Page 48 of The Right Sign
When she does, I give her an encouraging smile and follow my sister to the kitchenette.
“Okay.” Lucy leans over the counter, a hand to her head, as if I’m the one stressing her out. “Okay, Dare…”
I fold my arms over my chest, waiting for her grand speech.
“Look,” her eyes burst open and latch onto me, “I know you love Talia. I know you want to keep her with you while I’m in this hellhole.” She gestures to the gold-rimmed fan above and the expensive coffee lining the shelves behind her. “And, honestly, Iwishyou were ready to watch my daughter. I really do. It would have been the best option.”
“Then it’s agreed. Talia will stay with me.”
“Wait.” She hooks her fingers in the crook of my elbow. “Dare, what I’m saying is…” She licks her lips and darts a look at Yaya. “Hiring a deaf person just so I won’t be able to talk to her and find out if she’s really your girlfriend—”
I bark out a laugh. “Come on, Luce.”
“You don’t have to be this devious!”
“First of all, I did not ‘hire a deaf girl so she couldn’t talk to you’. Yaya is more than capable of communicating. That way might be different than ours, but it’s still a language.”
“Dare.”
“And second,” I shake my head, perplexed, “Idon’t understand how it happened, but there is no pretense on my end. I have never felt this way about a woman in my life. Ever.”
Lucy studies me, her eyes shifting between mine like a treasure hunter scouring the remains of a pirate ship.
When my sister opens her mouth next, questions pour out, rapid-fire.
“How long have you been dating?”
“Not long. We connected online at first. We met in person recently.”
“Who made the first move?”
“I did.”
“You did?”
“I did.”
“Do you know sign language?”
“For now, we talk like we did online. Through text. I’m learning sign language in my spare time.”
“You are?”
“I am.”
“Since when do you meet people online?”
“I’m a man. I get lonely.” I shuffle my feet. “Do you have to ask?”
“I’m just saying… there are thousands of women who would love to spend time with you. You didn’t have to—”
“To what?” I dare her to say anything negative about Yaya.
She tries to smile and fails. “Findcompanionshiponline.”
“Online, no one knows who I am. I can lose my last name. Lose our family shadow. Be myself. It’s the best place to meet someone.”
“How do you know she doesn’t just like you for your money?”