Chapter 33 #2
Ty grunted as he started down the steps, once again discombobulated, because now it was easier to put weight on his left leg and step down with his right, when the opposite had been true on the front steps.
His mood had only darkened by the time he reached the bottom of the stairs, and Lacy indicated he had to walk across a wide field—probably fifty yards—to get to where Mitch stood with an army of dogs around him.
“He’s so happy you want to do this,” Lacy said. “He started working with my brother too. And don’t be surprised if you end up with a fully trained hearing dog after this.”
She gave a light laugh, and Ty didn’t know how to respond, so he simply started across the field with her.
It actually wasn’t that hard, as a well-worn path had been carved through the grass.
Lacy walked slightly ahead of him and on his right side, chattering about their farm, the pond, and the fact that Mitch wore a watch that alerted him of sound.
“I really do think it’d be best if you learned some sign language though,” she said. “You’ll be able to communicate so much better with Mitch and Jacob.”
Ty grunted once again, and then Lacy opened the gate and let him go first into the pasture where Mitch worked with his dogs.
Another man—Lacy’s brother Jacob—stood off to the side with one dog, and Ty expected the canines to run toward him, though he wasn’t sure why.
He’d been around Mitch and his hearing dog, and Champ never left his side.
“When are you getting the puppies?” Ty asked.
“Not for another couple weeks,” Lacy said. “You think we have a lot of dogs now.” She laughed again, and Mitch turned toward her. His face brightened, and when Lacy reached him, he swept his arm around her, laughed, and leaned down and kissed her as if they were alone.
Ty probably should’ve looked away, but he didn’t. He’d thought he’d had a love like that once, and watching Mitch and Lacy interact planted a tiny seedling of hope in his heart. Maybe he could find love like theirs in the future.
Then Mitch started talking. His signs moved far too fast for anyone to even understand, but Lacy said, “He’s really glad you’re here. He got a new dog sent to him from another facility, and he thinks she’s going to need one-on-one training.”
Ty nodded, looking between her and Mitch. Mitch moved quickly, his hands forming shapes, touching his face, flitting here and there. His facial expressions made him so animated and charismatic, and Ty really liked basking in his presence.
“He’ll expect perfection,” Lacy said. “But he’s watched some of your rides online, and he knows that you’re the kind of cowboy who expects the same thing.”
Ty nodded. That was true. “All right,” he said. “I don’t need to be paid or anything, but I’d love to do this.”
Mitch watched Lacy speak, and then his hands flew into motion again.
“Oh, you’ll be paid,” Lacy said. “Mitch just got a grant from Hands to Hear, this amazing foundation that facilitates services for the Deaf. And this isn’t something you show up to do once a week for a couple of hours.”
Mitch wore a very stern expression, waited for Lacy to finish, and then started again.
“You’ll have to take the dog home with you,” Lacy said. “And she’ll live with you and go everywhere with you. You’ll train her to do things as if you can’t hear every sound that’s made, and you need to be alerted of it. She should alert you—that’s her job.”
Ty nodded, making sure to make eye contact with Mitch as he continued to sign and Lacy continued to interpret.
“Mitch wants you here every day from seven a.m. to nine-thirty, which is when he does his training with his dogs. And then it’s just living your life with the dog and expecting the dog to do certain things.”
Ty nodded. “I can be here every day at seven.”
Lacy relayed that, and then her hands continued moving. Mitch shook his head, signed some more, and they seemed to enter a silent staring contest for a moment.
Lacy finally turned to him. “It’s not every day.
Just Monday through Friday.” She cut a quick look at Mitch, who gestured for her to go on.
“He might want to do video calls with you, and he’ll assess your dog alongside his.
He’ll essentially train you as you train the dog, and everybody will learn together. ”
Mitch seemed stern, but Ty didn’t mind that. He was used to strict rules, respecting animals, and being as responsible as possible. In the rodeo, he’d had a team relying on him to be at the top of his game, on time, and open to coaching.
“I really appreciate it. This feels like the right thing for me to be doing right now.”
Lacy relayed the message, and Mitch’s smile burst onto his face. He stepped forward, shook Ty’s hand, and said one more thing to Lacy before folding his arms.
“He says he’s glad you’re all-in,” she said. “I’ve got the contract in my office over at the Academy.” She folded her arms too. “But it’s a conditional position.”
Ty frowned and practically growled, “Conditional on what?”
“You have to enroll in our beginning and intermediate sign language classes,” Lacy said. “The beginning classes are on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Intermediate classes on Wednesdays and Fridays. So you’ll need to be here those evenings from five to seven-thirty.”
Ty really didn’t like being told what to do, though he’d followed plenty of rules in his life. He looked down at the six dogs surrounding Mitch, then over to the one still perfectly obedient to Jacob, panting at his side while this conversation happened.
A sigh moved through his whole body, and he shifted his weight from being on both his feet to just his right. “Fine,” he said. “I’ll enroll in both classes.”
Lacy smiled broadly and relayed the message to Mitch, who also grinned. “Great. I have all the paperwork for both classes—and your new job—in my office.” She tipped up on her toes and swept her lips along Mitch’s cheek. She said a few more things to him, and then gestured for Ty to follow her.
“Good news is, there’s no more steps, and you can come back out here and observe Mitch and Jacob for the rest of their training session once we have the paperwork done.”
“Great,” Ty said, and he nodded to Mitch, then tipped his hat to Jacob before turning to go with Lacy.
He’d spoken true. This did feel right, even if he suddenly had to make the hour and twenty-minute drive twice a day.
He hadn’t exactly told his parents about this, but he would. They’d support him, because he’d be getting out and living again, something he knew they whispered about when they thought he couldn’t hear them.
He’d talk to Pete and Paul too, and everyone would adjust schedules for him so that he could do this, still be out at Three Rivers working with horses, and then get to his sign language classes.
Ty had never thought his life would include him training hearing dogs after a significant, career-ending injury, but for the first time since he’d woken up in that hospital bed, with half his body shattered and the only life he’d known gone….
He finally felt like his life had a purpose again.