David is getting ready to pop the question.
He and Sheila are going on a romantic trip. Once he buys the ring, he’ll be all set.
Unless a recurring communication barrier gets to be too much. Can they really have a future together if they struggle to have conversations?
David and Sheila
Sheila is attending a prayer service for her late mother. Meanwhile, David is going on a very important, but somewhat secret, shopping trip. Aimee, the interpreter, is “unavailable” today. We don’t know if this was her day off, or if David just wisely decided that a solo trip with another woman might rub Sheila the wrong way. Either way, this means some added hurdles as he ventures into town “alone” (with production in tow).
David wants to buy a ring
He has to get instructions from locals, overcoming one or even two language barriers in the process. A charmingly excited woman on the street directs David to a jewelry store after they both make use of his phone.
At the jewelry store
David has to once again explain, via text, that he is deaf and cannot hear. He feels “awkward and lost” as he goes through the rings. Some people, David later tells the camera, do not understand the English that he writes, which adds to the difficulty in simple transactions. David has to be very patient as he looks for the rings. More than once, the clerk seems to forget that David is deaf, speaking to him when he is looking down at the rings. Obviously, he cannot hear that.
But it’s worth it
“I’ll pop the question,” David excitedly shares with the confessional camera. He says that he and Sheila will soon be going to the beach. His hope is that it will all go well, and he can formally propose. So a little frustration and a lot of stress and anxiety (shopping alone in a foreign country while deaf!) is worth it.
$83?
Sometimes, a ring is cheap because the buyer has a low budget. Other times, a ring is cheap because the buyer isn’t prioritizing their future spouse. In this case, we know that David’s not exactly loaded, but it might be the local economy of the area of the Philippines where Sheila lives. Hopefully, this is a nice ring. David clearly selected it for its look before he knew the price.
Time to get ready
We see David and Sheila prepare for their trip. Sheila asks David if it can be just them, without Aimee. Ostensibly, this is for privacy. And it is. But it’s also because Sheila is pretty and can communicate easily with David. Sheila doesn’t have meltdowns or pitch a fit about it, but she feels jealous. It’s refreshing (and almost jarring) to see someone feel this way on this show but handle it like a mature adult.
David has two things on his mind
The first is that it’s a little challenging communicating with Sheila via phone. She’s learning some signs, but not enough to have a real conversation. He can’t simply learn her language — he’s deaf. If they want a future together, communication will be key. By the way, his phone reads out every single emoji when he uses them, and we’re not sure if he realizes that.
“We can make love a lot”
The other thing on his mind is that he hopes that he and Sheila can have sex on this trip. Things haven’t exactly been super sexy. He met her parents, then almost immediately attended her mother’s funeral. David bonded with her son. But they’d like to spend time together. Sheila cracks a smile at this message. She also remarks about their previous attempt at sex to the confessional camera.
“It was painful”
Sheila goes on to admit that David’s “American dick” was too uncomfortably large during their first attempt to sleep together. Now, sometimes genitals just don’t mesh. But other times, things are situational. Patience, foreplay, lubrication, and even different angles could make all of the difference between feeling like she’s giving birth again and having an incredible night. (Shoutout to the other passengers who pretended to not hear Sheila quietly cackling about how large David is)
Their romantic trip is gorgeous
David plans to propose, so this is really setting the tone properly. Sheila marvels, as this is her first stay in a nice hotel (which is unsurprising but makes me sad anyway). It’s also, frankly, a good thing for this show to include. Sheila lives in extreme poverty; it’s the equivalent of showing an American from one of the isolated parts of rural Appalachia where it looks like District 12. Not all of the Philippines is a shantytown and viewers should see these other areas.
It’s not all about romance
David suggests to Sheila that they practice sign language. Again, he has real concerns about their relationship if they cannot communicate. They do practice for a bit. Sheila admits that it was so much easier to type, and so hard to practice solo (that makes sense) when they were long-distance. But they’re both confident that things will get better soon. Meanwhile, Sheila knows enough signs to suggest that they take a shower together. David’s down for that.