“Nah, its okay.” she waved her hand away to stress that she didn’t mind the topic of conversation. “And to answer your question: no, they are not deaf.” She leaned forward over the table and shared a bit more information than she usually did with her lady friends. “My deafness is not genetic. I had meningitis when I was a year and a half, and the fevers left me completely deaf in one ear and almost completely in the other.”

“Was that hard? I mean, growing up with your disability,” asked Mary. Her facial expression changed once again, but this time, it wasn’t hesitation… it was sympathy. Like most hearing people, Mary had a distorted idea of what it meant to be deaf, and probably thought of the artist as someone who had “suffered”.

It couldn’t have been farther from the truth. “It’s never been a disability,” Jodi answered with certainty. “And, I know this changes from person to person, but for me growing up was a breeze. My family has always been incredibly supportive; they learned to sign at the same time I did. Even Mark is as good a signer as I am!” She took another sip of her coffee before continuing. “My parents never treated me any different from how they treated my brother, and they never allowed me use to my deafness as an excuse to not achieve whatever I wanted. I couldn’t have asked for a better family. And thanks to them, I had a wonderful time growing up, better than most kids I knew.”

“Sounds like you were very lucky,” the young woman replied, her eyes now back to Jodi’s. She added, “I got to admit… Lucy’s description didn’t quite do you justice.”

“Really?” Jodi asked, very interested. “What did she say?” Somehow, Lucia didn’t strike her as the kind of person that was too free with compliments.

“That you were brilliant and charismatic and talented.”

“It seems I have her fooled,” teased Jodi.

Mary shook her head lightly, “Not at all! She just didn’t tell me how fascinating you really were… or how beautiful.”

Jodi would have considered a compliment like that generic. Coming from this girl, however, it was charming and honest. She was surprised to find it so touching. “It seems I have you fooled too.”