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The teacher of his Total Communication class had talked about how the newly deaf struggled with depression and loneliness, exacerbated by lack of information. Tiger had had his struggles, but he’d also had Skye. She’d helped build a bridge and kept him out of the worst of that.
But had she ever had nightmares like that? Considering it now had his brow creasing. He rose from the bench and moved to stand in front of the statue. Her lips were parted. What would she say, if she could?
The doctor had done her tests. Confirmed some significantly different readings from his last visit. But amid all that technical talk was the one statement that had made his heart leap, his stomach doing a flipflop.
Yes. He likelyhadheard that valve rattle.
“Whatever needed repairing appears to be repairing itself, Mr. Roseland. How much of your hearing you’ll get back, only time will tell. We can’t predict the rate. It could happen quickly, in short leaps. Or gradually, over weeks.”
“What if I get stuck somewhere in the middle?” The ability to hear people, yet having their voices muffled and unintelligible like the adults in a Charlie Brown cartoon, might be worse than being fully deaf. The static he’d been dealing with since the rally was like an out of tune radio.
“It’s possible,” the doc said. “But for that, we have some options. Implants, hearing aids. During the transition, you may hear things most people can’t, sounds outside their normal range. That normal range drowns out those sounds. Which will also happen to you, if and when your hearing moves back toward baseline. Be patient and keep me posted.”
His nose was still working at heightened capacity, because he inhaled Skye’s fragrance a full five seconds before her touch landed on his arm. Her expression was concerned, and he realized it had only been about ten minutes. “I’m sorry. I toldhim it wasn’t urgent. I hope he didn’t pull you out of your meeting.”
She pointed to him, touched her throat and creased her brow. Bastion had heard something in Tiger’s voice that concerned him. Figured. Those damn Dom vibes.
Tiger took her hand. Her head was tilted, taking in the details, just like that statue. Itwasn’turgent, but he guessed he seemed strung like a wire. Even so, she was busy, and he needed to tell her what had brought him here.
She was the first person he’d wanted to tell. Only her. He didn’t want anyone overreacting, or jinxing it, or…whatever the hell reason he was hesitant to tell the world. Hope was fragile, and came with a lot of mixed emotions. Even more now that he faced her. Neither of them had acknowledged it outright, but their relationship had changed because of his hearing loss. How would it change if he got it back?
Didn’t matter if the thought gave him pause, though. Change happened. It was a tank that would run your ass over and leave you flattened if you tried to stop it.
“The last day at the rally, when I got up so early. Do you remember that?”
She nodded.
“Someone started up their bike. That’s why I got up. I heard it.”
Shock crossed her face, her hand tightening on his. “Yeah. At first, I thought I was feeling the vibration and turning it into something else, but then I realized I was picking up a valve rattle. Muffled, but I could tell they needed adjusting.”
Her face transformed, reflecting delight on his behalf. With her free hand, she made the sign for doctor, a question.
“I just came from there. She did a bunch of tests.” He relayed what the doc had said. “I’d prefer to keep it between you andme until I can do more than hear engines and stuff so jumbled I can’t tell if it’s real or made up in my head.”
She had some questions she posed through her phone. As he answered them, her smile for him, the light in her eyes, was genuine. She took both his hands in hers and squeezed. Mouthed, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Lot of maybes and ifs and whens. But…sorry, I should have told you when it happened. I know I was a little distracted on the way back from the rally. I just wasn’t sure if it was what I thought it was.”
She shook her head and turned her phone back toward herself to type. It took an extra few seconds, but then she lifted it for him to read. “It’s a lot to take in. You deserve time to process. I’m very glad for you.” She signed that last statement, then typed some more. “Are you headed back to the garage?”
“Yeah. We’ve got a full day. The crew’s probably cursing my name. On the plus side, once the lift repair is done on the final bay, we’re back at full capacity. Just cosmetic shit left, like painting, sign replacement, repaving the parking area. Crazy week here?”
Her phone buzzed. She glanced at it, then finger-spelledRosfor him.
“Guess that answers that. You need to get back to it.”
She gripped his arm and typed one-handed. “We’ll figure out a time to get together and celebrate.”
Before he could respond, she closed the distance and wrapped her arms around him. She held him tight enough he lifted her off her feet, pressing his face into her hair. Cupping the back of his head, she put her lips to the spot under his ear. She held there a lingering moment, then gave him another squeeze that told him she was ready to be let down.
When he put her gently on her feet, she stepped back. He managed to catch one of her hands and hold onto it.
“Skye…Mistress. Thanks.”
“Before long, you’ll be able to hear everyone again.” She gave him a smile as she typed it, her eyes glistening. “Everyone but me.”
She pivoted and hurried back to the front porch, turning once she reached it to do a short happy dance with a lot of intriguing hip action. Then she tossed him a thumbs up he returned with a grin. She disappeared into the building.
