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“I meant, what did hesay?”
I shake my head. “All you need to know is that he’s rude and obnoxious and not worth my time.”
Niko’s hands are still moving at warp speed. Sazuki watches intently.
“Did you know that Sazuki’s daughter was deaf?” Vanya whispers while the two fight it out.
“I don’t think anyone knew hehada daughter.”
Vanya pulls the shade a little further over Baby Ollie, who’s starting to fuss. “You know he comes from a line of super famous, super rich, super mysterious musicians, right?”
“I’m familiar with the Sazuki family,” I respond dryly. Anyone with classical music training would have studied them at one point or another.
Vanya peers at Ollie. “I wonder if the reason Sazuki stayed out of the spotlight, maybe even the reason he’s moving permanently to the US, has anything to do with his kid.”
“It’s none of our business either way.” I bend over the stroller and coo, “Isn’t that right, Ollie? Tell your nosy mama to butt out.”
Vanya and Hadyn’s three-month-old stops crying long enough to grant me a befuddled expression.
A sound of abject frustration comes from behind me. I check over my shoulder and see Niko pushing her dad my way. Sazuki’s almost digging his feet into the sand to keep from coming over.
“I wonder why she wants you to go with her?” Vanya muses.
“Probably because I understand her.”
“That simple?”
“Imagine how black travelers feel when they see another black tourist in a foreign country. It’s like you know them and they know you even though you’re strangers. The deaf community is kind of like that.”
Vanya suddenly looks away. “Oh shoot. He’s almost here. Act natural.”
I roll my eyes.
Sazuki stops in front of us. He inhales a deep breath that fills his whole chest and then leaks out a resigned sigh.
“Are you busy?”
I keep my arms loose at my sides. “Yes.”
“She’s not. She’s very un-busy.” Vanya nudges me forward with her elbow.
I shoot a dark glare over my shoulder.
“What are you doing?” I hiss.
“Ollie’s getting fussy. We’ll head back home so I can put her down for a nap.” Vanya juts her chin at Sazuki and Niko. Her long, dangling earrings brush against dark cheeks. “Go with them.”
“What about chai?” I ask, knowing it’s her weakness.
She hesitates but not for long. “We’ll grab chai another time.”
“I’m sorry.” I frown at Sazuki because the last place I want to be is alone with him. Even if he comes with an adorable daughter. “I’m supposed to be Vanya’s bodyguard. She gave birth a few months ago and she hasn’t really recovered yet. I should make sure she gets home safely.”
“That is fine with me,” Sazuki says in his crisp accent. He tries to take his daughter’s hand.
Niko pulls away, looks imploringly at me, and rubs a circle on her chest.
It’s the sign for ‘please’.
