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He knew he deserved better. It was just harder to see in that moment.
As he took his seat, Percy felt a tap on his arm, and he glanced over. Lila was sitting in the end seat, and Khai was crouching down beside her so she could see him. But Khai wasn’t looking at her. ‘Are you okay?’ Khai asked.
Percy tried not to laugh. Or cry. ‘No.’
‘Can I help?’
Percy’s smile felt far too tight. He shook his head. ‘No.’ He didn’t have the skills to explain to Khai what was wrong, and even if he did, the man was a stranger. And even more than that, he didn’t want Lila to know what a mess her uncle was. ‘Thank you.’
Khai gave him a careful look, then nodded and settled back against the wall with his legs crossed. It wasn’t long before the lights in the theater dimmed, and then Khai turned on a soft light that was hanging on his badge, and he began to interpret the slow, soothing voice of the narrator, who began to explain all about the night sky.
The show lasted forty minutes, but Lila got bored after twenty and started squirming enough that Percy called it a night. Khai just smiled patiently as he led the way out, and Lila immediately shot over to a big bin of kinetic sand with a sign that read Moon Dust.
“Thanks for this,” Percy said aloud. His voice felt odd and unused, and he realized he hadn’t spoken a word aloud since he’d left Penny’s.
Khai’s smile softened. “You’re not American.”
Percy laughed. “Yeah. Forgot people can’t tell my accent when I sign.”
“Oh, you definitely have an accent,” Khai said with a wink. “But it’s a hearing one. Though it’s tempting to do a study to see if there are nationality accents with ASL.” He stroked his fingers over his chin, then shook his head like he was clearing it. “Anyway, your niece is a delight.”
Percy grinned, glancing over to where she was driving one of the toy moon buggies over the hills she’d built. “I’m very lucky. Are you a dad?”
Khai’s face did something complicated that Percy couldn’t quite read. “Nope. I’m a part-time nanny.”
Percy blew out a puff of air, then checked his watch. “Well, I hope you get paid for the whole show, even though we left early.”
Khai’s eyes widened. “Oh, I don’t work here.”
“But,” Percy spluttered, glancing back at the doors. “You…”
“I work as an interpreter on campus. For Deaf students,” Khai explained. “I also take classes here. I’m in the graduate program. Sometimes I hang out at night and wait for everyone to leave so I can look through the telescope and not have to share.”
Percy felt suddenly mortified for not even checking that this man was doing a job. “Why did you do it?”
“The show?” Khai asked. He glanced over at Lila for a moment, then shrugged. “My parents are Deaf. She grew up on the outside, you know? When we were kids, there were definitely no interpreters wandering around random planetariums trying to make her life easy. Your niece was sweet, and she wanted to understand the stars. It wasn’t a difficult ask.”
As if called by the universe, Lila took that moment to let out a loud, screeching whoop, and both Percy and Khai burst into laughter.
“She’s definitely energetic,” Percy said. “It’s keeping me on my toes.”
Khai cocked his head to the side. “Is she English?”
“No,” Percy said quickly. “My sister adopted her here. It’s a whole thing. I took the wrong sign language before I met her, then realized my mistake quite quickly. And quite embarrassingly.” He rubbed a hand down his face. “I’m in lessons now.”
“You’re doing great,” Khai told him. He was promptly interrupted by an announcement that the planetarium was getting ready to close.
“She’s going to pitch a fit,” Percy said, mostly to himself.
“How about I walk you to the fro-yo place. They have tons of toppings that aren’t completely loaded with sugar,” Khai offered.
Percy wanted to hug him. How was this stranger so kind? “Thanks.”
Khai winked, then walked over and waved at Lila until he got her attention. He crouched down, and Percy found himself lost in the way Khai managed to temper his signs to her the way a person might pitch their voice when talking to a child. It was no less fluent. It was just…different. He felt inadequate again, but instead of letting that get to him, he felt it renew his motivation.
His classes weren’t for Wren. Neither was his condo, or his job, or his place in that small town. He was here for Penny, and for Lila, and for the friends who might eventually become family. He wasn’t going to let anyone take that from him.
Percy snapped back to himself when he saw Khai beckon him along, and together, they followed Lila out the door and onto a long stretch of grass.
