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“Erik... I... We wanted to tell you, but Kai asked to be the one to tell you since he was the one that brought Mae into our family. I’m—.”
Erik cuts her off as he sweeps her up into a hug. Instantly, her body relaxes as she returns the hug. After a few moments, she pulls back, cupping his cheek affectionately.
“It’s okay, Ma. It’s all sorted out now.”
She pats his cheek. “Good. Now how about you sit down with Mae, get to know each other, and I’ll bring you out some coffee. Are either of you hungry?”
At that moment, my stomach rumbles and my cheeks heat. I bury my face in my hands, embarrassed, as they both laugh.
“Sit down, and I’ll bring you both out something to eat.”
We both walk over to a nearby table, and I’m not surprised when he positions himself directly across from me.
Taking a deep breath, I decide to follow their lead and sign as I talk. “So, tell me about yourself.”
His jaw drops in surprise and I can’t help but giggle. “Someday I want to own and run my own daycare, and figured I should learn how to sign in case one of the children attending is hard of hearing or completely deaf. I noticed that you always make sure you can see a person’s mouth, or that they’d purposefully turn toward you, even if they were signing. However, if I’m doing something that makes you uncomfortable, please tell me, as that’s not what I want.”
He stares at me in shock for a few moments before scrubbing his hands over his face. “He was right. If I would have just talked to you, I would have known you weren’t capable of doing what the text said.” He gives me a sad smile, raising a hand to cut me off before I even say anything.
“When they’re done with Church, I’ll show you.” He looks over his shoulder before leaning closer, and I do the same. “They’ve got my phone. I think they’re trying to track who sent the text, or maybe Python was already able to do it based on their pissed off faces,” he whispers. All I can do is nod as I nervously look toward the door leading into Church.
Needing to change the subject, I focus back on Erik.
“So what do you do?”
I thought it was an innocent question, but at his crestfallen face, I’m not so sure.
“I, uh, I used to be a firefighter. Then, about a year ago, we were out on a call to a house fire around midnight. We knew there were three women living in the old two-story farmhouse. Almost everyone in town knows each other.
“Anyway, my team went in and began searching for them. I was upstairs when I heard over the radio that the mom and grandma were rescued, so it was just the daughter that we needed to find. Then I heard coughing on the far side of the room. The woman was frantically trying to open a window and hadn’t seen or heard me yet. Not wasting time, I scooped her up into my arms, and she clung to me as I descended the stairs.”
He pauses as he licks his lips, a haunted expression coming over his face. “Halfway down the stairs, they collapsed and we fell through the floor and into the basement below. Debris fell all around us, and I rolled on top of her to stop it from hitting her. Unfortunately, a beam fell and hit me on the head, knocking me out cold. My team reached us in time and got us out, but thanks to me getting knocked out, the woman endured third-degree burns on a portion of her face, neck, chest, and left arm. I have some scarring from burns but my gear protected the vast majority of my body.
“When I woke up in the hospital, I knew immediately something was wrong. I could faintly hear people talking, but most of what I could hear was a whooshing noise. The docs said I lost 90% of my hearing but that they didn’t think it’d be permanent. That over time, they were optimistic that I’d regain all of it, or at least a portion of it back. About three months later, I regained about 5-10%, but since then, there hasn’t been any improvement. I’m afraid that I’ll never be able to do what I love again.”
“How’s the woman doing now?”
He swallows thickly. “Other than that she lived, I don’t really know very much. When I asked about her in the hospital, I was told she was alive but would need multiple surgeries to remove the damaged tissue and, most likely, skin grafting. Then, when I asked if I could see her, I was told she didn’t want anyone to see her right now. The only ones she let in were her mom and grandma, which is understandable as they’re the only family she has left from what I’d heard. I know she still lives in town and works at her family’s restaurant, but I steer clear of it and her whenever I see her around town. Because of me getting knocked out, she’s suffering daily. I don’t want to put her in more pain by seeing me.”
My heart breaks at the pain he feels for this woman. Without thinking, I get up, walk over to him, and hug him.
“Maybe someday she’ll feel brave enough to seek you out. When that time comes, I hope it will help both of you. Who knows, maybe she heard you were injured saving her and she’s blaming herself for your injury, just like you’re blaming yourself for hers.”
Movement catches my eye and I look up to see Mama Astrid staring at us through the pass-through window, wiping her eyes. She mouths ‘thank you’ to me, and I give her a watery smile back.
When Erik releases me, he turns, wiping his eyes and I pretend not to notice as I retake my seat across from him. A few moments later, Mama Astrid places plates full of eggs, bacon, and pancakes down in front of us. She quickly returns with coffee and hurries back into the kitchen. Thankfully, she didn’t load my plate as much as she did Erik’s. I’m getting better at eating bigger meals, but it’s a slow process.
We sit there talking, our breakfasts long finished. He tells me about his twin sister, Frida, and I wish I could have met her. She seems like someone I’d get along with and could be friends with.
I quickly find out that Erik has a good sense of humor and it’s not surprising when he tells me stories of him and his sister pulling pranks on Kai. Sometimes Dominick, or Dom, as they call him takes part, but not always.
I’m surprised when he tells me that Dom is slightly on the spectrum, but that he’s very high functioning. Apparently, Kai and Ragnar run the Harley Dealership together and have a garage attached to it. While Kai also works in the garage sometimes, he mainly runs the store and showroom. However, it’s the garage where Dom shines the most.
“That kid is amazing,” Erik gushes, pride evident on his face. “When we were kids, us boys would sit with Pops and Grandpa listening to engine sounds on tape. Then Grandpa would ask us what was wrong with the engine. Dom mastered that game quickly. To this day, he can hear an engine running and he’ll be able to pinpoint exactly what’s wrong with it. Sometimes he gets excited and could ramble on for hours if we let him about cars.
“I help out at the shop more so than I ever did before, but it’s hard when I can’t hear the engine to help diagnose what’s wrong. Usually, Dom and I work together or at least in the bays right next to each other for that reason.” He pauses and his face twists into a sneer. “It’s also helped for times when we have asshole customers come in and don’t want him working on their cars. Since almost everyone in town knows each other, they all know he’s on the spectrum. However, those fucking idiots always conveniently ‘forget’ that he’s extremely high functioning,” he says using air quotes.
Anger rises in me at the thought of someone doing that to anyone, let alone someone that’s now family. “Those hoity-toity jerks better not say any of that if I’m around. I have no problem getting in their faces,” I seethe.
