What'd y'say?

                                                             What'd ya say?
 
"Huh, what'ya say?" Beverly asked.
 I shook my head, "Nothing,"
 "You know I can't hear!" She was angry. " I was reading you're lips"
 "But I wasn't talking!" Now I was getting angry, "I was chewing, as in eating...my  dinner,"
 I waved my hand around the table, "like you're all doing right now." They all laughed.
 We lived in our Senior Home and shared our meals together. We had finished our tossed
 salad and our main courses arrived. "Mmm, looks good! "we all muttered, at the pasta piled
 high  and covered with sauce and mushrooms. I didn't realize how hungry I was till I dug in
 and proceed to eat, as usual ... too fast. Conversation went on brightly that included lots of
 "What'ya  say?" We were all used to it by now. Many, if not most of us were hard of hearing,
 using hearing aids, some successfully, some not.
 As I took my last forkful of pasta I felt that little pain in my chest and let out a burp, "Excuse
me," I mumbled, and as none of them looked over to me  I realized that no one heard it OR
my "Excuse Me," I burped again, but I didn't say 'Excuse Me" that time. I sensed Diane
staring  hard at me. I stared back at her, "Yes?"
"You didn't say "Excuse Me"
"Because I thought that none of you heard that belch. You didn't hear the other one."
" Yes, I did. But I heard your ' Excuse me' too."
"I heard only one of them" said Robin."Don't know if it was your first or your second...or
your third..."
"Your loss," I said, "there were only two..."not three, or four...or ten," I laughed, aware
that our conversation was getting ridiculous.
"Being hard of hearing is not funny." scolded Judy, "And you're making fun of it!"
I put my hand up, "OK! Let's drop it!" These women were my friends here.The last I want
to do is argue with them.
"So, what's the big deal?" my daughter Debbie, said to me on the phone later in the afternoon,
"If  you have to say 'Excuse Me', every time you belch... burp, so what?"
"Even if no one heard it?" I insisted.
"Ma,you're obsessing, (she tells me that a lot). Just let it go."
"Good idea" I said, "but, let's get to the bottom of this.Would I  have to say it in an empty room!"
"NO!"
I persisted, "What about a room where we're all dozing... in our seats...?"
"IF they're really sleeping. But one of them may be awake with her eyes closed... and
you won't know it."
I didn't see it on the phone but I knew Debbie was rolling her eyes."Enough of this"she said.
But I went on, "I know someone who will say 'excuse me' even if only her cat was in the room..."
"Teaching him good manners?"
"And then this afternoon, Judy said that I was making fun of them all because they were hard of  hearing."
"Were you?" asked Debbie.
"Of course not. I didn't say that they were 'deaf as a door nail.' That's too rude."
"Enough, Ma. I think we overdid this subject. I really don't want to discuss your belching
 and burping and should you or shouldn't you..."
" Got it! I realize that my dilemma does not have world wide significance, So, we'll change the subject...how was your lunch?"
" Fun. And so good. I ate like a horse."
"Huh? what'y say? You ate a horse!"
" No Ma! I had salmon and baked potato... not a horse... Are your hearing aids in?"
                                                       THE END