The Deaf Way II Anthology: A Literary Collection by Deaf and Hard of Hearing Writers

Borrowed Time

74 Carl Wayne Denney Borrowed Time IT WAS IN Blowing Rock that Carl told Lynn how tired he was of all this driving back and forth, from his job in Kentucky to her home in North Carolina. It had been a year now that he’d been doing that, and he was bone-dead-tired of it, period. “Time I settled around here, don’t you think?” he said, when she came out of Van Heusten’s. It was near Christmas time, and it was snowing, although there wasn’t much snow on the ground yet. “What do you mean?” she asked, not really noticing the set look on his face. She rarely did at times like this, when he made a decision. “My moving out here, silly,” he said, taking the packages she thrust out. He wrapped the plastic handles around his hands, and walked after her. She had taken a few steps forward, already thinking of the next item to hunt up. She wanted everyone she knew to have a Christmas present. “I’m going into Belk’s, honey. You want to come in this time?” she asked, already heading in the direction of the entrance. He shook his head and said, “I think I’ll wait out here again. I got a lot of thinking to do.” “Well, don’t think so much,” she said, with a small smile as she went into Belk’s. The store was already full, and she hoped she’d get what she came looking for, whatever it was. Carl sat on one of the benches lining the walk and watched the people walking by, all chipper and merry. He wondered if they realized that they were lucky, far luckier than he was. Or so he thought, sitting there, waiting for his girlfriend to come out with yet more bundles for him to carry around. The jeep wasn’t far off, and maybe he should just go and drop those off. Gallaudet Book 5/1/02, 9:55 AM 74 Carl Wayne Denney 75 So he got up and went around the bench, leaving her in the store. There wasn’t much traffic, despite the volume in the stores, and he looked both ways before he crossed the road. The jeep was ahead. The Expedition came out of nowhere and hit the brakes in front of him, sliding on a wet spot. He stood where he was, watching it slide his way. He was right in front of it, and despite the impending collision, he felt no fear. It slid closer, and he could see the driver’s look of apprehension through the windshield. He had that look of “Now I’m fucked. Why doesn’t he move?” as Carl stood there, unmoving. “Do I look like a frozen rabbit?” he wondered as the Expedition finally stopped, two feet from him. He gave a wan smile, and walked off. He knew the driver was still inside breathing a sigh of relief, and perhaps cursing a little. He also knew that in five minutes , he’d be forgotten. He dimly wondered if he should tell Lynn, as the adrenaline was already fading, the experience becoming a memory. So he dropped the packages off in the back of the jeep, slamming it shut with a firm hand, feeling its resounding thud. He looked into the gray sky and watched the snowflakes fall upon his face, coming from nowhere, yet from above, where there was only darkness.  HE CLOSED his eyes. There was only silence, with the occasional snowflake settling on his face, chilling him a little with its wetness as it melted. He imagined himself naked and soaring in the sky, a warm breeze blowing gently upon his body and his wet hair, for no particular reason. He opened his eyes, and everything was the same, still. So he walked back in the direction of Belk’s, where the bench was, where Lynn would find him waiting. Gallaudet Book 5/1/02, 9:55 AM 75 76 Carl Wayne Denney THE DRIVE home was slow, with heavy traffic and the snow making everybody a little more careful than usual, as if the winding drive down from the mountain village wasn’t enough by itself. Carl drove, and Lynn reached over to place her left hand on his right leg occasionally, rubbing it in a show of love and affection. Carl welcomed it...