“Very good, Captain Murphy,” said the instructor, closing his book. “You made excellent progress in this session.”
“I’ve never been great at picking up new languages,” Trevain admitted. “This seems really difficult. Communicating a simple phrase takes so much more effort than talking.”
“You get used to it if you have to,” the instructor answered, beginning to gather his materials. “I don’t mean to pry, but what is the reason you’ve decided to learn sign language?”
“There’s… a woman,” Trevain said, awkwardly. “She’s fallen on hard times and she’s staying with me. Her sister is unable to speak, and I’d like to be able to understand her.”
“Ah, I see,” the instructor said with a grin. “Trying to impress a lady, are we?”
Trevain smiled sheepishly. “Well, yes… but when this lady translates her sister’s speech it’s always very intelligent and insightful. I’d like to be able to carry on a conversation with her without the translations. Maybe it would make her more comfortable with me... we could feel a bit more like a family.”
“That’s thoughtful of you,” the instructor said, nodding. “I’ll come by at the same time tomorrow?”
Several days had passed since Trevain had been expelled from his own boat. The Fishin’ Magician had yet to return from its leaderless voyage. Trevain had received a few phone calls from Brynne and Doughlas, assuring him that they were doing great and that everything was fine.
He wondered if he had truly been worried for no reason. Paranoia—perhaps a sign of old age? He even mused that the crew might enjoy the fishing trip without his authority more than with him there to boss them around. Maybe they would be kicking him out more often.
Trevain had been getting along very well with Aazuria and her sisters. He had taken the girls on trips to museums where he found they were fascinated with only the extremely old artifacts. He had taken them on shopping trips to update their very sparse wardrobes. He was very excited about his idea to surprise Elandria by learning American Sign Language.
Entering the kitchen to grab a snack, he happened to run right into Elandria. He decided that he was finally feeling confident enough to try to use a few phrases with her. Trevain lifted his hands and tried to communicate a few basic words of salutation, and a comment on the weather.
Elandria looked at him in confusion—her eyes darted from his hands to his face nervously.
Aazuria entered the room was immediately puzzled by the look on Elandria’s face. Elandria glanced at her with worry before picking up her skirts and rushing out of the room.
“What’s wrong?” Trevain asked. “Did I say something wrong? I thought I could manage a simple greeting…” He continued going over the motions with his hands, trying to figure out where he had erred.
Aazuria stared at him for a moment. “You’ve been learning sign language?” she asked.
“I thought it would make it easier to speak with Elandria…”
“That is so sweet of you, Trevain.” Aazuria said softly. How did she tell him that their sign language probably predated any language that was currently used above water? She sighed and rubbed her temples.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, approaching her. “Do you have a headache?”
She gave him a small smile, feeling saddened that he had tried to take the initiative to connect with her family, and that it had not worked out. The cultural barrier between them felt suddenly immense. Being from different countries made communication challenging, but being from different worlds was doubly daunting. She knew she must try to explain. “The sign language which my sisters use is a bit different from the common...”
“Damn!” he cursed. “I should have asked you first. The instructor did ask me if I wanted to learn British or American Sign Language, and I just assumed.”
She smiled in relief. “That is correct, we use British Sign Language. Perhaps—I could teach it to you?” she asked.
“I could just ask the instructor to switch…”
“No!” she said hastily, reaching out to touch his arm. “Please, do not bother with employing an instructor. It will be my pleasure to teach you.”
She smiled, moving her hand in a simple pattern, followed by another. “This is ‘hello,’ and this is ‘how are you?’”
He repeated the motions with his hands, “Like so?”
“Perfect,” she answered. “Try that with Elandria next time and maybe she will not run away in fear.”
He laughed, and continued to practice to drill the words into his muscle memory.
Meanwhile, upstairs, Elandria was explaining what had happened to Corallyn.
“So that’s what he’s been doing for the last few days,” Corallyn said in admiration. “He said that guy was his stockbroker!”
“I did not know what to do, and I panicked,” Elandria said. “I could not understand him… he probably thinks I am psychotic.”
“Nah,” said Corallyn, poking her sister in the side. “You’re the only sane one among us.”