by Mary Carter
“I’m never going to remember all these people,” Lacey said as they walked down a hallway littered with photographs.
“You’ll see them all at the family reunion,” Monica said. Lacey smiled. Monica had come up with the idea for a family reunion and Lacey reluctantly agreed.
“You and Mike seem very happy,” Lacey said. “I see the looks you’re giving each other.”
Monica smiled, her face flushed.
“It’s so new,” she said. “But exciting.”
“Maybe we should do a double wedding,” Lacey said.
“Uh—no,” Monica said. “Way too early to talk like that.” Lacey stopped at a picture at the end of the hall and stared. She took it off the wall.
“What are you doing?” Monica said.
“Why do you have this?” Lacey asked.
“You know her?” Monica asked. “It’s Aunt Grace,” she said. “My father’s sister.”
“Oh,” Lacey said.
“What is it?” Monica asked.
“I just noticed the family resemblance,” Lacey said.
Monica took the picture out of her hands and hung it back on the wall.
“I’ll get you copies of all of these if you’d like,” she said. “But we’d better leave them up for now.” They started to walk away. Monica stopped and tapped Lacey on the shoulder. Then she snatched Aunt Grace’s picture off the wall and handed it to Lacey. Lacey smiled, took the picture, and stuck it down her pants.
Kelly Thayler was the last one to the dinner table. She had to come in a wheelchair. Her leg was in the middle of the dining room table. Flowers from the backyard were sticking out the top.
“That is so not funny,” Kelly said.
“I agree,” Katherine said. “I couldn’t stop them.” Everyone looked at Monica and Lacey. They emitted guilty laughs in unison.
“I’m sorry,” Lacey said. She took the leg off the table and handed it to Kelly. Kelly took the leg and shook it at Lacey.
“Just for that,” she said, “you’re my free babysitter for the year!”
They gathered at the table, Richard and Katherine at the ends, Lacey and Alan on one side, Mike and Monica and Kelly on the other. Apparently, Robert and Maria wanted to eat in front of the television. Everyone at the table stared at the mounds of food, including two large trays of Jell-O, with WELCOME HOME written in them. Lacey had to smile.
“Who wants to say grace?” Katherine asked. Lacey and Monica exchanged a look, and then a laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Kelly demanded.
“Sorry,” Monica said. “It’s a twin thing.”
“I can’t believe this day has come,” Aunt Grace said. “My beautiful niece. Come, sit by me.”
Lacey remained standing. Aunt Grace glanced at Kelly, who was there to interpret. Then, she patted the empty space next to her on the couch. They were gathered in the back den, away from the crowd. What a day; Lacey had met so many people her head was swimming. Aunts, uncles, cousins. Finally, Aunt Grace. Everyone seemed thrilled to see her, and they were doing pretty well with her Deaf friends too. Robert and his gang were once again keeping everyone entertained. And the Deafies were all great shots, Lacey noticed. They were certainly giving Richard a run for his money. It must be true that when you lost one sense, you made up for it with the others.
“Lacey?” Aunt Grace said. “Aren’t you going to sit?”
“Do you really think I wouldn’t remember you?” Lacey said.
“What are you talking about, dear?” Aunt Grace said.
“I thought you were Miss Lee,” Lacey said. “But I was wrong. It was Miss G, wasn’t it?” Aunt Grace didn’t move or blink. “You visited me every Wednesday. My beautiful art teacher. My surrogate mother. Your encouragement stuck with me my entire life.”
“Oh, honey,” Grace said. “You must have me mixed up with someone else.”
“Cut the crap,” Lacey said. Aunt Grace’s hands absentmindedly went to her cheek. They were shaking.
“You’re the one who’s been leaving me notes. You took my portraits and set up the horse paintings. How did you do it? How did you get in?”
Grace smiled. Lacey could see herself in the mischief of it.
“Some little pixie stole the key for me,” Aunt Grace said.
“Tina,” Lacey said. “Monica’s assistant.”
“And mine,” Aunt Grace said.
“I thought you were all for clearing the air,” Lacey said. “No more secrets. Or did that change when Richard threatened to pull your money? He does control all of your money, doesn’t he?”
“But not this time,” Grace said. “I didn’t get on that plane to Italy. I didn’t get on the plane.” She started to cry.
Lacey finally sat beside her.
“You were young, weren’t you? When you had us?”
Aunt Grace looked at Lacey.
“Yes,” she signed.
“You learned sign language to talk to me, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” Aunt Grace signed. “I couldn’t believe it when they put you in that school. I wanted to take you back. But they wouldn’t hear of it.”
“How old were you, when you had us?” Lacey asked again.
“I was sixteen,” Aunt Grace said.
“And they convinced you you couldn’t raise two babies on your own.”
“It was very shameful in those days,” Aunt Grace said. “And my father was furious.” She reached her hand out to Lacey. She took it.
“So your big brother stepped in,” Lacey said.
“Katherine always wanted children,” Aunt Grace said. “She wasn’t able to conceive.”
“Who was our father?” Lacey said.
“His name was Thomas,” Aunt Grace said. “Thomas Gears. He was fifteen years older than me. I told him I was in the family way and I never saw him again.”
“This is a lot to take in,” Lacey said. “A lot to take in.”
“Please,” Aunt Grace said. “Don’t tell Monica.”
“What did she say?” Monica asked. She and Lacey were walking through the woods. “Did she admit it?”
“Yes,” Lacey said. “She had us when she was sixteen. Our father’s name was Thomas. He was fifteen years older. When Grace told him she was in the family way, he ran off.”
“Oh boy,” Monica said. “This explains a lot.”
“She told me not to tell you,” Lacey said.
“Of course she did,” Monica said.
“Are you going to tell your parents we know?” Lacey said.
“You mean our aunt and uncle?”
“Come on. They’re still your parents.”
“I don’t know,” Monica said.
“It’s a lot to take in.”
“Yeah.”
“This family sure likes to keep secrets,” Lacey said. She made the sign for “secret,” similar to the sign for “patience,” but instead of moving down the lips, the thumb stayed put, locked against the lips, representing the thing you promised never to tell. Monica plopped down underneath a tree. Lacey sat next to her. Monica leaned her head against the trunk.
“At least we’re not keeping anything secret from each other,” Lacey said. Monica stared at Lacey. “What?” Lacey said. “What is it?”
“It’s not a secret,” Monica said. “I just hadn’t gotten around to telling you yet.”
“What?”
“The Today show called. They want to book us as guests.”
“Oh,” Lacey said.
“And I’ve talked to a literary agent. They want to know if we’re interested in writing a book.”
“A book,” Lacey said. “You’re the writer.”
“I want us to write it together.”
“I’ll do as much as I can,” Lacey said.
“Absolutely,” Monica said. “I mean you’ve got the wedding coming up, and portraits to paint, two mothers and a father to get to know—and that’s without mentioning the baby. I wonder if you’ll have twins?”
Lacey stared at her sister in surprise.
“How did you know?” she said.
“I’m your sister, remember?” Monica said. “You can’t fool me.” She put her hand on Lacey’s tiny bump. Lacey put her hand on top of Monica’s.
“Do you want a boy or a girl?”
“I don’t care,” Lacey said. “But we hope he or she is Deaf.”
“That’s hard for me to understand,” Monica said.
“It’s okay,” Lacey said. “Hearing people really don’t understand. It still comes down to the fact that we’re really happy being Deaf and would celebrate having a Deaf child, but hearing people think deep down we still want to be fixed, we want to be like them.”
“I’m sorry,” Monica said. “I have a lot to learn.”
“We’ve got time,” Lacey said. “And we will love this child, Deaf or hearing, boy or girl, twin or solo. Because whoever they are, one thing is for sure. He or she or they are always going to know who their parents are. And they are going to have one kick-ass aunt.”
“I’m going to spoil him or her or them rotten,” Monica said.
“When they’re mad at me, I’m going to pretend I’m you,” Lacey said.
“They’ll know the difference,” Monica said. “They’ll know.” Monica slid her hand over to Lacey’s and held it. “Are you going to tell them I’m in therapy?” Lacey rubbed her stomach. She signed on top of her tummy.
“There,” she said. “I told ’em. They don’t care. They just want you to get better.”
“Who are you going to let be the grandparents?” Monica said.
“I was thinking of holding auditions,” Lacey said. Monica laughed “But no air guns,” Lacey said. “Not until they’re four.”
“I hope it’s twin girls,” Monica said. “And I hope they look like you.” Lacey laughed. Her tiny belly moved up and down as she did.
“And I hope they look like you,” she said.
A READING GROUP GUIDE
MY SISTER’S VOICE
Mary Carter
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
The suggested questions are included to enhance your group’s reading of Mary Carter’s My Sister’s Voice!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How are Monica and Lacey alike? How are they different?
2. How does Lacey feel about being Deaf? What kind of discrimination or misconceptions about deafness does she face?
3. Do you think Lacey would have reacted differently to Monica if they were biological sisters but not identical twins? If yes, how so, and why?
4. What do the professions chosen by Lacey and Monica say about their personalities? In what ways is each successful in her career, and in what ways has each been holding back?
5. Who do you think had the worse childhood? Why?
6. Was one twin betrayed more than the other by their parents? If yes, which twin?
7. What role do secrets play in the book? Which twin is more likely to keep secrets?
8. If Monica had been sent away and Lacey raised by Richard and Katherine, do you believe Monica would have had the same reaction to being given up that Lacey had?
9. Which twin is the happiest?
10. Would Lacey have the same personality if she were hearing?
11. Would Monica have the same personality if she were Deaf?
12. Do you understand Katherine’s decision to give Lacey up? Why or why not? Was Richard a passive voice in the decision, or an active participant? Does it make him more or less responsible?
13. Would Monica have stayed with Joe if she had never met Lacey?
14. Would Lacey and Alan have parted ways if Lacey had never met Monica?
15. What influence did Aunt Grace have on Monica’s life? On Lacey’s?
16. Besides speaking and signing, what methods does Lacey employ to communicate with hearing people?
17. Which twin is more jealous of the other?
18. If they had been raised together, would one twin have overshadowed the other? If yes, which twin and why?
19. Will Monica and Lacey ever confront all the family secrets, or will they perpetuate the cycle?
20. Is it normal for Lacey to want a Deaf child?
21. Which has had more influence on the twins: nature or nurture? Which commonalities prove or disprove either side of the debate?
22. Which twin changes the most by the end of the book?
Please turn the page for a very special Q&A with Mary Carter!
Is it true that you are a certified sign language interpreter?
Yes. I am nationally certified through the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) and have worked as a freelance American Sign Language interpreter for the past thirteen years.
Where did you get your training?
I took American Sign Language classes at the American Sign Language Institute (ASLI) in New York City. After several years of conversational classes, I studied interpreting at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) at the Rochester Institute of Technology, in Rochester, New York.
What made you interested in becoming a sign language interpreter?
My sister and I learned a few signs when we were children because our cousin and his wife were Deaf, and we had a few Deaf children at our school. The signs we learned were very rudimentary, and I did not understand most Deaf people I met, nor did they understand me. Most of the time when they signed to me, I would smile, nod my head, and pray they wouldn’t ask me any questions. Later in life while I was studying acting, I went through a period of time where I just seemed to meet Deaf people everywhere I went, and I was frustrated that the little sign language I had learned as a child wasn’t sufficient to carry on a conversation. I decided to take classes for the fun of it, and it eventually led into a career!
What and where do you interpret?
Freelance interpreters go pretty much everywhere. They interpret business meetings, employee trainings, conferences, college classes, religious ceremonies, medical procedures, concerts, plays, speeches—you name it!
What is the best way to learn sign language?
Hands down, from Deaf people. Take a class taught by a Deaf person, then hang out in the Deaf community. Plenty of colleges offer sign language courses or majors now; and/or check out classes in your community.
Is sign language universal?
No. Every country has its own sign language. In America, it’s ASL—American Sign Language.
I noticed that in the book sometimes the word Deaf is with a capital D and sometimes it is with a lowercase d. Can you please explain?
When the word Deaf is used to refer to a person’s identity—meaning the Deaf person considers him- or herself part of the Deaf Community, uses American Sign Language, and takes pride in his or her Deafness, regardless of the degree of hearing loss—this cultural identification is signified with a capital D. When a hearing person is using the term deaf to describe a person with a hearing loss without any understanding of Deaf Culture, then the small d is used. There were times I debated which one to use, so to all the ASL linguists out there, forgive me if there were times that I erred!
Why didn’t you write the dialogue of the Deaf folks in American Sign Language word order instead of in English word order?
American Sign Language is a visual language, with no written form. Had I attempted to put the dialogue into American Sign Language, it would have sounded as if the characters were speaking in broken or “bad” English. American Sign Language is a rich, complex, and legitimate language; it should not be construed as a “coded system” for English.
Are all Deaf people like the character Lacey in the book?
I’m glad you asked. No! No, no, no! Deaf people are as individual as you and me, and so are their outlooks, beliefs, and actions. Although as a writer I always draw upon my experiences to help shape characters, this book is a work of fiction and so is Lacey. She is not based on any real person, nor does she speak for the Deaf Community. If you want to know what anyone thin
ks, feels, or believes, Deaf or hearing, there is a simple and foolproof way to find out: Ask them!
KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2010 by Mary Carter
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
ISBN: 978-0-7582-6559-3
ISBN-10: 0-7582-2920-8
