Im obsessed with your work and hoh emery, I stumbled across your blog and you absolutely got me into mowalsh. Could you do emery and samira fostering a kid with hearing aids? And maybe emery feeling things about her own identify as a hard of hearing person… i would give you a big kiss (consensually)
hi anon! yes of course i hope you like it :)
Samira’s already mentally said yes before she even asks Emery.
The call had come in that morning, their social worker a little frantic but steady, asking if they could take an emergency placement. Samira probably would have said yes either way, but the revelation that the child would be hard to place in a group home due to hearing difficulties pretty much sealed the deal.
The only thought that swirled through her mind when that information was revealed was her wife, who needed hearing aids and accommodations and struggled sometimes simply because a person had decided her needs were not worth meeting. But at least Emery was an adult. A very forward adult capable of standing up for herself, adapting when needed, and taking care of herself. A terrifying image of a baby Emery unable to do those things sealed the deal.
She takes a deep breath.
“Em! We gotta take a kid tonight.”
—
Elise is quiet when she first arrives, which isn’t unusual for a foster kid. It’s also not unusual for her to be hiding behind their social worker when she first gets there. It still breaks Samira’s heart.
She crouches down to Elise’s level. “Hi.” she says softly, careful not to startle her but making sure her face is readable. “I’m Samira. Nice to meet you.”
Elise doesn’t react and Samira almost worries that she hadn’t heard her. But it’s proved to not be a hearing issue when she shakily responds. “Hi.” Her hands wring together with anxiety in a way that Samira knows all too well.
Before they know it, the social worker is gone and it’s just Samira and Elise in the hallway. Elise shakily stands there, gripping onto her backpack for dear life, averting eye contact like her life depends on it.
Samira begins her typical routine for new kids. “Hi Elise. Is that what you’d like to be called?”
Elise nods.
“Like I said, I’m Samira. My wife, Emery works night shift pretty often at the hospital so she’s gone tonight. But you’ll meet her tomorrow.” She opts not to mention the hearing aid thing, hoping that Emery’s casualness about it won’t bother Elise. “Our daughter, Cece is upstairs. We had dinner a few hours ago so she’s doing homework, but she’s super excited to meet you. She’s thirteen. You’re ten right?”
Elise nods again.
Samira smiles. “You’re close enough in age. You should get along.”
She pauses a moment to give Elise time to say anything she wants to. She doesn’t. Samira continues.
“Would you rather go to your room and get settled, go on a tour, or have a snack first?”
Elise swallows and Samira hears her speak for one of the first times. It’s soft and unarticulated as she mumbles towards the floor. “Tour, please.”
Samira nods. “Yeah, of course! You can leave your stuff in the front hall here and we’ll come back for it.”
Elise’s fingers slowly peel off her small suitcase and shimmy off her backpack before she nods.
She takes a step away from it before immediately doubling back to open her backpack and grab a small stuffed bear. She freezes as she makes eye contact with Samira. “Can I bring her?”
Samira nods. “Yeah, no problem.”
—
Emery gets home at 7:30 in the morning like she always does, but something in her eyes is sharper. “Kid?” she asks as she steps into the house, pulling her hair out of its typical tight bun.
Samira snorts. “Good morning. Cece got on the bus fifteen minutes ago,”—Emery sighs at that, disappointed to miss her—“and the new kid’s name is Elise. She’s upstairs. Think she’s still asleep.”
Emery nods. “How’s she settling in?”
“Well, I think. She’s super shy and barely talks, but she and Cece got along last night. Couple issues getting her attention or her not getting information but we got through it.”
Emery nods again, although Samira can tell she’s thinking. “Taking her shopping today?”
“Yep.”
“Ask her if she needs batteries.” Emery’s eyes lock into hers like it’s the most important thing ever. She shakes her head as she huffs. “No, just wake me up when you go. I can make sure she gets the right ones. She’ll need extras regardless.”
Samira shakes her head, but feels a smile pulling to her face. Emery is clearly so tired and so huffy, but that hasn’t stopped her from caring in the slightest. “Already on the list.” she reassures. She stands up, hand already tugging on her wife’s. “Go to bed. If you really want I’ll wake you up at like one for shopping.”
Emery immediately nods, even as she yawns.
“Yes, please.”
—
Elise and Emery meeting may very well be the single cutest thing Samira has ever seen in her life.
Elise had been up for two hours, and she and Samira had just finished lunch. Emery walked downstairs, hair and outfit somehow perfectly put together and waved.
“Hi.” she begins, signing out the words more fluently than Samira could ever manage. “I’m Emery. Really glad to have you here. Elise, right?”
And Elise lights up. She starts signing at a pace Samira could never catch up with and before she knows it she is simply a bystander in her and Emery’s conversation. She feels it getting awkward and turns away to clean the dishes, unwilling to intrude.
When she turns around, Emery is frowning. Her eyes immediately lock with Samira’s. She signs the words as she speaks them, a way to include Elise in the conversation.
“She doesn’t have a case. Or a maintenance kit. And only a few batteries left.”
Elise’s eyes drop to the floor, hands wringing together. Emery immediately snaps back to her.
“It’s not your fault. I just want you to have the tools you need to be successful. And if we can help with that,” she gestures towards Samira. “Then I want to. Okay?”
Elise nods, eyes darting around. “Okay.”
—
They stop at Costco to buy snacks Elise likes and to visit their hearing center. Samira steps back as Elise and Emery walk up to the counter.
Emery’s frowning as they walk back, although she’s holding a pack of batteries. “They don’t have cases.” she grumbles, and Samira can tell that she is truly annoyed.
Elise’s hands tighten around her elbows from where her arms are crossed and Emery immediately shoves the batteries into Samira’s hands so she can start signing again.
“I have an extra you can use for now, but it’s kind of boring. We’ll order a fun one on Amazon or Etsy or something later. Same goes for maintenance kit.” Her eyes latch onto Elise’s as she realizes the problem. “I’m not annoyed at you. I’m annoyed they don’t have the stuff you need. It’s not your fault. I’m sorry for being grumpy—Samira can attest that I’m just like that sometimes.”
Samira refrains from saying something along the lines of, ‘maybe you wouldn’t be grumpy if you got more than four hours of sleep before insisting you could come shopping with us.’
(She doesn’t really care, because at the end of the day Emery is connecting with Elise far more than Samira was.)
—
Emery is smiling when they flop into bed that night. “I like her.”
Samira flops down next to her. “She likes you.”
Emery smiles harder at that. “Normally they like you more than they like me.”
“Not true.” Samira rolls her eyes.
Emery rolls to face her with a scoff. “Yes, true. I’m asleep half the time and the other half of the time I’m mildly cranky.” She pauses. “Whatever, doesn’t matter. Point is, I’m glad I could help her.”
Samira nods because she feels like her wife has more to say.
“She’s just so sweet, and so funny, and so smart, but she told me that I was the first hard of hearing adult she’d ever met. And I think that really sucks because she’s never seen anyone like her grow up and be successful. And I know that I wasn’t born like this, but I hope she still understands how much is out there for her. I think she just needs someone who understands what the world is like for her.”
Emery pauses again. “I mean, she looked at Cece like she was God Himself when she flicked the lights walking in. And she got so excited when we had captions on the movie tonight. And that’s just basic stuff. And I wish more people understood that accommodating her isn’t optional because it’s so easy.”
Emery shakes her head and rolls her shoulders. “Whatever. I’m sure I’ll lament about it more tomorrow. Right now—“ Her voice is cut off with a yawn. “—just wanna go to sleep.”
Samira nods as she watches her eyes shut. “Goodnight.”
(And somewhere down the hall, a child’s eyes also close, confident and safe for the first time in months.)
