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“Hi,” Lark signs. Her cheeks pinken and my heart does that thudding thing again.
“I missed you,” I say, as I put my arm around her and pull her against me. But she’s stiff in my arms. Something is wrong. And I have no idea what it is. I push her back from me so I can look at her face. “What’s wrong?”
She points to the gentleman who came in behind her. He’s standing with his arms crossed tightly, and he glares at me. “Ryan, this is my dad, Emilio Vasquez. Melio, this is Ryan.”
“So this is the one you like,” the man says. He signs too, but it’s jerky and I can tell he’s not fluent. “He’s kind of skinny.” His eyes assess me, and I find myself fidgeting, although I’d rather not show any weakness.
“It’s nice to meet you, sir,” I say. I stick out my hand. Instead of shaking hands, he extends his fist and holds his still so I’ll bump my knuckles with his. I do, and he grins at me.
“I’m going to run to the ladies’ room before we get started,” Lark says. She points a finger at Emilio. “Behave yourself.”
Friday smirks in the corner, and Paul swipes a smile off his face. “You’re fucked,” Paul says in warning.
I look at Emilio and wait for him to sign something. He just stares at me. He looks at me until I grow all kinds of uncomfortable. Suddenly, he claps a hand to my shoulder and squeezes until I wince. “Let’s have a quick talk, shall we?” he says, as he walks us toward the back of the shop.
I lean my hip against the counter and ask, “What can I do for you?”
“How did you get her to take her gloves off?” he asks.
I stand up straight. “I don’t know,” I say honestly. I have no idea why she took them off.
“You know, she started wearing gloves before we ever adopted her, and she never stopped. We tried to talk her out of them, but it never worked. And then suddenly I show up at her house and she’s wearing shirt sleeves with her arms exposed. It’s honestly the first time I’ve seen the scars from her suicide attempt. Well, not since they unwrapped them at the hospital.” He stops and thinks for a moment. Then he looks into my face. “Whatever you did, I’m grateful, and I just wanted to tell you that.”
I swallow past the lump that’s suddenly in my throat. “I really didn’t do anything.”
“It’s almost a shame you’re going to cover them up,” he says.
I know. I feel the same way. “It’s what she wants.”
“I know, I know,” he says, waving his hand in the air like he’s dismissing my comment. “All this time, all she needed was to meet a deaf guy who can’t possibly fall in love with her to get her through it. I wish I’d known it sooner.”
Huh? “What?” I ask.
“You,” he says, pointing at my chest. “You make her comfortable because you’re not a threat. She’s not worried that you’re going to dismiss her, because you can’t fall in love with her anyway. She’s not your type of girl, right?”
He waits. “Well…” I hesitate. She totally is my type of girl. She’s everything I’ve ever wanted. She’s funny and kind and smart. Who cares if she can hear? She doesn’t seem to care that I can’t.
He stares at me. “Well, what?” he asks. He cocks his head to the side and studies me.
“I’m glad I could help,” I say. “I’ll finish the tattoo today.”
“Good boy,” he says. “She said she has a date this weekend, with some man she has a big crush on.”
My heart stops beating. “She does?”
“She’s pretty damn excited about it. Went and bought a new dress and everything.”
I told her our cookout was casual, so this can’t be for my mom’s party. I didn’t realize she was dating anyone else. I say nothing, because there’s nothing to say. I feel like he just stabbed me in the throat.
Lark comes out of the bathroom and walks in my direction. “You ready to get started?” she asks.
I nod and start to set up my table.
She watches me for a moment, her brow furrowing. She holds up one finger. “Give me just a minute.”
I nod and she steps outside the curtain, jerking her dad with her.
Lark
