Page 74 of Give Me a Sign
He grabs onto Isaac’s shoulder and tries to spin him around. Isaac glances back—first, at the man holding onto his shoulder and shouting in his face, then at my petrified stare. In the next instant, Isaac throws his elbow back, knocking the man in the nose.
It’s only as the man stumbles back, raising a hand to his bleeding nose, that I realize there’s a patch on his chest.
On his uniform.
Oh no.He’s a security guard.
The guard curses loudly. Isaac tries to step toward me, but the man grabs him by the shirt. The guard hasn’t tried to identify himself, and Isaac must not have noticed the patch, since this guy grabbed him from behind and closed in too fast this time. The two grapple with each other on the sidewalk. Isaac’s shock is now pure anger as he drops the two bags full of snacks. They fall to the ground, boxes of Fruit Roll-Ups spilling out.
“Stop!” I realize I signed the word, slamming my right hand perpendicular onto my left palm.
Isaac attempts a punch. The guard swerves out of the way to land one of his own. Isaac raises a hand to clutch his eye. As he does, the guard sticks out a leg to trip Isaac to the ground. Isaac falls, sprawling onto the concrete, scraping his cheek and palms against the curb.
The flashing lights arrive then. And I find the strength to step in.
“Stop it!” I yell at the guard. “You hurt him. Stop it!” The automatic doors keep opening and closing behind me. I’m planted in the sensor’s range. “Get away from him!”
But the guard pins Isaac to the ground as the police car parks in front of us. The officer gets out, thoroughly unamused. He’s clean-shaven with a buzz cut. He walks leisurely up to the guard and Isaac, holding his belt with both hands. “What’s going on here?” he asks in a deep drawl.
“Can you help us?” I try to keep my voice level, but it wavers. “That guard grabbed him. Isaac can’t hear what you’re saying since he’s deaf.”
The officer squints toward me, holding up his hand. “Stay————.” He motions for the guard to step back, then helps lift Isaac off the ground.
Isaac stands and carefully raises his scratched hands to his head, the bundle of friendship bracelets sliding down his arm. His face is pale, except for the red lines on his cheek. His brow is furrowed. There’s a gash above his left eye that is starting to bleed. His teeth are clenched tight, and his eyes, blinking rapidly from both pain and the nearby emergency lights, start to water.
The guard is saying something to the officer, but I can’t tell what. Or why he attacked Isaac. I get closer.
“Young lady,” the officer’s voice booms sternly.
“Excuse me,” I say, taking another step closer. Isaac gives the slightest head shake no, but I ignore him. “What is—”
The guard raises his voice to talk over me, but at least I can kind of tell what he’s saying now. “They————and then stole————when I called him to————.”
“We didn’t steal anything,” I protest, but I am ignored.
The officer sizes up Isaac and his worn camp clothes. Isaac raises a hand to his forehead and brings it in front of his eyes to inspect the blood. He slowly wipes it on his sleeve, then holds one finger toward the officer.
“Why are you pointing at me?” the officer barks. The security guard slinks back toward the wall.
Isaac points toward his pocket. “My phone,” he signs cautiously, mouthing the words along with his signs to try to help the cop follow what he’s saying.
“He can’t hear you,” I tell the officer. “He’s deaf.”
“I’ve told you————,” he shouts back, still not paying attention to me.
“I’m deaf and need to grab...” Isaac slowly signs, bringing his hand down and motioning to the pocket with his phone.
“What are you doing?” the officer says. He reaches forward and pushes Isaac’s back against the patrol car, preparing to search him.
“I’m trying to tell you that he’s deaf!” I shout. While I know exactly what Isaac was signing, the officer must have no idea. Nor could he read Isaac’s lips.
“He’s what?” The officer pauses the pat-down and turns to look at me.
“Or if you have paper to write—”Isaac signs carefully.
Taking Isaac’s movement as a threat, the officer grabs him by the arm, spins him around, and handcuffs him behind his back.
“I’m telling you he’s deaf!” I shout again.
