Page 66 of My Wife
“He has your eyes.” Hers soften.
There’s no mistaking that he’s my son, except one thing. “I figured he was quiet and acted out because of the trauma of the whole thing, but?—”
Jessica signs and speaks, “It’s going to be okay.”
“You don’t know that.” I shake my head.
She nods. “If you’re referring to him being partially or potentially fully deaf, yes, it’s going to be all right. More than all right. He’s going to have a great life because he has a great father who is going to help him get the resources he needs to express himself and communicate.”
My stomach clenches. “Jessica, you’ve been in this house for a month now. I’m not a great father.”
She pats my arm. “You will be.”
I angle my head, daring her to defy me.
Stepping fully into my space, which breaks one of our rules, she says, “You’re going to be a great dad because you’re a great hockey player and because KJ is a great kid.”
“He bit you.”
She chuckles. “So did you, yet I’m still here.”
“I did not bite you!”
“With your words.” She takes out a couple of plates and forks.
For some reason, I like that she knows her way around my kitchen, around me.
“For now, maybe it’s better that KJ can’t understand you, gives you time to work on your delivery.”
“Are you suggesting I learn ASL?”
She signs and mouths,Yes.
We take our slices of cake to the living room. I plonk onto the couch and tap my fork against hers. “Thanks for this.”
“Oh, so you do have manners. Bravo. Encore.”
“Ha ha,” I say dryly.
I take a bite of the Bundt and the sweet yet spicy cinnamon flavor hits my tongue with a delightfully light and buttery consistency.
Jessica must be enjoying her piece too because, for a long moment, she’s quiet, totally uncharacteristic of her.
“You said you have trouble sleeping?”
“Ever since I left Cobbiton.”
“And now that you’re back?”
“I’ll be leaving again.”
My shoulders drop a fraction. “Except for when you’re here, the kid insists I stay in the spare bedroom with him. I started on the floor, but now he wants me in the bed, otherwise, he cries.”
“He’s insecure, afraid, not sure what’s going on because your communication is limited.”
“My communication?”
“Yes, you’re his father. Learn how to interact with him. Sign. Be a little nicer.”
