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“Dare,” Yaya signs, leaving Talia on the monkey bars to stand in front of me, “that’s the third time I’ve seen you shutting down since we got here.”
“I’m fine.” The moment I finish signing, I curl my fingers into a fist and hide the sight of my cavernous mouth opening wide in a yawn.
Yaya gives me a scolding look. I’m sure she’s going to cut this date short and order me to bed. An instruction I wouldn’t mind if she'd be there with me.
Just then, Talia runs up to us.
“Uncle Dare, take a picture of me on the monkey bars. I want to send it to mom.”
“Alright.” I take out my phone and snap a photo.
“We should do a close-up,” Yaya suggests.
Talia makes a squinty face for the camera. I laugh. “What’s that?”
“Smizing.” My niece finger spells the word instead of speaking it.
I’m shocked to see her using sign language so comfortably. Spending almost a month with the Williams, hanging around Niko at school, and volunteering at the music foundation for the deaf caused an acute transformation.
“Smizing?” I sign. “What’s that?”
“Tyra Banks.” Yaya looks at me like that’s supposed to clear everything up.
“Right.”
She points between herself and Talia and makes a beckoning gesture. Talia seems to immediately know what she wants and the two start posing together.
I fall into place, snapping picture after picture.
There’s a particular one of Yaya that makes me pause. The sun is in her face. Eyes sparkling. White teeth flashing in a broad, gum-revealing smile. It’s candid. Relaxed. Captures the mischievous, feminine woman beneath the perfect model.
I make the picture my phone screensaver.
“I’m surrounded by beauties.” I sign it first and then say it out loud for Talia.
Both girls roll their eyes.
We head over to the ice cream kiosk next. My niece runs ahead to buy her favorite treat while Yaya declines. I stay back to talk to her, noticing a strange expression on her face.
“You don’t want ice cream?”
“I’m on a diet. I gained five pounds since my last gig.”
“I think you look beautiful no matter what you weigh. Eat the ice cream if you want to.”
“It’s fine.”
“You’re not fine.”
“How do you know?”
I touch the line between her brow. “You have a tell too.”
She sighs. “It’s just…” She points to my phone. “I miss it.”
“What? Taking pictures?”
She nods.
