11534/Just Beer Josie

Just Beer Josie
Date of Scene:	10 June 2022
Location:	Josie's Bar
Synopsis:	Matt gets a beer after a day in court, and runs into Maya and her friend Ella. Blind meets deaf/mute, yet communication doesn't seem to be a problem.
Cast of Characters:	Matthew Murdock, Maya Lopez

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Matthew Murdock has posed:
Thursday evening is when the weekend begins for a lot of people. For Matt Murdock, it meant the end of a day spent in court, making opening arguments in a case against a landlord. By the time court ended and he'd finished prep for the next day, a beer sounded very good.

So it was that Matt soon darkened the doorway of Josie's bar, the favorite hangout for himself, Foggy Nelson and Karen Page. His can taps back and forth as he comes in. He knows the layout well enough, but it confirms no one is in his way, or chairs or tables have been moved about.

He makes his way to the bar, where Josie spots him and says, "End stools nearest you are all open." Matt finds them and takes a seat, with an empty stool to his left and three to his right. "Thanks Josie," he tells her. "Sounds like it's a pretty good night," he says, the Thursday night crowd taking advantage of a drink special. People are playing pool and throwing darts, drinking and carousing, with music going, and the TV is turned to the NBA finals.

Maya Lopez has posed:
She needed a drink. It had been a long day, and not specifically a day she found to be easy. Everything that could have gone wrong, kind of did and she decided that a trip to Josie's bar was in order. She did not frequent the bar often, but when she did go to a bar, Josie's was one she felt comfortable with.

The young woman enters, pausing in the doorway with another young woman beside her. She suveys the room and all of the other patrons, placing her hand on the wall beside the door to feel the vibration of the music. Her hand is raised to brush through her hair once and then is lowered as she hand signs to her companion <Sit at the bar?> The woman gives a nod and the pair begin to make there way to the emtpy bar seats to the right of Matt, sliding onto the stool and giving the man beside her a nod in greeting; no words spoken.

Another sign to her companion. <Get what you want. I am paying this evening." The woman gives a smile to Maya and replies. <I am going to order the menu then>.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt has on dark glasses, though it's not utterly unheard of for someone to wear such even at this time in the evening, or indoors. His cane has been folded and is in a back pocket, removing that more obvious sign of this visual disability that should cause him to miss Maya's nod his way.

He doesn't miss it, but not like he can let that on of course.

Josie comes over, having already poured a beer for Matt, knowing what he wants. "Thanks Josie," Matt says in his deep, even tones.

Josie looks over to Maya and her friend. "Ladies. What can I get you?" she asks, and perhaps having spotted the sign language, makes a gesture over towards the beer taps and towards the bottles that are visible, making the question clear even if her words might have failed.

Maya Lopez has posed:
Maya is able to read lips very well as long as she sees the speaker's lips and she focuses on Josie as she askes her question about their order. She gestures and the words are spoken. "She'll have a beer. Anything on tap. SHe said to suprise her. I'll have a Bud Light."

She turns her head to look at might and based on the glasses and the cane, makes a small deduction, whether she is correct or not. A few hand gestures are exchanged and her companions voice is heard speaking to the man. "My friend. Well, how do I put this. She wants to know if you are blind? She was going to greet you, but she cannot speak and if you ar blind, you cannot see her hands." The entires time she is addressing Matt, she is signing for Maya as well. "If that is the case, then I may be in for a long night."

Maya studies the man beside her, trying to find his lips should he turn to offer a reply.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt turns his head towards the sound of the woman's voice, if not quite looking at her as directly as someone would who was looking at her face. "Yes, I am," he confirms of his blindness. "And even if she couldn't say it, she has greeted me now," Matt says, offering a soft smile towards the two women.

He holds out his hand, stopping a little short of where most people might, as if to be careful not accidentally bump it into her if Maya was closer beside him. "We can always greet the old fashioned way," he offers with the handshake. "I'm Matt."

Josie returns with the beers for Maya and her friend. "White knight. In search of a windmill," she says with a scoffing chuckle that makes Matt give a lopsided grin.

Maya Lopez has posed:
The extended hand is met with a slow extention of her own, taking the hand and shaking it slowly, her eyes remaining fixed on the man's face should he speak again. He is given a nod and when the hand is released she offers her reply through her friend. "Nice to meet you Matt. I am Maya and this is my friend Ella." The woman waves to Matt as well as she seems a bit confused that she is speaking for both of them. "She says she has not met many other people with a disibility before. Have you been blind for your entire life?"

When her drink is delivered, Maya looks at it a moment and with a casual shrug raises it to take a sip, looking to Matt the entire time.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt shakes Maya's hand, and then seems to offer it for Ella as well. "Nice to meet you, Maya. Ella," he offers to them in turn. He swivels on his bar stool to face them a little more directly, which will keep his face towards Maya more without him needing to keep his head twisted that way.

He reaches up, a hand adjusting his glasses slightly at the question about his eyesight. "Not my entire life. I was able to see as a kid. But there was a traffic accident. Truck carrying some kind of corrosive chemical, and some of it splashed in m eyes," Matt says. His tone makes it something that he's adjusted to and grown to live with rather than something that sounds like it has raw emotions attached still. "It took awhile to adapt. But then they say we people are remarkable at finding a way forward. I suppose that was mostly true for me," he tells the ladies.

Matt picks up his mug and takes a sip of the beer. Not the best brew, in fact it's considered cheap by most. Though they are judging it on flavor and appeal, and for Matt it has far fewer distracting impurities than most beers. "What about yourself, Maya?"

Maya Lopez has posed:
Ella finds it easier to stand beteen the pair, as clearly Maya is going to do her best to remain facing Matt. She takes pride in being able to read lips and at least she feels like she is part of the conversation, or at least half of it for being able to do so. She begins to sing one more, Ella doin gher best to keep up and speaking what Maya wishes to convey.

"She says she is sorry about your accident. It must have been very difficult for you to adapt. Especially ince you were able to see before." More signging and more speaking. "She was born deaf so she has never really heard anything. She does not know what is is like to hear, so she has not really missed out on anything, if that makes sense. She wants to know were you angry at first? She is sorry. She has not met many other people with a disablity and apparently has a lot of questions."

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt gives a nod of his head that seems gratitude for the commiseration about his situation. "Thank you. It wasn't easy. But perhaps it was easier for me as a kid than it might have been for an adult. I don't really know," he says, Matt's deep voice trailing off at the end as if it gives him thought.

"In some ways it might have been more difficult for me. In others, maybe not as much. I do treasure those memories. And actually it bothers me that with the years I've begun to question some of my memories. Of what my father's face looked like. Even with being able to touch someone's face and feel the shape... he's been gone for years. And so even that memory I don't know if it has changed over the years. No way to 'refresh it' like you can with a photo," he says, and offering a small shrug and sigh at the end.

Matt's fingers glide over the cold beer mug as he remembers things. "I had some anger. Though there was an older blind man who helped me adjust. He had..." Matt says, trailing off and then stopping to chuckle. "Well, he had a way about him that didn't have much patience for me feeling sorry for myself, and that got through. He was... irascible is a good term for him. Gnarled and hard as an old twisted tree trunk is another way to put it," he says, grinning at his description of Stick.

Matt's phone buzzes and announced, "Foggy. Foggy" from his pocket. Matt pulls it out, saying, "Excuse me. My partner in my law practice calling." He answers the phone. "Yes, opening arguments went pretty well. Oh? Ok, let me come down and sign it so we make the filing deadline."

Matt hangs up. "I need to go back to the office to finish some paperwork I missed, apparently. Probably return later, if you're still here, I'd enjoy continuing the talk," he offers as he rises and unfolds his cane.

Maya Lopez has posed:
That was a lot of talking and Maya did her best to focus on the lips to make sure she got everything that was being said. Despit knowing that Maya was quite adept at reading lips, Ella tried her best to keep up with the signs, but thwn realized Maya was not even looking so simply stopped and started drinking her beer.

When the phone goes off, Maya clearly does not hear it, but as it is pulled out to answer the call, Maya waits until the call is finished, catching his words once more. She tosses Ella an elbow and the woman snaps back to her assistant role, translating Maya's reply. "She says it was very nice to meet you. And she will probably not be here when you get back. She would like to talk some more and says she will leave her number with the bartender." Maya looks between them and nods when it appears Ella is done speaking. Her hands then quickly sign again. "Have a good evening Matt. She looks forward to continuing the conversation as well."