Read Online Whisper by Chrissie Keighery - Free Book Online

kids. His face brightens when his eyes land on a little boy who is eating fairy floss and watching other kids come down the slide.
    â€˜There he is!’ Harry says, turning so I can see his face as he speaks. ‘That’s A-l-f-i-e.’ Harry doesn’t know much sign, but he has learnt the alphabet, for me. ‘From my class,’ he continues.
    â€˜Oh,’ I say, ‘that’s great!’ But I’m wondering who the other kids are if they’re not Harry’s friends.
    I feel a hand on my shoulder and look up.
    â€˜Hi, Dem,’ Ryan says, giving me a kiss on the cheek as I stand. His shirt is the same blue as Felicity’s dress. She likes things to match.
    â€˜How’s my favourite sister-in-law?’ he signs as he speaks, and even though he gets favourite wrong, holds up the wrong fingers, I like that he’s trying.
    â€˜You mean your only sister-in-law,’ I sign, and he gets it.He should. We do this all the time.
    â€˜Same thing,’ he says, completing our ritual.
    â€˜I’m good thanks,’ I say. ‘Started at the new –’
    Felicity grabs me by the arm and pulls me over to where she is standing with another woman.
    â€˜This is M-a-g-g-i-e S-c-o-t-t. She works with Ryan,’ she says, signing at the same time. It takes a while for Felicity to finger spell her name. I guess I should be glad the name isn’t longer. Maggie Scott looks at Flawless’s fingers, obviously fascinated. ‘And over there are her lovely children, L-a-r-a and M-i-a.’
    Flawless points. Lara is dressed as a fairy. Her little sister is in the process of having her face painted as a butterfly.Which makes her a caterpillar, I guess, logically.
    I feel a flash of anger. These kids aren’t even Harry’s friends! Felicity has let Harry invite one lousy friend from school. It’s all about Felicity having a chance to show off her perfect house and her perfect life to Ryan’s work colleagues.She’s using her seven-year-old’s birthday party to network.It’s so selfish!
    Maggie seems to be having trouble with her heels.She turns towards me, but one gets stuck in the grass.
    â€˜Maggie, this is my little sister, Demi,’ Felicity continues.
    â€˜OH HELLO!’ Maggie says, easing a heel up and out.‘HOW ARE YOU, DEMI? IT’S VERY NICE TO MEET YOU.’
    Maggie is speaking loudly. I can tell because there’s too much space between her words. Her mouth is open and round like a laughing clown at a fun park. It’s something people sometimes do when they are really uncomfortable taking to someone deaf. It can actually make people harder to understand. I’ve learnt to lip read when people are speaking normally.
    â€˜GOOD THANK YOU,’ I say, speaking too loudly and slowly, mimicking her.
    I can tell Felicity gets it. Her raised eyebrows are for me, imperceptible to Maggie. Her champagne glass is drained in the next mouthful.
    â€˜Maggie is a criminal lawyer,’ Felicity says, facing me directly. She turns to Maggie. I can guess what she’s saying even if I can’t see it properly. Maggie confirms it.
    â€˜OH REALLY!’ she says to me. ‘EVEN THOUGH …?’ She stops. Changes direction. ‘HOW VERY BRAVE! AND …’ She lifts her glass to her lips so the last word is obscured.It might have been ambitious or ridiculous. I only see the ‘ous’. I guess the words are pretty much interchangeable anyway.
    I wish Felicity hadn’t told her.
    I wish I could come back at her, say something biting.
    I wish I could say that I’m deaf, not retarded .
    But I’ve already established what I think of wishes. And anyway, part of me thinks she’s right. A big part of me.It probably is crazy to think I’ll get into law. And it’s even more mental to think I could handle the courtroom without being able to hear anything that’s going on. It wasn’t such a