Page 36 of Quiet Beautiful Things

“She’ll learn,” she signs.

A noise from behind me is all the warning I get before Maisy dashes by and wraps her arms around Ellie. It always hurts a bit when she does this. I’m glad she’s bonding with Ellie, but at the same time, I long for those little arms to wrap aroundme.

Ellie senses my pain. She’s very good at reading me. It makes me wonder if she knows just how much I’m drawn to her. How I think about her all the time. How, other than Maisy,sheis who occupies my thoughts. Thoughts about how close we cameto kissing the other day. About just how much I want to kiss her. About how I want that and more. How after only a week, I can’t imagine her not being part of my life.

Maisy takes Ellie’s hand and drags her to the kitchen, opening the refrigerator and getting out the milk. She does the sign for milk, then she points to a cup on the counter and does the sign for cup. Then she does the sign for drink.

I go to pour her a glass of milk, but she doesn’t seem to want it, leaving me confused.

She continues to pull Ellie from room to room, enthusiastically pointing to things then doing the corresponding signs. My jaw drops. I know she learned new signs. But this… this is fucking astonishing. She knows signs for some barnyard animals. Pieces of furniture. Clothing. Even a few colors.

Ellie and I share a look as Maisy continues through every room, labeling what she can. Ellie’s eyes flood with tears. I’m not the only one overcome with emotion as the floodgates of Maisy’s life open and her world begins to make sense.

In her bedroom, Maisy does signs for toys, bed, and window. She stiffens, and points to the bathroom, skips across the room and disappears behind the door.

I turn to Ellie. “My kid is a fucking genius.”

A tear slips from her eye. Her expression tells me she’s in full agreement with my statement. Her head shakes from side to side as if she’s never seen such a profound awakening before. Maybe she hasn’t.

When I reach up and wipe a tear from her cheek, she grabs my hand and holds it against her. Our eyes lock onto each other, and I’m swept up with emotion when I lean in and lightly touch my lips to hers. Her soft, salty, inviting lips. I pull back slightly to see if she minded.

She most definitely did not.

Our bodies press together as our mouths collide more forcefully this time. With nothing between us, I can feel the thud of her racing heart. Or maybe it’s mine that’s pounding. Her hands weave through my hair then settle onto the back of my neck, holding me tightly against her. With one hand on her back and the other cupping the side of her head, I deepen the kiss. Our tongues tangle together, passion spearing my entire being as if this is my first kiss.

In a way, it is. Obviously it’s not the first, but it’s the most meaningful. The most anticipated. And definitely the most wanted.

The skin on the back of her neck pebbles beneath my touch. She rises up on her toes and leans even more heavily into me. I walk her backwards and press her against the wall, allowing us to be even closer. My dick comes to life when a throaty mewl escapes her. I’m not sure if it’s been five seconds or sixty. All I know is I want more. Ineedmore.

The magical moment ends when I hear the toilet flush. I step away, even though it’s the last thing I want to do, and point to the bathroom. As Maisy appears, Ellie wipes her lower lip and blushes. Maisy grabs Ellie’s hand, oblivious to what went on in her absence, and continues her way through the house, labeling everything she can.

Ellie turns, looks at me, and smiles.

Standing back and watching them together, I wonder if my life will ever be the same.

I fucking hope not.

Chapter Thirteen

13

Ellie

Every so often, Blake glances at me from the driver’s seat. It’s hard to have a conversation with him driving the car, so we sit silently.

It’s been eleven days since our kiss, and we haven’t kissed again. Not because we haven’t wanted to. Oh, we have. The heated stares from him. The blushes from me. The accidentally-on-purpose touches from both of us. There just hasn’t been a chance. But wow, that kiss. It’s not the first kiss I’ve shared with a hearing man. But he’s the only hearing man I’ve truly wanted a second kiss with.

Maisy starts getting frustrated in the back. She doesn’t understand where we’re going. Perhaps she thinks she’s being taken back to her mother, which I’m not even sure how she would feel about. Does she love her mother? Is she even alive?

Driving down the freeway, there isn’t much I can do to calm her. Blake looks stressed as he glances at her in the rearview mirror.

I point to the volume control for the radio. Blake shakes his head. I point to it again and do the sign for ‘music,’ but he looks confused. I suppose there isn’t any reason he’d have learned that sign. I do the sign for ‘up’ then ‘loud’ hoping he understands one of those. He narrows his brows but reaches for the touchscreen, taps the audio settings and settles on a station.

“Good?” I sign. “You can hear?”

He nods and grips the steering wheel harder when the car wobbles out of our lane. He’s not used to driving and talking with a deaf person.

“Sorry,” I sign. I point to his eyes and then the road.

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