Ma - her nickname.
Speech/Phone text - Normal
BSL/H's Phone text - Bold.
Blue rushes into the living space, adjusting her baggy trousers and double checking her black saddle bag to be sure she has everything she needs. In the living space and holding onto Mango is her mother, who's staying with the couple for the very first time.
Mango is getting a well appreciated cuddle from the older woman and Blue hurriedly fixes on her earrings, causing the woman to worry. A little bit fitter than Blue and definitely packing more energy, her mother uncrosses her legs and stands up with Mango held onto. She walks over to Blue and studies the process of her finishing touches.
"Hi Ma," Blue clears her throat, tossing her phone charger into the bag.
"Hi baby, what are you doing?" Ma asks with a little nervous smile.
"I have to go into the office, very unplanned," Blue explains.
"Right now?" her mother asks.
"Yes - I know we planned for a girls' day but this is an emergency," Blue slumps her shoulders.
"No, don't be sorry. I hope you're not in trouble?" her mother searches her features for any hint.
"There's trouble but thankfully not for me," Blue manages a smile.
"That's okay. Are you going alone?" the woman continues.
"Harry and I don't work together, and you know that," Blue quirks up an eyebrow.
"Okay, so that means we're going to be alone?" Ma is a little worried.
"Are you afraid of my boyfriend?" Blue chuckles a little.
Ma watches her daughter walk into the coat closet and get out her oversized winter jacket. Blue shrugs it out and double checks her hair to be sure everything is okay.
Ever since her mother showed up some days ago, things have been awkward between the woman and Harry. Ma doesn't know sign and Harry cannot understand a lot of what she says. They try the phone method of typing words to each other.
Sometimes Harry uses the speech aid on his device that voices out his typed words with a robot but things are just heavily awkward between them.
"No - yes. Okay, I don't want to offend or annoy him," Ma explains.
"But you guys were texting buddies before you physically met," Blue points out.
"Exactly. As soon as we met in person, he became cold and weird with me, did I do something wrong?" the woman frowns, concerned.
Blue exhales, knowing her partner very well.
"Please be patient with him. He's very shy and anxious," she explains.
Ma sighs and nods in understanding.
"Is this about the speech therapy thing? I hope he knows I don't care or judge people," she shrugs.
"His speech is a very sensitive topic for him, especially with his past," Blue replies.
"Well, did he speak as a child? Was he born deaf? Have I ever asked this?" Ma frowns.
"Calm down with the questions," Blue giggles.
"Sorry! I'm a curious mother here," the woman smiles at her daughter.
"He didn't speak as a child and yes, he was born deaf. The reason it's a sensitive topic is very personal to him and it's not my place to share," Blue hates to remember the story of Harry's toxic ex.
Ma looks like she's about to cry as she gently puts Mango on the couch and exhales.
"That must have been so hard for him. So, is he mute?" she asks.
"No. And, he prefers to use the term non-verbal, okay?" Blue calmly corrects her mother.
"Thanks for that. See! I don't want to offend him," Ma reiterates her point about being left alone with the lad.
"You two love each other, just relax," Blue rolls her eyes.
"But he wears the hearing aid, isn't that helpful?" she asks, not done asking about him.
"It only picks up low sounds and helps him understand how to mirror speech better," Blue explains.
"If anything happens, I'll ring you," her mother sighs again.
"Trust me, if he could he would stay in bed all day till I'm back," Blue laughs a little.
"That's not encouraging!" Ma calls her out.
"It's not you. That's just who he is. Harry is in a permanent shell and he has to be brought out of it," Blue says with an affectionate look.
"Almost like you," Ma points out.
"I guess you can say that," Blue replies.
"Okay, off you go. Good luck at the office," Ma kindly hugs Blue and Blue smiles at how much she's missed that hug.
"Thank you and just go with the flow, okay?" Blue kisses her mother's forehead.
The women share a smile with each other and Blue kisses Mango's head before hurrying out. As soon as the door shuts, Ma exhales and isn't sure what to do.
The plan was to spend the afternoon and evening with Blue. Plans have been disrupted and there's nothing much to do. Cooking a meal is the next option but she's not sure if to ask Harry if he wants to eat something and she's just not sure what to do.
Harry instantly regrets it when he has to leave his room for a bottle of water because he planned to stay in his room till Blue returned from the office. It's not that he dislikes her mother's presence, he just feels like he's an uncomfortable entity for the woman.
Ma is chatty, vibrant and is extremely warm. They've texted a lot in the past and she's always willing to make him comfortable but it's so different in person.
The woman is a lot more quiet and acts like she's uncomfortable around him. He knows it's because they cannot communicate in person and he simply doesn't want to be a bother.
Harry takes a deep breath and slowly walks out of the room, his cloud patterned socks aiding his dragging feet against the warm wooden floors. As soon as he steps into the kitchen, he freezes on the spot and sees that Ma is getting out some items from the refrigerator.
The woman pauses with a fake bright smile as she holds onto a bowl of marinated fish. Ma decides this is the perfect time to go with the flow.
"Hi? Hi!" she waves with a free hand and maintains that smile.
"Hello," Harry awkwardly replies and drags his eyebrows together.
There goes that frown again and Ma sighs in defeat.
There's no point forcing this or making the poor lad uncomfortable.
Ma notices his socked toes awkwardly on top of each other and he keeps squeezing his fingers. As someone who works very well with people and body language, she taps into her inner power and calmly smiles. Thankfully, his eyes are focused on her so he can see when she communicates with him.
"Do you need something from the fridge?" she asks clearly so he can read her lips and she points at the fridge.
Harry parts his lips and blinks, not sure if to go along with this.
"Do not lie to me." She quickly adds with a smile.
Something relaxes in him and he returns the smile before slowly nodding in agreement.
"I want my bottle of water," he signs and points at the fridge.
"Okay I understand none of that but I can do something," she chuckles and slowly steps away from the fridge.
Ma gestures for Harry to join her by the fridge and he slowly responds. As soon as he stands before, she gives him a more relaxed smile and he points at the bottle of water.
"Water," he slowly signs.
"Thank you," she replies with a thumbs up.
"No," he shakes his head with a frown and signs "Thank you."
"Is that how to say thank you?" she asks.
Harry is unable to read her lips to catch that and he starts looking more uncomfortable than usual.
"Wait," Ma calmly gestures at him to wait and gets out her phone from her pocket.
"Can I close this?" he asks, pointing at the handle of the fridge.
"Yes," she nods in agreement, guessing with his gestures.
Ma calmly types on her phone and taps his arm, getting his attention once he's done closing the fridge. Harry looks at the screen and calms down to read what she's typed, he smiles a little.
"Is that how to say thank you?" he signs and quickly nods.
"Great!" Ma screams and Harry flinches because she's super close to his hearing aids.
It was a dull sound that came from nowhere and it wonders what in the world it sounds like in a clearer way. He watches her take the marinated fish to the kitchen counter and stops himself from returning to his shell.
Harry slowly walks over to the counter and taps it to get her attention. Ma has her phone on standby as she looks at him with that familiar and comforting smile.
"Can I type to you?" he asks, mimicking the act of typing and pointing at her phone.
"Yes, please. In fact where's your talking robot thing?" she stops herself from rambling as she notices the lad is struggling with her.
Ma calms down and gently hands over the phone. Harry chuckles and swiftly types in his words. He returns the phone with a smile.
"That's a lot of words, I don't understand," he signs as she reads off the phone.
"I'm so sorry," she calmly speaks so he can read her lips.
Harry waves it off and gestures for the phone as he gets more comfortable. Ma quickly hands it over and watches him quickly type in again. He returns the phone.
"Are you planning to cook?" he points at the fish.
"Yes, a Jamaican feast!" She types in reply.
"Oh c-cool," he verbally says.
Ma freezes in shock and looks at him with a stunned look. She quickly types a reaction and he chuckles.
"That's a deep voice you got lad," she clutches her invisible pearls.
"I've been told," he replies. "What does that even mean? A deep voice."
The woman is overcome with a little agony and sighs before typing a response.
"I deeply wish I could explain it to you. Maybe ask your audiologist?" she asks.
Harry frowns in a little uncertainty at that. He never makes conversation whenever he visits his audiologist but this sounds like a good idea. He takes a gulp of his cold water and replies to Ma.
"That's a good idea," he replies.
Ma points at the fish with a smile. "Do you want to help me?"
"Don't you want your space?" he forgets to type as he signs away.
"I don't understand that," she says with a small smile.
He remembers and quickly types it for her.
Ma reads this and frowns a little in concern. Where in the world is this coming from? She gives him a disapproving nod and he shrugs, confused.
"What is that?" he asks.
Ma rolls her eyes as she types it. "Why in the world will you say that?"
"This is our first conversation without Blue helping us," he replies.
"Whose fault is that? You've avoided me so much and I only got to hear your voice today," she replies, unimpressed.
The woman places the phone on the counter and he buries his eyes into the phone as he types up an explanation.
By the time he's done typing, she's facing the sink and he lightly taps the counter but she doesn't hear him. He finds that a little funny before clearing his throat.
Harry feels his upper lip quiver in anticipation and he cannot believe how dramatic his own system can be.
"M-M-Maaa...?" he stutters the word a little louder than planned.
Ma instantly turns and claps her palms on her mouth. Of all the things he should say to her, this is the best.
Harry doesn't know if he regrets this because the woman is extremely emotional and her reactions match the emotions. She hurries around the counter with her arms stretched out and she pulls him in for a hug.
Harry smiles a little as she silently hugs him before pulling away.
"That was nice," she says and he clearly reads her lip.
"Thank you," he signs.
"Let me read your reply," she collects the phone from him.
"I only avoided you because I thought you expected better. I felt like I disappointed you," he replies.
This throws her off and she looks at him with a concerned frown. What Blue said about his anxiety was true and it might be a little more serious than expected. She calmly types up her own reply.
"What do you mean by expected better?" she asks.
"Some people don't expect me to be this profoundly deaf and non-verbal. They always think they can change or help me "progress". I felt you wanted better for your daughter," the explanation feels like a punch to her heart and she slowly shakes her head in disagreement.
"You're the best person that's ever happened to Blue. You're the best for her and I loved you when we were just text buddies and I love you even more in person," Ma types up her own response.
Harry feels like he can cry right now but he controls himself as he shakily tries to type up a reply. He pauses to control his emotions and Ma softly holds his wrist, non-verbally reassuring him to take his time.
"I don't mean to be this insecure, I'm sorry," his reply makes her smile at him.
"Stop apologising for being yourself. You're doing okay and you're just fine, okay?" She reminds him.
Harry nods before signing again. "Thank you so much."
They share another hug and she gently ruffles his curls to brighten him up.
Harry feels like load has been taken off his shoulders and he can properly be himself around the amazing woman. He watches her get tissues for herself and he gives her a supportive smile.
They love each other and they get along just fine. It'll be annoying having Anne, Blue, Gemma and Zayn tell him that they told him so but he knows that's bound to happen when everyone sees that they're just okay. He slowly searches around and Ma taps his arm to get his attention.
"Looking for something?" she asks.
"H-Help?" he asks with his words.
"Can you cook?" she types up with a suspicious look.
"Hey, I try my best. Your daughter has never been poisoned in this house," he types his own reply.
Ma cannot help but laugh out loud and he points at the fish. He knows Blue loves seafood and it would be an honour making one of her favourite dishes with her mother.
"Fine! You will assist," she says with only words.
Harry reads her lips and frowns. "Sit? I want to help with the cooking."
"Lots of hand movements, mate. Just type for me," she sighs, taps the phone in his hand.
"S-Sit?" he verbally says.
"No - what?" Ma snatches the phone and types again. "You will assist."
"Ohhhh!" Harry laughs at himself as he reads the words and nods in agreement.
For the rest of their time in the kitchen, they find balance in communication and slowly progress into comfortable banter, getting to know each other better and finally feeling secure in themselves.
Harry cannot wait to share all of this with Blue and Ma cannot wait to tell her daughter how amazing her day with Harry was.