t hear when everyone else could. Music bothered me because I could feel the vibrations, but I had nothing to reference the vibrations to. I don’t really like things that vibrate. I try not to be there when the woman who comes to help out around the house does the laundry.”

“Besides, you don’t like her snooping around. You feel like it's Big Brother checking up on you.”

Anna grinned and ducked her head at the accuracy. “More like my mother, but yeah. My sister insists on having her come twice a week so she knows I am okay. I guess she is afraid I will get hurt and not be able to contact anyone. I keep telling her I am never without my phone, but she doesn’t get it.”

Rod stood and held out his hand for her to take. When she did, he led her out onto a wrap-around porch looking out over a small pond backdropped by a small forested area. Leaning against the rail, he spoke with his hands again. “Susan loves you like a sister. I know you're thinking that her setting this up was her being as intrusive as your real sister, but I promise it isn’t. I have been begging her to help me with this for months.”

“I thought your girlfriend just broke up with you.”

He shook his head. She wasn’t my girlfriend. She was my roommate, but no one ever seemed to get that, so we just stopped correcting them when they would introduce her as my girlfriend. I had to introduce her to Susan and have her tell Susan that she had never been my girlfriend and we had never been intimate. To be honest, I am not her type. She moved out when her job transferred her. It was only then that Susan would take the risk of setting us up.”

Anna looked at him, stunned. “She put you through all of that?”

Rod nodded. “She was indeed a worthy opponent. I was impressed by her dedication to protecting you.”

“She was just hired to be an interpreter.”

“Yes, but you developed a friendship. She often spent time with you after work. She didn’t like you being alone so much. She felt like you were the sister she never had. She was going to defend you to the death, and I learned to respect her as much as I would any sibling standing up for their sister I was dating.”

“I see,” Anna looked down at her feet before looking back up to Rod. “I like you as a person. I think you would make an awesome friend, if not an awesome business partner. But Susan misunderstood my lack of dating. I don’t like guys. I’m a lesbian.”

Rod began laughing. When he calmed himself down a bit, he grinned at her. “You like Susan. I told her as much, but she disagreed with me. She has been in love with you for years, but was always afraid you would reject her. This setup was Susan trying to help you be happy, precisely because she loves you.”

“Does she know where you live?”

“You want me to call her and tell her we need her help?”

“No, she will be more likely to come if I text her.” Anna pulled out her phone and texted Susan.

She arrived within a few minutes and glared at Rod. “What did you do?”

“I told her the truth,” Rod said with no remorse in his voice at all. Susan appeared to be confused until Anna stepped in front of her had grasped her by the back of the neck, pulling her in for a deep kiss.

“Silly, it’s always been you I was waiting for, not him.”

Rod grinned and clapped his hands together before rubbing them back and forth as though his plan had come together perfectly. “Now that this is done, I couldn’t take the tension between the two of you anymore. We can get down to business. I want to combine our operations, give the brides direct access to the fabrics you want to use instead of small swatches.”

“Rod, draw up the contracts, and I will have my lawyer look them over. I am sure you will be fair to both sides. Susan and I have some talking to do,” Anna signed to him, not taking her eyes off of Susan.

“Fair enough, I will see both of you... tomorrow.”