having big thoughts about Sideshow's first two arcs that will mean having to majorly rewrite both of them despite being almost finished w/ the games first draft script......but also these big thoughts are making me recognize fucking HUGE plotholes that i had conveniently ignored the first time around, so again, it feels like needed changes

tether notes 2/3

pt. 3

i mentioned this in the last part, but i used muroran as basis for veilstone, not abashiri. actually, if you want my opinion, i think shari, hokkaido, is a better depiction of veilstone than abashiri. mostly, i used muroran bc i could find pictures there that were more than just boat-icebreaker-drift ice-boat. abashiri is cold. and full of drift ice. if you need context, it’s level with toronto, canada. a pretty cold place to live. muroran is further south, and it’s also a port city, so i jus used that.

shari looks nicer, but it’s more into the hook of hokkaido (that piece on sinnoh map that jutts out right below battle zone) and not nestled into the mountains, so. mostly it was out.

makino’s cafe/bar is based on the diner in veilstone. so, walk in, counter bar to your left, tables to your right, possibly a happiny underfoot carrying trays of food. 

but, compared to the more rustic and colored veilstone, i wanted to depict more of hokkaido city here. so, more rundown, rusted due to sea breeze, older things without much repair. passable, sure, for daily life. but new and extravagant? no. far from.

if makino is so close with luffy, how come she doesn’t know sabo?

simple. she’s not close with luffy. makino has a fulltime job running a diner in veilstone, sinnoh. luffy grew up on the sevii islands, kanto. when he was in sinnoh, he was training with shanks. yeah, sure, they would come by for food, and makino is good friends with shanks, so of course she and luffy have a relationship. but, also at this point where shanks began to bring luffy around, instead of teaching him out in nowhere, sevii islands, they began to keep things secret. luffy was here “just visiting” to anyone who asks, but they wouldn’t seen him much around, not in the isolation shanks trained him in. also also at this point, because i derailed that sentence completely, ace and sabo were already out traveling. it just never came up. makino is friendly with luffy, she knows luffy, but she doesn’t know him, not really.

pokemon hunters is another anime concept i wanted to use, again to make the story more gritty. no evil teams here with world-domination plots, just poachers. pretty standard. still awful, especially if they’re poaching people, now, but nothing as wide-scale as team galactic.

i had so much fun writing ship captain jinbe. i wished i got more of a chance to write his crew, too. at this point i think i had just caught up reading blackbird by milo, and i was hooked on the idea of biker fishman gang and leader jinbe, so i adapted it into ship crew here. praline is there, yes. she’s badass. i said so, you heard it here. 

i talked a lot with my big bang partner, and we eventually decided jinbe’s a mix of hoenn and sinnoh descent. so, darker skin, almost polynesian, from hoenn’s more pacific island vibe. dark, curly hair. i drew a picture once? oh, here it is. jus a little sketch. he probably actually comes from hoenn, but he does cargo runs throughout sinnoh now. [i should probably say around, since there arent rly canals thru sinnoh?]

regarding law’s map error, i really jus wanted to reference flower paradise. of course the map he got was a tourist version, so of course it’s gonna include the magical pathway connecting the sinnoh league to an island of flowers. but it doesn’t actually exist, or if it does, it’s not always there, since they sail through the space with ease. just another fun easter egg. 

the marsh scene was another i’ve known i wanted since the beginning. i had so much fun drawing the map for it. i actually based the scenes entirely off the map, so while i knew the general direction i wanted it to go in, and that they would run into sabo, the part about wandering into the rain and encountering volcarona spawned while marking the map. crazy how things work, huh?

i think i made the chase move a little too fast, so most of the time out of their 12 hr limit is spent after departing from the marsh, wandering thru route 212. don get me wrong, the marsh scene spans over the course of hours, but its still less time from leaving the ship to leaving sabo than it is to get back to the ship.

the aegislash scene is the first one i conceptualized, of the marsh scene series. introducing law’s team was strategic, especially once i revealed luffy only had four pokemon. it was always meant to be a readers gamble how many law had. at the end of part 3, it’s pretty easy to gauge how many, but still, the surprise of the sixth pokemon in pt 4 is something im still proud of c:

anyway, yes, the first sense of real danger. poachers have no qualms in using their pokemon to harm other people. they’re there for the money, which they get from capturing and caging rare pokemon. who cares if they hurt a few people along the way? who cares if they brutalize them to take a particular pokemon, a-la mr. cleffa sir? law reacts to this very quickly, in part because he’s used to it, as explained in tragic backstory number 2, right behind one-brother-dies-and-the-other-runs-away from protag #2. 

actually, i guess the first danger was the wild kadabra, but this is the one in which someone gets hurt! . . . or, worse-hurt, because law’s scratch doesn’t count. luffy’s gash in his shoulder? that’s a big injury. especially when they can’t just stop to treat it, especially when law still has blood on his face from it, especially when they have to go right back to running around the marsh.

and then sabo appears!! i lied, this was the first marsh scene. i drabble-wrote it in my series-of-drabbles-to-add-to-the-outline before i made pt 3′s outline, and then wrote it for real. the aegislash-being-badass-therefore-law-also-by-proxy was the second. one of the first sentences i ever wrote for tether was law realizing the face from luffy’s picture was right before his eyes. 

so why do the hunters ignore luffy calling for sabo while running away?

yes, why the no consequences? i realized at this point they were too far away to hear and law too out of it (its law’s pov, still) to figure what they were saying, to i had to play it off. it’s another scene where i almost wrote a few paragraphs from a different perspective [the other two were the tsuru-caesar confrontation and the mr. cleffa dude ft. sabo scene, both of which i had to expand upon by talking, instead of a flashback to show it. i rly went full soul-eater approach here, huh? explaining everything through present means. well. save for law’s backstory, but that’s about the only thing.] but decided not to in the end.

here’s how the scene plays out, full disclosure. law and luffy spot the two hunters. a third person, sabo comes into view. the hunters tell sabo the situation, that they were being chased. law recognizes sabo, luffy does too, and calls out to him, loudly. this causes the hunters to panic, and they tell sabo, there, there’s the people chasing after us. law figures sabo has some secret reason for posing as a hunter and pulls luffy again out of view, not wanting to give him away. all three hunters take off running in the opposite direction. luffy calls out for sabo again, and sabo turns to question the other two, asking which pokemon they stole that was named ‘sabo’. he has a fake name, obviously. they don’t know he’s sabo. before they can figure it out, he derails the topic. but then he slips crossed fingers behind his back at the same time, signaling silently to luffy, who stops calling out.

so, tldr, sabo’s not using his real name while with the hunters and is smart enough to cover his ass from luffy’s mistake.

i wanted law carrying luffy, on their way down the route, to the stormclouds, and i’m pretty sure the one reason i didnt go thru with it is because law’s backpack. and, y’know, luffy being caked in mud. 

okay, do. panic attack time. ptsd time. a mix of both, ig. whatever you wanna call it. originally, this scene was going to be a bit different, and happen way earlier in the story. it didnt bc of sinnoh’s lack of fire types [there are only 2 i think, 2 lines i mean, so like 5] and the fact that ace’s team featured none of them. and then i thought, oh, i’ll jus make the same thing happen w sabo, except none of sabo’s team were one of them as well.

originally, it was going to be that law/lu encounter a clan of a specific type of wild fire pokemon. i think for the longest time it was talonflame, not sure anymore. anyway, so it was gonna go that luffy recognizes ace’s former pokemon outta the bunch, and they recognize lu as well, and the two reunite and all that jazz, and meanwhile law has his attack bc the group they encounter are one of the pokemon that tormented him in alola.

and, nope, now i remember why it didnt happen. as much as i hate dof, i had to craft a team for him for plot purposes, and that ended up being a bug team to go w the whole string motif. the problem was i had this scene planned for a looooong time, and it needed to be w a fire type, one of ace’s pokemon. except there are like no fire/bug pokemon, except for volcarona, who wasn’t on ace’s already-planned team at this point. i debated for foreeeeever and finally decided to screw it, and i made it sabo’s unova pokemon. so, instead of getting a unova dragon, in the land of dragons unova, sabo gets a volcarona and ace a darmanitan. all for plot purposes. no sense here. none at all.

[not that it matters, since sabo morphs into a fire trainer anyway after ace dies]

so, after i decided it would be sabos pokemon, the point came back to how they would encounter it. no hordes of wild volcarona in sinnoh. i sadly had to scrap the idea. this is what i came up with instead: volcarona coming to luffy to deliver a letter, and scarring law in the process.

Law has a chocolate bar, because he’s ten and anxious and chocolate seemed good at the time.

-aka my favorite line of the whole entire story!!!

and then law’s backstory time. so!!! for the longest time i was torn between setting the story in sinnoh or alola. this was my big compromise. i wrote a draft-outline for law’s alola backstory before i wrote a real outline for tether as a whole. this was the first part of the story i really wrote. i was done with it before i started pt 1, because i wanted to outline before i started writing. 

the thing abt law is that his life is so much of a tragedy. oda writes it so well, to the point where you’re thinking this can’t get any worse and then it gets worse, every time. i wanted to mimic that here. i didn’t do it justice, but i at least tried.

law’s life is filled with mistrust. his whole village dies, he nearly does as well, and so he packs up and runs away, and hides his one pokemon abra because he’s not a registered trainer and he refuses to abandon abra so theres mistrust towards everyone who can turn him in, and everyone who didnt care enough to help with the water crisis. he’s done with sinnoh. so he spends a bit holed up in a library, and once he reads about alola, he’s sold. he’s so mistrustful it’s not a matter of ‘anywhere is better than sinnoh’, its a matter of ‘i can’t end up in another place just like this’. alola is the solution.

except, he’s still mistrustful. so he hides abra, and he hides his money, and he doesn’t speak with anyone, and he leaves the city as soon as he can. he doesn’t know the rules of this place, but abra is all he has. he can’t lose abra. and then things go wrong.

because he’s out of sinnoh, but alola is different. he’s ten, and he’s never had a real pokemon battle, and all the wild pokemon of alola are too eager. he’s ten, and a pangoro attacks and he loses all his supplies on his very first day, because abra’s too exhausted to teleport them away this time. [in hindsight, i did a really bad continuity error here, throughout the entire flashback. it’s thru law’s eyes, so i describe the pokemon he doesn’t know about, and yet sometimes i name the pokemon he really shouldn’t know about. my bad.]

he’s ten, and the only food he finds is being guarded by a giant sumo crab, so he crawls to the other side of the beach and falls asleep on the sand, hungry. he’s ten, and he’s living off berries because money is only so good when you can exchange it, and he’s far away from civilization. he’s ten, and he spends the very last of his money on money for abra, for his only pokemon and his only ally, because going to a pokemon center would mean being seen and asking for a license to verify and its too risky, he can’t risk it. 

he’s ten, and he’s hungry, and he has nothing but the abra clutched in his arms and his ripped clothes clinging to his body, and he witnesses a murder. and they catch him in the act, and then he’s stuck, because he shouldn’t have a pokemon so young, and he’s a witness to a crime, and too quickly he’s in a very bad position.

he’s ten, and to keep abra alive, he joins a gang in alola.

he’s ten, and he’s blackmailed into working or risking abra being taken away. he’s ten, and he has morals, and there’s some tasks he won’t do, but the family boss punishes him for it, harshly. he stops having morals. it wouldn’t do him good here. 

law turns eleven, and suddenly gang tasks involve pokemon battles. law’s eleven, and doflamingo trains law himself, beating the weakness out of him, burning him, scarring him, terrorizing him because he can, and because law can’t refuse. 

law’s eleven when he realizes his picture-perfect alola was nothing but an illusion, because the lack of monopolies and corporations and factories actually had nothing to do with how much the natives cared about their own, or cared at all, about anything. just because alola didn’t have a pokemon league didn’t mean it wasn’t a bad place to be.

he’s eleven when he meets corazon, and finally, finally, gets a breath of fresh air, gets a taste of a person who isn’t there to ridicule him or abuse him. he’s eleven when he meets his first real friend since his sister died, meets someone that finally treats him like a human being. and it doesnt matter that he’s doflamingo’s brother, because he’s kind to law.

law’s eleven and corazon works to repair the damage done by the gang, little by little. he gets law out on an island challenge, and he wanders through melemele and akala and meets kind people and has fun and experiences the real alola. and he realizes, somewhere along the way, that he never wants to go back to the family ever again.

law’s eleven when he realizes he has no choice. because he belongs to doflamingo, because he has to skip out on ula’ula to accomplish a task for the family, because corazon sits there and lets it happen. 

law’s eleven when he’s given a pokemon egg, and when he’s given hope.

corazon was going to take care of everything. he was going to get them out, safely. they were going to rescue a captive pokemon. law was going to be free. law was never going to be hurt by the family again.

except, that’s not how it goes. corazon dies. corazon’s pokemon are tortured in order to lure law out. corazon’s pokemon all die for him and law has no option left but to run with all his might, all the way from one tip of ula’ula to the other. and then, because he can’t trust anyone, anyone, law runs away into a desert with no supplies to speak of.

law’s eleven when he comes face to face with the most temperamental tapu in the alola region, and even with all he’s been through, it’s the most scared he’s even been in his entire life. and then, when he comes to, he finds himself stranded in the kalos region. he’s eleven. he goes through all of this and he’s not even a teenager yet.

so, backing up just a bit, you can see how seeing a volcarona is going to invoke some rather strong emotions in law. he panics. he passes out. luffy puts volcarona away, because me might be oblivious on a lot of things, but he can understand the pure terror in law’s eyes.

alright, what else. the letter. of course luffy disavows the letter, he’s luffy, he can’t follow a plan to save his life.

Signing

Friday Nat was sitting at the bar when a few loud people arrived and sat down next to her. She was having a drink with a friend and didn't really pay any attention to them. They were obviously having a good time, maybe a too good time. It was Friday night and she hadn't felt like going home after work, so she texted her BFF of many years and asked if she wanted to go out for drinks. She had met Dawn through mutual friends and they had hit it off right away. Dawn being deaf had never stopped her being friends. Nat knew how to sign. The guys next to her started to get a little loud and bumped into her. Nat gave them the evil eye. "I'm sorry, we're a little drunk," one of them said. Nat kept staring at them and wasn't in the mood to deal with a bunch of drunken guys. She signed something and pretended to be deaf. "I am sor-ry," the guy slowly shouted and signed his friends to go sit elsewhere. "You're bad," the bartender smiled when he walked by. "I'm too tired to deal with them," she winked and turned to Dawn to continue their conversation. It was a pleasant evening and exactly what she needed. At the end of the evening they said their goodbyes and they both went their own ways. She put her coat on and walked towards the door when someone stepped in front of her. She looked him up and down and swallowed. He was very handsome and well dressed. "I'm sorry to startle you, but I've been watching you and wanted to discuss something with you." "Well, that doesn't sound creepy at all," she replied and lifted her eyebrow. "That came out wrong, I'm sorry. Do you have a few minutes to spare? Can I offer you a drink?" and he pointed to a table. "Depends what it's about?" she didn't move. "I have a business proposal for you." "Oh yeah?" "Nothing kinky or anything, please sit down for a minute and let me explain," and he pointed to the table again. She turned to the table, took her coat off again and sat down on the chair he was holding for her. He sat down opposite her and signalled the waitress. "What can I get you both?" and she took out her notepad. "White wine please.” "I'll have the same, thanks," he said and the waitress took off again. "First of all, my name is Daniel." "I'm Nat. What's this about?" "I saw you sign with your friend earlier. I'm not good at it, but judging from what I saw you are?" "Where you spying on us?" The waitress put their drinks down and they both took a sip. "No, not really. I was in a meeting most of the evening so I didn’t pay much attention to the conversation,” and he took another sip. “My niece needs someone to help her out with signing and basically be her translator I guess. Would that be something you'd be interested in?" "Well, I already have a part time job. I'd have to think about it." "It wouldn't be fulltime. She's living with me, maybe you could come over and meet her before you decide? She's a real sweet kid, but she comes with a lot of baggage. She could use some extra help." "What sort of baggage? How old is she?" "She's 6 and she has just lost her parents in a car accident, she lost her hearing in that crash," and he looked sad. "I'm sorry to hear. You said niece?" "Yes, she's my sister’s daughter." "That must be hard on you both." "Yes, I'm not used to having kids around. Look at me, I'm a business man. I've never had to take care of anyone, half of the time I don't know what I'm doing." She felt sorry for him and he seemed genuine. She handed him one of her cards. "I can't promise you anything, I don't want to give up my job. Call me tomorrow and I'll check my calendar. Ok?" "Thanks Nat. She's a sweet kid, I promise." "Call me and we'll schedule something," and she got up and put her coat on again. "I have to go, I have an early start in the morning and I'm nearly falling asleep." "Thanks for listening to me. Can I drop you off somewhere?" "My mom told me never to get in a car with a stranger," she said with a smile. "You have a wise mom," he smiled and got up too. "I'll walk you out." They walked outside together and when Nat saw her bus nearing the bus stop, she ran off. "Call me tomorrow," she shouted before she got onto the bus. He smiled and went on his way. Saturday The next day Nat got up at 7. Why the hell had she agreed to volunteer at the deaf institute on a Saturday morning of all days. Weekends were the only days she could sleep in. She drank her tea and got ready to leave. She took her bike and it only took her 20 minutes to get there. "Hey Alicia, everything ok?" she said to the woman who opened the front door for her. "I'm ok, thanks for asking. Thanks for doing this Nat, you're a big help. Can you start waking up the little ones? I'll see if breakfast is ready and we can start the day." "No worries, you have me till lunchtime, then I have to go," and she ran up the stairs to go help out with the smallest children. She woke them up, helped them get dressed and brought everyone to the breakfast table. Most of these kids were just learning to sign and were so grateful and appreciative. She thought about the night before. Imagine if she could do this as a job. She had never thought about it before, but now the opportunity arose, she wanted to go for it. The rest of the morning she helped out where needed. With the help of pictures she learned the kids a few new signs and they played games and had a good time. Smiles all around. And when it was time for her to go, they wouldn't let go of her. "Looks like they had a good time," Alicia said. "You'll need to come back soon." "I will," and she turned around and promised the kids she'd try and come back the next weekend. A promise she didn't know if she would be able to keep. She hugged Alicia and left the institute. The minute she got onto her bike her mobile phone started buzzing. "Nat speaking." "Hey Nat, it's Daniel. From last night?" "I know who you are," she said with a smile on her face. "I wasn't sure you’d remember my name. You asked me to call you back today. Are you still keen to meet my niece?" "Yes, I think that's something I could be interested in. No promises though, let's see how we go after I've met her. Ok?" "Fine by me. When would you be able to come around?" "I just finished helping out somewhere. I'm free now if that suits you?" "That would suit us, we're home. Can I send my driver around to pick you up? I’ll need your address." "I'm not home yet, it will take me around 20 minutes. Is that ok?" "How about I'll send him in an hour? That way you don't need to rush and you can freshen up if you want." "That sounds perfect," and she gave him her address. "See you later." "Thanks for doing this Nat, see you later." "Don't forget, no promises." "I know, no promises," and he broke the connection. Nat drove home, took a quick shower, put on a dress and waited for the car to arrive. A little while later someone rang her doorbell and she opened the front door. "Hi, I'm Giles, Daniel's driver. He asked me to pick you up," and he walked to the car and opened her door. Nat got in and looked around. It was a pretty fancy car. "So you work for Daniel fulltime?" "Yes." For the rest of the drive not much was said. They drove passed a lot of fancy houses and after 30 minutes Giles slowed down and a gate opened. He drove up the driveway and the gate shut behind them. This wasn't a house, this was a mansion. No wonder he had a driver, this was a wealthy family. Giles opened her door and she got out and looked around. She kept turning and turning and hadn't noticed Daniel watching her from up the stairs. As soon as she noticed him she turned red. "I'm sorry, I was admiring your house. Sorry, mansion? What is this?'" and she walked up to him and shook his hand. "I call this home," he smiled and she followed him inside. "Can I offer you a drink?" "Water please. If you don't mind I'd like to meet," and she stopped. "You haven't mentioned her name?" "Haven't I? My niece is called Shiri. I'll go get her," and he handed her a glass of water. "No!" she yelled and was shocked by her outburst. "Sorry, I'm a little nervous. Point me to her room and I'd like to get to know her on my own if you don't mind." "She's upstairs, the first room to your left. Just yell if you need anything." "Thanks," and she took a sip from her drink, put her glass down and walked up the stairs. She slowly opened the door and saw a little girl play on her own. She observed her for a wile and then stepped forward. She signed hello and Shiri signed hello back. Ok, so she knew the basics. "What are you doing?" she slowly signed. She held up a few drawings. "Would you mind spending some time with me?" Shiri lifted her eyebrow. "You want to learn how to sign properly? I could teach your uncle too?" She hadn't understood all the words, but she nodded her head. "Do you want to go outside and go for a walk?" The girl nodded again. She grabbed her hand and together they went downstairs. They walked past Daniel. "We're going for a walk in the garden, we'll be back in a while," and they went outside. Daniel watched them walk away till he couldn't see them anymore. Looking out the window earlier, Nat had seen a lake with a bench and she wanted to go there. They sat down and she turned to Shiri. "How are you?" The girl didn't understand her. "Can you sign?" she tried again. She held her thumb and pointing finger apart a little and held them up. "A little?" Nat signed. Shiri tried it and Nat clapped her hands. Shiri smiled. She had learned something new. Nat smiled. It would be hard work, but she liked a challenge. They walked around for a while, picked some flowers and walked back. When they came near the house again, she saw Daniel watching them from the window. As soon as they were up the front stairs, he opened the door. "Is everything ok?" "Yes, everything's fine. Do you have a vase for Shiri?" "There's a few in the kitchen, I'll show you," and they followed him. He took a nice vase from one of the shelves and gave it to Shiri. She filled it with water and put her flowers in it. Daniel picked the vase up and asked her where he should put it. She walked towards the hall and pointed to the small table that was standing near the coat hanger. Daniel put the vase down and put his thumb up to Shiri. She pointed upstairs and ran off to her room again. Daniel and Nat went to the living room and sat down. "Can I get you a new cool drink?" Daniel asked. "That's ok, I'll finish my water," and she picked up her glass and sat down opposite Daniel. "So what do you think?" "She's a sweet kid. I think I could work with her. She reminds me of the kids at the institute I help out sometimes." "That's nice, so you know how to handle kids." "I only help out there when they need me, it's not something I do fulltime," and she took a sip from her drink. "What did you have in mind? How many hours do you want me here?" "That depends on how many hours you can spare. You said you have a day job?" "Yes, I work part time at my brother's company. I help out with the paperwork. I don't want to quit, he wouldn't be able to handle that side of the business. It's just the two of us. I can't do that to him. But I could come here after work and on Fridays. Would that suit you?" "That would be great, maybe we could hang up a schedule so Shiri knows when to expect you? What kind of wager did you have in mind?" "I haven't even thought about that. I thought I was only meeting her today. Can I think about it?" "No hurry, I'm sure we can work something out." "Maybe next weekend she can accompany me to the institute? I think it would be great for her to see there are other kids like her. What do you think?" “I think that would be a great idea.” Nat put her drink down. “I need to go now, I’ve got another early start in the morning.” “Ok, thanks for your time. I’ll ask Giles to drop you off again. Let him know where and when he can pick you up on Monday and we’ll discuss your schedule then?” She got up and shook his hand. “Perfect. I’ll see you Monday.” “You just go to the car and I’ll send Giles your way.” Giles dropped Nat off and she asked him to pick her up around six on Monday. That wouldn’t leave her much time to get home, eat and get ready again, but she wanted to get as much time with Shiri as possible before Shiri had to go to bed. She forgot to ask about her bedtime, she would ask on Monday. Nat sat down on the couch with a sandwich and opened her laptop. She quickly had a read through her emails. Mostly work related emails. Nothing that couldn’t wait until Monday. She did some banking, took a shower and went to bed. She was exhausted. Sunday The next day she had promised to help Dawn out with a few things. She needed her for moral support. She had broken up with her boyfriend and she was moving house. And before she knew it, it was Sunday evening and her weekend was nearly over. When she entered her apartment, she heard a buzzer. It was her brother. She opened her facetime screen, put her iPhone on the stand and sat down. “What are you doing?” he signed. “I was helping Dawn today. She told me she hasn’t seen you in a while? She misses you,” she smiled. “I miss her too, but her boyfriend didn’t like it when I hung around.” “That’s ok now, they’ve broken up. I think she would really like it if you took her out for a coffee or something.” “Matchmaker much?” he signed and smiled. She smiled back. One day, these two would admit their feelings for each other. “So why did you call?” she signed. “I’ll be a little later tomorrow. I have to go to a client first. He needs a few adjustments. You’ll be there to open the shop?” “Yes, I’ll be there, no worries. Hey, I’ve got something to tell you too but I’ll tell you tomorrow at work.” “Something I should be worried about?” and he frowned his eyebrow. “No, everything’s good. I’m going to teach a young girl to sign. But I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow, ok? I just got home and I need a shower urgently.” “Ok sis, see you tomorrow,” and he blew her a kiss. She smiled and blew a kiss back. They waved goodbye and she broke the connection. Monday That morning she opened the shop and went to her work space. She had a desk set up at the front of the shop so she could see everyone come in and talk to them. Her brother wouldn’t hear a thing, even if they were robbing the place. She liked working with her brother. At first she felt guilty because she could hear and her brother couldn’t. After their parents had died, she felt obliged to take care of him, even if he was a little older than her. But she had to admit they were a great team. She did all the paper work, talked to the customers and he did all the handy work. “So what’s this new job you were talking about,” her brother asked as soon as he walked in. “Well, good morning to you too,” and she gave him a hug. “Morning,” and he sat down on the empty chair in front of her desk. “There’s this little girl, she has lost her hearing. She lost her parents in an accident and she’s living with her uncle now. He saw me sign and asked if I could teach his niece. I’ll go there after work and on Fridays and I’ll take her to the institute so she’ll get to know other kids like her,” she told him and she was pretty excited about her new challenge. “Nat, are you sure you want to take on more work? You’re doing so much already. When will you start taking care of yourself?” “I like helping other people. Don’t worry about me, I like my life as it is, honest,” she signed. “If you’re sure.” “I’m sure. I need to leave on time though. His driver is picking me up at six.” “Here?” “No, at home. So I can’t stay back today.” Her brother smiled. “Why are you smiling?” “You leaving on time. That’ll be a first!” and he giggled and got up to start work. She rolled her eyes and got on with her work. The later it was getting, the more excited and nervous she was getting. Simon stood in front of her smiling and pointed at his watch. She looked at the time on her computer screen. “Shit!” and she jumped up, took her purse and ran out. Simon smiled and locked up after her. She jumped on her bike and quickly went home. Giles was already waiting for her when she arrived. She parked her bike, attached the lock and walked up to him. “I’m so sorry Giles, I lost track of time. Would you mind if I take a quick shower, I’m all sweaty from the bike ride.” “No worries, take your time.” “Come upstairs and I’ll give you a cold drink, it’s much too warm to be standing in the sun.” “That’s fine, but I’ll wait here.” “Oh come on, it’s a safe neighbourhood, the car’s safe.” He hesitated and locked the car up. “That’s very nice of you. Ok, a quick drink.” “I promise I’ll hurry and we’ll be on our way in no time,” and she walked up to the front door and opened the door. Giles followed her inside and she gave him a drink, took one for herself, took a few sips and ran off to her bedroom. She took the first dress she saw and she hopped in the shower. It only took her a few minutes. She didn’t check her makeup or her hair, that wasn’t important. “I’m ready!” and she came running out of the bedroom and Giles got up. As soon as she said it, her mobile phone started buzzing. Simon. “I’m so sorry, one more second please,” she apologetically said and Giles sat down again. She put the phone on the counter and put her shoes on, whilst signing with him. “I don’t have time, I need to go,” she signed. “I wanted to wish you good luck. If there’s anything wrong, you let me know ok?” “He’s not a mass murderer Simon, it’s his niece I’ll be working with. I’ll be fine, don’t you worry about me, I’ll see you in the morning, ok?” “I’m your big brother, it’s my right to worry about you,” he smiled and he waved goodbye. She waved goodbye back and broke the connection. “Now I’m ready,” she smiled at Giles. “I’m sorry, that was my brother and if I don’t pick up he worries.” “That’s fine, no worries. We’ll be on our way now, Shiri’s very excited to see you.” “Me too,” she smiled and locked the door behind them. They went to the car and Giles opened the back door. “Would you mind if I sit at the front?” she asked. Giles looked at her with raised eyebrows. “I guess not, you can sit where you want.” “Fine, then I’ll sit at the front. I feel awkward sitting at the back, I guess I’m not used to be driven around. I’ve never had a chauffeur.” Giles opened the front door and she got in. Sitting at the front made the conversation so much easier. This time there were no weird silences and she liked Giles. He was a nice guy. When they arrived at the house, she didn’t wait for Giles to open her door. She opened it herself and walked up the stairs where Daniel and Shiri were already waiting for her. “I’m glad you could come, welcome,” and he took a step aside to let her enter. Shiri took her hand and guided her in. “How much time do I have? When does she need to go to bed?” “Around eight, usually a little later. She’s a master in dragging time,” he smiled. “Dinner will be ready around seven.” “When does she take a bath or a shower?” “Usually after dinner. Will you join us for dinner?” She had to admit she was famished. She only had a small lunch and hadn’t eaten anything since then. “Oh, I don’t know. I’m an employee.” “It’s just me and Shiri, you’d be welcome to join us. You could teach the both of us during dinner?” “Well,” she hesitated. “That would be lovely, I haven’t had time to eat yet.” “That’s settled then, I’ll ask Maria to set an extra plate. I’ll see you around seven.” “Thanks Daniel,” and she turned to Shiri. “I like your dress,” Nat signed. Shiri lifted her eyebrow. Nat pointed at her dress and lifted her thumb and smiled. “Thank you,” she signed and she pointed at Daniel. “I guess you bought it for her?” she asked. “Yes I did. I saw it and I knew it would be perfect for her.” “You have good taste,” she smiled and turned to Shiri again and pointed upstairs. Shiri nodded and they went upstairs. The evening had flown by. During dinner Nat had thought Daniel and Shiri a few new signs. They both picked it up easily. They repeated everything a few times and she was very pleased with them. After dinner Shiri asked Nat something. “What is she saying?“ Daniel asked. “She wants me to help her take a bath. Is that ok?” “That’s ok, we have a maid who helps Shiri.” “Oh I don’t mind, I can do it,” and she got up and Shiri took her hand when they walked upstairs. Nat filled the bathtub, helped her get undressed and helped her in the bath. She had put some animal bath toys aside and thought her the signs for them. Most of them she didn’t know, so every time she showed her how to sign a toy she put it aside and took another one. After a while she picked up a previous toy and asked Shiri what it was. Every time she got one right, she could have it. Luckily she was very eager to learn and after a while the bath was filled with toys. She heard a knock on the door. It was Daniel who stuck his head in. “Is everything ok?” he asked. “Everything’s fine, she learned a heap of new signs tonight. Come in,” and she turned to Shiri. Nat picked up a random toy and Shiri signed correct. Daniel stepped into the bathroom and sat down on the chair that was standing next to the bath. “You pick one,” she told Daniel and he picked up an elephant. Shiri signed elephant. Nat clapped and Shiri smiled. Daniel picked up another one but she got it wrong this time. Nat helped her out and the next one was correct again. “Wow she learned so much in just one evening. Soon she’ll be fluent,” he said with a sad face. “Yes she will be. Hey, you’ll learn too. I grew up signing, both my parents were deaf and my brother is deaf too. But I know plenty of people who learned to sign at a later age.” “I’m sorry to hear that both your parents are dead. Is that why you want to keep working for your brother? You feel guilty because you’re not deaf like the rest of your family?” “That’s how it started, but I like it. Plus I have all these other things I do, I have friends, I help out at the institute. My life is anything but dull, it’s pretty hectic.” “And yet you took on another job,” he smiled at her. “Who could turn down this cute girl?” and they both looked at Shiri who was playing with the animal toys. “I know how you feel,” he sighed and got up. “It’s time for this little lady to go to bed,” and he pulled the bath stop and held out a towel. He splashed water in her face and signed to get out of the water. She stepped out of the bath and he wrapped the towel around her and picked her up. “She deserves to be happy again,” and he carried her to her bedroom. He put her down next to the bed, unwrapped the towel, dried her off and pulled her pj over her head. He opened his arms and Shiri stepped between them and he hugged her. Nat was standing at the door, watching them and she smiled. He picked her up and threw her on the bed. She giggled and crawled under the sheets. He gave her a kiss on her forehead and she threw her arms around his neck. “Do you want to say goodnight?” and he looked at her. She stepped into the bedroom and walked up to the bed. “Sleep tight sweet Shiri,” she slowly signed and Shiri smiled. She gave her a hug and she walked out of the room, followed by Daniel who turned the lights down and left the door ajar. “How was it for you?” he asked when they reached the living room and he sat down on one of the chairs. Nat sat down on the chair opposite him. She was exhausted. “She’s very eager to learn. After only one night, she has learned so much,” she leaned back in the chair. “You look tired. Are you sure you can do this?” “I’ll be fine,” and she yawned. “I’m so sorry, but I think it’s best I go home before I fall asleep on your couch.” “That’s ok, we can talk more tomorrow. I’d like it if you can join us for dinner when you’re here. It would be easier for you and we would be able to use that time wisely.” “That would be lovely, thank you.” “Ask Giles to pick you up from work, that way you won’t need to drive back and forth.” “What about my bike?” “Giles can put your bike in the trunk and drop you and your bike off after you leave here. It’s just a thought, it would spare you time and energy.” “I guess, thank you.” When Giles drove her home, she sat in the front again. She sent a quick text to Simon, saying everything went well and she was too tired to chat. She was going straight to bed. When Giles dropped her off, she gave him her work address and he would pick her up there the next day around six. She took her shoes off, dropped her purse and crawled into bed. She didn’t even have the energy to take her dress off. Tuesday The next morning she filled Simon in about Shiri, Daniel and Giles. “Be careful Nat, don’t get too involved,” he signed. “I’m only there to teach them sign language Simon, that’s it. Don’t worry, they’re nice people.” “I hope so, don’t get too involved ok? I know you, you’re too emotional.” “I’ll be careful,” and she hugged him. It was around six when Giles walked into the shop. “I’ll be right there Giles,” and she finished her drink and got up. She signed Simon she was leaving and Simon looked at Giles. Giles signed hello and Simon smiled. “You’re learning the driver how to sign too?” Simon asked. “Only a few basic signs during our drive,” and she hugged him. “See you tomorrow.” Giles opened the door for her and she took her bike and Giles put it in the trunk. She got into the car and they took off. “Hi Shiri,” she signed when Shiri opened the front door for her. “Hi,” Shiri signed back. “Hi Daniel,” she signed and he signed hi back. She stepped inside and Daniel closed the door behind her. Shiri took her hand and they walked upstairs. Nat had thought a lot about the best way to teach Shiri sign language and she had come up with a few games she wanted to try. She put her bag down and took the cards she had made during her lunch break. She had made up a game with challenges and Shiri liked it. One of her challenges was to go to Daniel and try to explain him what they were doing. When she read the card, she explained Shiri what she had to do and the girl ran off to Daniel. Nat followed her but she was too tired to run. When she came downstairs, Shiri was already making a lot of movements and Daniel was watching her with raised eyebrows. He had no idea what she was doing. Nat sat down on the couch and watched them. It was really cute seeing the two of them together. She smiled and she hadn’t even noticed her eyes dropped. She was beyond tired, but too stubborn to admit it. She fell to the side of the couch and she was half lying down now. Daniel saw it and signed Shiri to be quiet. He took her hand and they went to the dining room to have dinner. They’d warm something up for her later. Shiri wasn’t that hungry and she wanted to go play upstairs again. Daniel signed bath and Maria went upstairs with her to help her. Daniel got up and walked to the living room, where Nat was still asleep. She looked so tired. He took her shoes off, put her feet up and put a blanket over her. She sighed and smiled. He sat down on the other chair and waited till Maria came to tell him Shiri was ready for bed. He went upstairs to tuck her in and gave her a kiss on her forehead. “Where’s Nat?” Shiri signed. Daniel signed asleep. She nodded. He waved goodbye and turned the lights off. When he came downstairs he heard her phone buzz. He looked at her purse. It could be important, but he didn’t want to invade her privacy. After the third time, he opened her purse and took her phone out. It said “Simon calling.” Her brother. He opened the facetime screen and saw Simon’s worried face when he saw him. He waved and quickly made the sleep sign and turned the phone so he could see Nat. He could see the relief on his face. “I’m signing bad, text?” Simon nodded and broke the connection. Daniel opened a new text screen and wrote to Simon: “I’m sorry but I only just started learning sign language Nat fell asleep on the couch. Should I leave her here or wake her up and ask my driver to take her home?” “Leave her, she deserves a good sleep. She’s always taking care of others. She needs to take care of herself,” Simon replied. “That’s what I thought. What time does she need to be at work? I’ll ask my driver to drop her off.” “Let her sleep, she can come in later, I’ll manage.” “Ok, nice to meet you. I’ll tell her you called.” “Thanks, night.” “Night,” Daniel put her phone on silent and put it on the coffee table next to the couch. He was pretty tired too and he went upstairs. He checked in on Shiri, who was sound asleep, crawled into bed and set his alarm. Wednesday Daniel woke up, put his sportswear on and went downstairs. Nat was still sound asleep. He told Maria to be quiet and to let her sleep and he left the house and went for a run. When he returned Nat was still asleep, she must’ve been really tired. He went upstairs, took a shower and woke Shiri. He helped her get ready and took her downstairs. He signed to be quiet and they walked up to Nat. Still asleep. He pulled Shiri to the dining area and they had breakfast. All of a sudden they heard her yell “Oh no Simon!” Daniel ran over to her and she jumped up right, all panicked. “What’s wrong?” he asked and Shiri stood next to him. “I haven’t called Simon last night, he’ll be worried. I always call him when I get home.” “It’s ok, I showed him you were asleep,” and he handed her her phone. “I heard it go off so I answered. He told me to let you sleep till you woke up.” “What time is it?” “It’s after eight, come join us for breakfast.” “Oh my god, it’s after eight? I should be at work, Simon will be expecting me.” “He’s the one who told me to let you sleep in. He said he would manage.” She sat on the side of the couch and tied her hair together. “And you were able to sign all of that?” “No, we texted. It was too hard with my limited knowledge of sign language,” he winked and she followed him to the dining room. She texted Simon she would be there shortly and she sat down. “Thanks, I really needed that,” and she took a piece of toast. “You’re welcome. If you want you can take a shower here and Giles will drop you off at work?” “I would prefer to take a shower at home and get changed.” “No worries, Giles will take you,” and Maria came in with tea and coffee and put them on the table. “Maria, please ask Giles to drive Nat when she has finished breakfast,” and she left the room. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to help Shiri much last night. I won’t charge you for it.” “Nonsense, that’s quite ok. Now we still need to have that chat. Do you want to come around tonight or do you want a night off?” “I think I have rested enough, I’ll be here,” and Giles entered the room. “Giles, can you please take Nat to her apartment so she can get ready for work and drop her off at work afterwards?” “No worries.” “And please pick her up from work tonight and drop her off here again. I’ve also left Maria a list of things that need to be picked up today, mostly things for Shiri.” “Already got it,” and he held up the list and smiled. “Thanks Giles. I have a meeting now, can you make sure you’re back around one? I need to be somewhere around two, it won’t take long.” “I’ll make sure all the errands are finished before lunchtime. Are you ready Nat?” She smiled and got up. “Thanks for breakfast and the sleep in. I’ll see you tonight.” Giles dropped her off at home and locked her bike up for her. This time he stayed in the car. He was listening to the news and was happy to wait for her. She quickly took a shower, tied her hair up again, brushed her teeth, put on a clean dress and left her apartment. She got in the car again and Giles dropped her off at work. “I'll pick you up around six?” “That would be perfect. Thanks Giles, have a nice day.” “You too!” and when she got out, he drove off. Nat walked into the store and Simon asked if she was fine. She walked up to him and hugged him. “Thanks for letting me sleep in, I really needed that,” she signed. “You do too much, I worry about you.” “I’ll be fine. I’ll tell Alicia I have to cut my hours at the institute for now.” “But you love helping out there.” “Well, clearly I can’t manage doing it all. So for now something’s got to give. I’ll be fine, I promise,” and she sat down at her desk and started reading her emails. Lately work had picked up a little and Simon even had to refuse a few jobs. There was plenty of work for her. She was still on the phone when Giles entered. She pointed to the water cooler and he took a drink and sat down in the waiting area until she had finished her phone call. “I’m so sorry Giles, again,” she apologetically said. “That’s alright, no worries. I know you’re busy and Shiri won’t mind if you’re a few minutes later.” “I’ll grab my things and I’ll be right there,” and she brought her cup to the kitchen, washed her hands, took her purse and was ready to go. She went up to Simon and tapped him on his shoulder. He turned around and she hugged him goodbye. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she signed. “Don’t stay up to late.” “I’ll go home as soon as Shiri’s off to bed,” and she waved goodbye. Giles and Nat left and he closed the door behind them and locked up. Shiri was sitting on the stairs and jumped up when she saw the car. She came running to Nat as soon as she stepped out of the car. “How are you?” she signed. “Ok,” she signed back. “Come in,” Daniel said who had just appeared in the door and let them in. He shut the door behind them and Shiri pulled Nat up to her room. They played some games and she was already noticing a big difference in Shiri. When she had first met her, she didn’t smile much. Now she had a grin on her face and seemed to enjoy her time with Nat. “Everything ok in here?” Daniel asked. “Everything’s ok,” and she walked up to him. “She likes you, I haven’t seen her this happy in a long time. I don’t have much time during the day but Maria said she seems to be waiting for you all day.” She looked at Shiri who was now playing with her dolls. “She should be able to play with kids her own age.” “I tried, but they don’t understand her.” “If she likes the institute, she could go there from time to time. In a few weeks she should be able to have full conversations, she’s a quick learner.” “She’s a fighter,” and she saw the worried look on his face. She put her hand on his arm. “Hey, she’s a bright kid. She’s had it tough, but she has you and she’ll learn there are other kids like her. She’ll be happy again and will be able to built a good life thanks to you.” “I hope so.” “You’ll see, I’m always right,” and she smiled at him. “Well mostly,” she laughed. She liked the smile that appeared on his face. It suited him. He should smile more often. “Could you bring us something to drink?” she wanted to take his mind off Shiri. “I’ll get you both some water, dinner will be ready soon.” “Thanks Daniel,” and she walked back to Shiri and sat down again at the table. After a few minutes she heard steps and she looked back. Daniel had left, he had been watching them. She smiled and concentrated on Shiri again. Nat was so focused on Shiri, she hadn’t heard Daniel enter again. She only noticed him when he put the drinks in front of them. “Thank you,” she signed and Shiri did the same. “You’re welcome,” he signed back. He turned around and left the room. “Maria said dinner’s ready in ten minutes. See you then,” and he walked into the hallway and went downstairs again. “Ten more minutes,” she signed and Shiri nodded and rubbed her belly. She was hungry. “Me too,” Nat signed and she smiled and drank some water. “Something smells good,” Nat said when they entered the dining room and everyone sat down. During dinner they did some sort of a pop quiz. Nat pointed out things and they each had to take turns in signing the word. There were lot of laughs when they got it wrong or they misspelled a word. It was a fun evening. “Would you mind if Maria gave her a bath so you and I can discuss a few things before you fall asleep again?” “I’m so sorry about yesterday,” she blushed. “That’s ok, it was even a little funny,” he winked. “I’ll go get Maria,” and he got up and went to the kitchen. “Maria will help you with your bath,” she signed to Shiri. “I need to talk to your uncle.” Shiri looked sad. “But I’ll come up when you’re finished, ok?” And there was that smile again. Nat sat down and Daniel poured them both a cold drink. “You’ve earned this,” and he put the glass down on the coffee table and sat down opposite her. “What do you think so far?” “It’s going pretty well I think. It’s tiring, but I enjoy teacher her, and you,” she smiled. “Aren’t you worried you’re taking on too much? Even your brother thinks so and he said that you’re always helping out others.” “Simon’s just worried, he’s my big brother. I look out for him and he looks out for me, but he’s overprotective sometimes. Don’t worry, I’ll manage. I’ll cut my hours at the institute a little, Alicia will understand.” “Have you thought some more about your wage?” “I don’t know what’s fair to ask. I eat here, Giles drives me around.” “Forget about that, that doesn’t count.” “I don’t know.” “How about I ask around about a fair rate, I promise I’ll be fair.” “That sounds ok. Thanks, I’ve never done this before so I don’t know what to ask.” “Leave it up to me, I’ll figure something out. Now about your hours. How about Monday and Tuesday evening, Wednesday you have the night off because you’re doing so much already, Thursday evening and Friday afternoon so you can sleep in and weekends only when we need you to help us out. For example if we go somewhere and we need help signing? Would that be doable?” “Wow you’ve really thought about this. I think that’s doable.” “I don’t want you overdoing it,” he smiled. “Ok, but Fridays I get to take her out? We could make it our weekly day out if that’s ok with you?” “Only if I get to tag along when I’m free,” and he looked at her quizzically. “That’s fine by me. I was thinking about the zoo for next week. I think she’d like that.” “She’d love that,” he smiled. Not much later Maria came downstairs again and told her Shiri had finished taking her bath. “I’ll go upstairs and help her to bed,” and she walked upstairs. Daniel watched her till she had disappeared upstairs. Nat entered Shiri’s bedroom and they played one more game and then it was time for Shiri to go to bed. She tucked her in, signed “see you tomorrow”, gave her a kiss on her forehead and turned the lights off. She went downstairs again and saw Daniel reading a book. He put it down when he saw her. “Did she go to bed well?” “I think she’s already asleep,” she smiled. “I’ll ask Giles to drive you home.” “That’s ok, I’ll find him. Listen, I was thinking. Would it be ok if Giles brings Shiri when he picks me up tomorrow? I would like her to meet my brother and for her to see he has a regular job and can lead a regular life.” “Good thinking, no problem.” “Ok, I’ll tell him. See you tomorrow,” and she ran off. “No, thank you,” he said but she didn’t hear it anymore. Thursday “Giles is bringing Shiri with him tonight, they’re both picking me up. I want you to show her around and show her you can lead a normal life. She’s a kid and doesn’t know anyone who’s deaf, she needs to know it’s ok,” and she looked at him quizzically. “Ok?” “Ok,” he signed back. “She’s lucky to have you in her life,” and he hugged her. The rest of the day was pretty hectic and drama free. She tried to get as much done as possible, so she could stop on time. But as always, she was still hard at work when Giles and Shiri appeared. She was on the phone when they entered. She waved to Simon and he signed them to enter the shop. He said hi to Shiri and he showed her the work shop. Giles sat down on one of the chairs in the waiting area and Nat finished her call. With a sigh she broke the connection. “Some people!” she said and rubbed a strain of hair from her face. “It’s been one of those days?” Giles asked. “You could say that,” and she looked at the work area where Simon was showing Shiri a few things. He was signing very slowly and she seemed to be able to talk to him. She finished a few more emails and lost track of time till Shiri appeared in front of her. She rubbed her tummy. Her sign for hungry. “Oh my, it’s nearly seven. We have to go,” and she turned her screen down and took her purse. She gave Simon a hug and told him to call if he needed her and they walked out the door and Simon locked up after them. “Daniel asked me to drive you to your apartment first so you could make an overnight bag. It would save time driving back and forth and I’ll drop you ladies off at the institute tomorrow morning. He set up one of the guest rooms for you. If that’s alright with you, I don’t know if you have pets you need to feed?” “No pets since I’m hardly home. Yes, that’s fine with me,” and this time she sat in the back with Shiri. “Your brother is nice,” she signed. “Yes, he can be,” she replied and smiled. “You seemed to be able to sign well with him.” Shiri smiled proudly and looked at the street. She hadn’t been here yet. Giles pulled up at her apartment and Shiri took her hand. “Can I come?” she asked. “Sure,” and they got out and walked into the apartment building. Nat opened the front door and Shiri looked around when Nat was packing her overnight bag. She packed some pj’s, a new set of clothes for tomorrow, some necessities and toiletries and she was ready to go. They got in the car again and Giles drove them home. “Dinner’s ready,” Daniel said when he let them in. “Sorry we’re late, work was busy,” and she put her overnight bag down in the hallway. “That’s ok, dinner might be a little dry though,” he said with a smile and they went straight to the dining table and sat down. Maria brought all the plates and they started eating. Everyone was hungry. “This is very yummie,” she said and Daniel smiled. “Are you a good cook?” he asked. “Not really, cooking is a necessity and since I’m home late and by myself, I don’t take the time to cook properly. Usually I get take out or just heat something up.” “You have to take care of yourself. You need your vitamins.” “Yes dad,” she smiled and took another bite. “Would it be ok if Shiri and I baked some cookies to take to the institute tomorrow? That might break the ice a little.” “Sure, while you’re here consider this your home.” “Thanks Daniel. Can’t wait to spend the day with her tomorrow,” and she smiled at Shiri who was eating and playing with one of her dolls. “She likes you, she’ll have a great day,” and he watched her watch Shiri and smiled. After dinner she took Shiri to the kitchen and they looked for all the ingredients and started baking. “I think this missy needs a shower when she’s done,” Daniel said when he entered the kitchen. There was flour on her face and in her hair. Shiri was putting the last dough in the oven and Nat closed the oven and set the timer. “All done,” she signed and gave Shiri a high five. “I’ll help her take a bath. Maria would you mind taking the biscuits out when the timer goes off?” “No worries,” Maria said and she continued to clean the kitchen. “Would you mind if I go upstairs with you ladies?” Daniel asked. “No, of course not,” and they all went upstairs together. Nat helped her get undressed and filled the bath. She pointed out a few things and Shiri signed them. She made everything into a game and the quicker she learned everything, the quicker she would be able to communicate with other deaf people. Daniel was sitting on a chair and watched them. They worked well together. “You’re great with her,” and he leaned back in the chair. “You’re a natural.” “It just comes natural with her,” and she sat down on the chair next to him. “I know she likes me, and I like her, but I don’t want her to get too dependent on me. I won’t be here forever.” Daniel stared at Shiri and didn’t say anything. They both helped her to bed and closed the door behind them. “That’s my room,” and he pointed to a room on the right, a little further down the hall. “I’ve asked to set up this guest room for you,” and she followed him to the room opposite his and next to Shiri. He opened the door and let her enter the room. “It looks great, thanks,” and she looked around. She noticed someone had put her overnight bag on the bed. “You have your own bathroom,” and he opened another door. “There are clean towels on the side table, if you need anything else, just give us a yell. Will you join me for a drink downstairs?” “Would you mind if I take a shower first, it’s been a long day.” “No, not at all. Just take your time and come downstairs when you’re ready,” and he closed her door. Nat entered the bathroom and smelled the towels. They were so soft and smelled so nice. Normally she took quick showers, but this time she wanted to enjoy it. This was a massage shower and she felt her muscles relax, this felt so good! Nat came downstairs and entered the living room. Daniel put his book down and got up. “What can I get you?” “A white wine please,” and she sat down. Her hair was still wet. Daniel handed her a glass. “Sorry I’m dressed casual,” and she looked at her tracksuit and sipped her wine. “Just wear what you feel comfortable with. It’s just us here,” and he sat down again. “I hope the room is ok?” “Are you kidding? It’s more than fine, it’s the size of my apartment,” she said blushing and she pulled her feet under her. “You’ve been living there for long?” “A few years now. After our parents died we lived on our own for a while, I couldn’t leave Simon by himself and since I was still a minor he became my guardian, so we kind of took care of each other. It’s always been the two of us. A few years ago I moved to my own place, but I’m hardly there and prices are high, so this is all I could afford. But I manage,” and she put her glass down on the coffee table. “What about you, how long have you been living here?” “All my life basically. This house has been in the family for ever. My parents died a few years ago and me and my sister kept on living here, she even stayed here after she got married.” “So Shiri has lived here her entire life? That’s nice and now she lives here with you. She’s lucky to have you.” “I’m lucky to have her. Without her I would be a workaholic without any personal life,” he said with a smile. “And what do you do for fun?” “I go out with friends sometimes, but not often. Usually I’m too tired and just crash.” “But you’re young, now’s the time to party and have fun.” “You’re not that much older than me, when do you go to parties? I’ve never been into parties. I’d rather go and have a drink or watch a movie, something more quiet.” “Would it be ok if I take you and Shiri out to dinner tomorrow evening?” he asked quizzically. “I could pick you up from the institute after my meeting and we could have a walk around town and have dinner there?” “Is that appropriate? You’re my boss?” she asked. “What’s wrong with having a meal together? It’s not like I’m asking you out on a date?” “I guess.” “If you’re sure?” “Ok, why not. Going out will be lovely, I haven’t been to a restaurant in ages.” “I’ll make a booking in the morning and I’ll come by the institute around five?” “That would be great,” and she picked up her glass and took another sip. “Do you mind if I head upstairs? I’m tired and I need to call Simon.” “I like how close you guys are, it’s nice to see. Night Nat.” “Night Daniel,” and she put her glass down and went upstairs. She had a quick look at Shiri, who was sound asleep and she went into her room. She called Simon and had a short facetime chat with him and she brushed her teeth and went to bed. This bed was so comfy, she fell asleep immediately. Friday She got woken up by Shiri who jumped on her bed. “I hope you don’t mind, she wanted to wake you,” Daniel said who was standing at the door and smiled at her. “I don’t mind,” and she grabbed Shiri and tickled her. She signed she was going to take a quick shower and get dressed and she would come downstairs shortly. “Do you want me to help her get dressed when I’m ready?” “That’s ok, I’ll help her. I’ll see you at the breakfast table, take your time,” and he signed Shiri to leave the room and he closed the door. Nat got out of bed, took a quick shower and got ready for a new day. She went downstairs and saw Daniel and Shiri were already waiting for her. “Shiri is so excited for today, she was already awake before my alarm went off and woke me the same way she woke you,” he smiled. “She’s the devil in disguise,” she smiled. Maria entered and put a box on the table. “Don’t forget to take your biscuits with you. I tasted one and they’re really good, you’ll have to give me the recipe.” “If you learn me to cook one of your delicious meals,” Nat said. “That can be arranged. If you have some time this weekend I could teach you a few basics.” “That’s nice Maria, but don’t you have better things to do during your weekend?” “My dancing days are over honey,” she winked. Nat giggled. “Tomorrow I need to go to work and catch up on a few things, but I’m free on Sunday. Does that suit you?” “I’ll be here, around two?” “Do you need me to bring anything?” Nat asked. “No need, we have everything here,” Daniel said. “Why don’t you ladies prepare Sunday’s dinner and Maria and Giles can join us? It’s been a while since we all sat down together for dinner.” “That sounds lovely,” Maria said. “I’ll let Giles know.” When they had finished breakfast, they brushed their teeth and Giles dropped Nat and Shiri off at the institute. Shiri grabbed her hand when they walked in. “Hi Shiri, I’m Alicia. Nice to meet you,” and she held out her hand and Shiri shook it. “We made cookies,” Nat signed and she gave the box to Alicia. “That’s nice, we’ll hand them out later when everyone has their tea,” and she put the box in the kitchen. “Would you like to meet the other kids?” Alicia asked Shiri. Shiri grabbed Nat's hand more firmly. “She’s a little shy,” Nat whispered. “I’ll keep her with me for now and once she’s used to the place she’ll loosen up.” “We’ll go to the playroom, can you help with the games?” They followed Alicia and when they entered the room, Shiri saw ten kids who all looked at her. She waved hi and followed Nat. Nat sat down on one of the chairs and Shiri sat down next to her. She signalled the other kids to gather up and take a seat. Basically Nat did the same games with them she had done with Shiri. It were all educational games to help them improve their signing. From time to time she noticed Shiri signed something to the girl that was sitting next to her. Nat smiled and continued the games. A little later Shiri had lost interest and was playing in a corner with a few of the other girls. “Your plan is working,” Alicia said leaning over. “I hope she’ll be able to make a few friends, everyone needs friends.” “Give my love to Dawn next time you see her.” “Will do. I’ll go put the kettle on and we can have some tea,” and she got up and went to the kitchen. She put the kettle on, made a big pot of tea and poured it into a few cups. She put them on a platter and put them on the table. She went back to get some glasses and a water bottle and she took the cookies. She handed out cups of tea and glasses of water and signalled Shiri to come over. She gave her the cookies. “Why don’t you go around with the cookies?” and Shiri nodded and walked around the room so everyone could take one. When she came back, she gave the box to Nat and went back to play with a few of the other children. They all had lunch together and before they knew it was nearly time to go. She was watching Shiri from a distance, when she heard a familiar voice next to her. “She seems to be enjoying herself.” Nat turned around and smiled. “She’s having a great time and I don’t think we’ll be able to leave that easily.” “What if we promise she can come back real soon?” “She would like that,” and Nat turned so Shiri again. When she looked her way she signed they had to go. Shiri looked sad. She walked up to her and told her Daniel had promised she could come back real soon. Shiri looked at Daniel and she smiled. She waved goodbye to the other kids and took Nat’s hand and they walked to Daniel. “You ok?” he signed and kneeled down. She enveloped her arms around his neck and he picked her up. He carried her to the car and Nat followed them. They all sat in the back and Shiri was holding both their hands. Nat looked at their hands and felt a knot in her stomach. For a long time she had taken care of so many other people. Simon was right, she needed to think about herself more. She stared out the window and thought about her life. What had she achieved? She was happy with her work and happy with the kids she helped. But she hadn’t achieved anything in her personal life. She had her own apartment, one she rented but it was hers in her mind. She had a few friends but no relationship. She hadn’t missed that before, but being around Daniel and Shiri made her want more from life. She wanted a family, she wanted to feel loved. The knot in her stomach felt tighter and she had to fight the tears she felt coming. Daniel felt a change in her, she hadn’t said one word since they had left the institute and when Giles dropped them off, she walked towards the water and stared into the distance. Daniel told Giles to take the rest of the evening off, they’d take a taxi home and he took Shiri’s hand and they walked up to Nat. “Are you ok?” and he put his hand on her shoulder. Nat nodded. “Just a personal crisis,” she mumbled and smiled at him. “Anything I can help you with?” “I’ll be alright, don’t mind me,” and Shiri grabbed her hand. She smiled at her and already she felt a little better. This little girl warmed her heart more than she’d ever know. Maybe taking a step back wouldn’t be such a bad thing. She sighed and turned to Daniel. “Let’s go for a walk, I need to clear my head.” “I was thinking of walking along the canal, there’s a maze there, Shiri will like that and there’s a rose garden and some sculptures. We’ll see where we end up. I have booked us a table at seven, so we have some free time.” “Sounds nice,” and they started walking. Nat still didn’t feel like talking and when they arrived at the maze, she told them to go in and she’d wait for them. Shiri grabbed Daniel’s hand and they walked inside the maze. Nat sat down on a bench and stared across the water. She didn’t know how long she had been sitting there, but all of a sudden she felt Shiri’s arms around her. She looked up and she saw Daniel watching her from a distance. “Why sad?” Shiri asked. Nat nodded and gave Shiri a hug. The girl hugged her back and when she broke the hug, she pulled her towards where Daniel was standing. “Are you ok? We can do this another time if you’re not feeling well,” and he looked at her worriedly. “I’m ok, this is already helping. I’m just tired, don’t mind me. Shall we continue our walk?” and she took Shiri’s hand and they went on their way again. They walked past a rose garden. It really looked lovely this time of year. Shiri smelled a few roses and she pointed her favourites out. She was having fun and finally Nat had seen a happy kid. She had had a nice day at the institute and she was finally able to be a kid again. Nat smiled and Daniel saw it. A smile appeared on his lips. When they arrived at the restaurant Nat’s feet were hurting. She hadn’t given her shoes much thought, she should’ve worn decent walking shoes. As soon as they sat down she took them off. No one would notice. The waitress gave Nat and Daniel a menu. “Would you like to order something to drink?” “I’ll have a white wine please. Nat?” “I’ll have the same,” and she turned to Shiri and asked her what she wanted to drink. “Juice,” Shiri signed. “Orange juice please,” Nat said. “Thank you, someone will bring your drinks right away. Have a look at the menu and I’ll come back for your order shortly,” and the waitress turned around and walked up to another table. “Any idea what you want?” Daniel asked. “I don’t know half of the things on this menu,” and she frowned her eyebrows. “I could order for us if you like? Do you feel like fish or meat?” “Surprise me.” Daniel had a look at the menu and when the waitress returned he ordered three different dishes. “I’ve ordered all different things, that way we can swap plates.” “Good thinking,” she smiled. The waitress came around and gave Shiri some pieces of paper and some crayons. “That way she can keep herself busy,” she winked at Daniel and left again. “Why are you so sad tonight?” Daniel asked and Nat was gobsmacked. “I’m not sad,” and she looked at her glass. “Nat, it’s just us here. Don’t think of me as your employer now, we’re out and we’re having a meal together. Will you think of me as your friend instead of your employer?” and he put his hand on hers. Nat’s first reaction was to pull her hand away. But she didn’t. She didn’t know what to say. “I don’t know, life I guess,” and her expression was sad again. Daniel pinched her hand. “You’re regretting taking on another job?” “No, that’s not it. I love working with Shiri, she’s such a sweet kid. But I have to admit it’s all getting to me. I’m at an age I should have a relationship, maybe even start a family. All I seem to do is work,” and she looked so sad, he wanted to pull her into his arms. “What brought this on? I’m a little older than you and I haven’t started a family yet either. There’s no exact age for it, everyone’s different.” “I love Shiri, I really do, but I can’t get too attached and neither can she. One day this job will end and we’ll have to say our goodbyes,” and she looked at Shiri who was making a drawing. She noticed Daniel was still holding her hand. “Is that what worries you?” “I guess. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken this job, I don’t know.” “You are the best thing that happened to us in a long time,” and he pinched her hand again. When the waitress came over with their plates, he let go of her hand and Nat quickly put the crayons aside. Nat was given a plate with fish, Daniel was having meat and Shiri got a spaghetti. Nat took a bite and she liked it. “How does it taste?” Daniel asked. “Very good. Yours?” “Same. Do you want to taste?” and he held up a piece of meat. Nat took a bite and it tasted good. “Do you want to taste my fish?” and she held up her fork. He took the bite and nodded. “Excellent.” “Everything ok?” the waitress asked. “Everything’s fine, thank you.” “If you need anything, just let me know,” and she walked off again. “This is nice,” she said and she had finished her plate. “Yes it is,” and he looked at Shiri. She had put her plate aside and was drawing again. “Any room for dessert? How do you sign ice cream?” Nat showed him and he tapped Shiri’s hand. When she looked up, he used the sign Nat had just thought him. She looked at Nat, she didn’t understand. When Nat saw a waiter passing by with an ice cream, she pointed at it. Shiri nodded. “I guess that’s a yes,” she smiled. “You want one too?” “No thanks, I think I’ve had enough. Don’t let me stop you though, you can have one if you want.” When the waitress cleared their table, Daniel ordered two ice creams. “Would you like something else, another drink?” “Tea please.” “I’ll be right back,” the waitress said and she walked off with all the plates. “What are you drawing?” Nat asked Shiri. “This is uncle Daniel and that’s you and that's me,” and Shiri gave her the drawing. “Is this for me?” Shiri nodded. “That’s so sweet, thank you.” The waitress came back with the ice creams and Nat’s tea and when they were finished, Daniel asked for the check. It was getting late and Shiri needed to go to bed. They gave the check to Daniel and he gave them his card. “You have a nice family, come again soon,” she said. “Oh, we..;” Nat said but Daniel interrupted her. “Thank you, we will,” and he smiled at the waitress and gave her a tip. “Would you be so kind to call us a taxi?” “Sure,” and she walked off again. “We don’t need to explain ourselves,” he said with a wink. “Now let’s get this young lady to bed,” and he got up and helped Shiri out of her chair. Nat rolled up the drawing and took it with her. She would hang it on the fridge at work. As soon as they stepped outside, a taxi pulled up and they got in. Daniel gave him his address and he drove off. Shiri was so tired, it didn’t take her long to fall asleep. She was lying on Daniels lap. Nat was nodding off too and she didn’t notice she was sliding towards Daniel and her head was resting on his shoulder. Nat felt someone touching her arm. It took her a few seconds to realise where she was. “I’m so sorry, I must’ve fallen asleep.” “That’s quite alright, this little lady has fallen asleep too. I don’t want to wake her,” and he handed her his wallet. “Can you please pay the driver so I can carry her upstairs?” and he opened the door, took her in his arms and stepped out of the car. Nat paid the driver and walked inside the house. She was only supposed to sleep over for one night, but she was so tired and Daniel had given Giles the night off. Would he call her another taxi when he came downstairs again or would he suggest she’d stay here for one more night? She took a glass of water and sat down on the couch and waited till Daniel came downstairs again. “She didn’t even wake up. I took her shoes off and put her to bed, dress and all,” he smiled. He poured himself a water too and he sat down next to her. “You’re feeling better?” “I’m sorry, I hope I haven’t ruined your evening.” “Don’t worry, you haven’t. I had a good time. What brought this on?” “It’s just me feeling sorry about myself. I’ll get over it.” He pulled a lock of hair from her face. “Don’t put yourself down. You’re a gorgeous woman and you’re so kind and sweet.” Nat looked at him and she felt her heart skipping a few beats. What was happening? She swallowed and didn’t know what to say. She cleared her throat. “You gave Giles the night off and the taxi has already left.” “Do you want to stay another night? If you don’t want to I could always call you another taxi?” “I don’t want to get used to this, it’s not good for Shiri either.” “Why?” “Soon you won’t need me anymore.” “What if I don’t want you to go?” and he moved a little closer and he gave her a soft kiss on her lips. “I think we’ve both had too much wine and we need to stop this,” and she got up. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to offend you,” Daniel quickly said. “You didn’t, but you’ll see more clearly when you’re sober again.” “Hey, I’m not drunk. I’ve only had two glasses of wine.” “Still, I think it’s best I go to bed. Night Daniel,” and she walked upstairs and as soon as she entered her room, she let herself fall onto the bed and fell asleep. Saturday Shiri opened the door and came running into her room. This time she didn’t jump on the bed but she rubbed her cheek. “Morning,” Nat signed and she looked at the alarm clock. It was nearly ten. “Looks like you needed it,” Daniel said from the door. She buried her head in her pillow. She didn’t want him to see her like this. “Morning,” she mumbled. “I’ll let you get ready, we’ll see you at the breakfast table,” and he signalled for Shiri to leave the room and she was alone again. She got out of bed, took a shower and when she wanted to get dressed, she noticed she hadn’t packed extra spare clothes. It was only the intention to spend one night here. She put her tracksuit on and went downstairs. “Morning,” and she sat down at the table. “Morning, I hope you slept well?” and he handed her a cup of tea. “I slept like a baby,” and she smiled and put the cup down. “You're ok?” and he looked at her. “I am, thank you." “If there’s anything I can help you with, I’d like to think you’d come to me.” “I will, thanks. But I’ll manage, it’s just a phase. I have to go now, I have to go and catch up on work,” and she got up. “Would you at least stay a little longer and have a decent breakfast? Work won’t go anywhere. Please sit down again and have eggs or something.” She smiled and sat down again. “Ok, I’ll eat some toast but then I have to go,” and she poured herself another cup of tea and took a piece of toast. “Would you like to join us for a movie tonight?” and Daniel looked at her quizzically. “You’re coming here tomorrow anyway, you could sleep over again?” “I don’t want to make a habit out of sleeping here. I don’t want Shiri to get used to it,” and she looked at him pleadingly. “I’m asking for me this time, not for Shiri. I would like some adult conversation,” and he gave her a somewhat sad smile. “I’ve really enjoyed having you here Nat.” She liked being here too, but she couldn’t say it out loud. “Ok, just for tonight, I have my own place I need to go back to,” she caved. “But I have to go now.” “Ask Giles to pick you up after work, we can have dinner here and then watch the movie Shiri has already picked out for us.” “Will do, I’ll go look for him. See you tonight,” and she waved bye to Shiri and went to look for Giles. Nat opened the front door to the shop and looked for Simon. He was upstairs in his apartment. She gave him a hug and put her purse down. “Didn’t I tell you to take the day off?” he signed. “Too much work. I haven’t even had time to make those quotations,” and she took a bottle of water from the fridge. “You look tired.” “I slept wonderful and tonight I’m going to watch a movie and tomorrow Maria is learning me to cook one of her delicious meals. By Monday I’ll be all relaxed.” “Good, you deserve some down time. Do you need me today?” “I don’t think so, why? Are you going out?” “Dawn is taking me clothes shopping and we’re going for drinks afterwards. And no, it’s purely platonic,” he smiled. “Right,” she thought and she smiled and went downstairs to get some work done. She had lost all track of time. She had been on the phone all afternoon, finished all the quotations she had promised to send out before Monday, she had read all her emails and replied the most important ones. The rest would have to wait till Monday. She was so lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t heard the door open. She was finishing her filing and when she turned around, she nearly got a heart attack. There were Daniel and Shiri standing in front of her desk. She sat down and closed her eyes. Her heart was nearly beating out of her chest. “I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to startle you. Are you ok?” “I'm ok,” and she opened her eyes. “This is a nice surprise, what are you doing here?” “Shiri wanted to show me where you work and she wanted to say hi to Simon.” “Simon’s not here,” she signed. “He’s out with a friend.” Shiri seemed disappointed. “But why don’t you ask Giles if he can bring you here on Monday when he comes to pick me up? I’m sure Simon would like to see you again too.” Shiri nodded and smiled again. Nat gave Daniel a quick tour around the place and she grabbed her things. “I’ll be right there. I’ve got to set the alarm and lock up. I’ll be right out,” and she turned the lights down and Daniel and Shiri went outside. Nat followed them a minute later and they all got in the car. Shiri sat between them and she grabbed both their hands. Nat turned her head and she saw Daniel smiling and looking at their hands. She looked out the window and after they had stopped by her place to pack a new overnight bag, they drove home in silence. “Shiri is really looking forward to tonight. I hope you like Frozen,” he smiled. “I don’t mind, any movie is ok,” and they walked inside and went straight to the dining room, where Maria had set up everything. All they had to do was sit down and eat. “This looks lovely Maria, thank you,” and she smiled. “Enjoy,” and with a big smile she left the dining room. “She likes you,” Daniel said. “And I like her, she reminds me of my mum.” “Your mum must’ve been a great lady.” “She was. But I don’t want to be sad tonight, so let’s talk about something else,” and she smiled at him. “Hurry,” Shiri signed and told them to stop talking and eat. “I think she wants to see Frozen,” Daniel said and winked at Shiri. “She even asked if she could help Maria make popcorn.” “Well I guess I’ll better leave some room then,” and she put her fork and knife down. “Me too,” and he picked up his napkin and wiped his mouth. Shiri smiled and ran off to the kitchen. “I think she’s going to get the popcorn,” and they got up and went to the living room where he had set up a big screen and a projector. “This looks amazing, no wonder she couldn’t wait,” and she looked around. Daniel shut the curtains and turned on a small light so it wouldn’t be completely dark. Shiri came running into the living room, followed by Maria who was carrying a big bowl of popcorn. Shiri sat down on the couch in front of the screen, so Daniel and Nat sat down on the big couch. Nat pulled her feet under her and leaned against one of the cushions. “Put it on!” Shiri signed. Daniel pressed play and sat back on the couch. After a while Nat started falling asleep and he heard her breath more heavily. She had moved a little and was leaning against his shoulder now. He put a cushion under her shoulder so she would be more comfortable. Daniel turned the volume down a little. From time to time he felt her move in her sleep. He rubbed a strain of hair from her face and finished watching the movie. When the movie was finished it was time for Shiri to go to bed. Daniel tried to get up, but Nat had turned a little and had put her arm over his leg. He didn’t want to wake her. He tried slipping from under her but he couldn’t without waking her.. “Shiri, get Maria,” he signed and Shiri ran off. A little later she returned with Maria. “Would you mind putting Shiri to bed?” and he pointed at Nat who was still asleep. “I can’t seem to get up without waking her.” “No problem,” she smiled “Could you please hand me my book? It’s on the coffee table,” and he turned the reading light on next to him. Maria handed him his book. “I’ll put her to bed and then I’m off to bed myself. Is there anything else you need?” “No, thanks for everything. Good night Maria,” and he signed “good night” to Shiri. She blew him a kiss and went upstairs with Maria. Daniel opened his book and continued reading from where he had left off last time. From time to time he looked at Nat and after a while he had finished his book. He tried to slide from under her again but she moved. “Nat?” and he removed another strain of hair from her face and rubbed her arm. He saw her eyes slowly open and she didn’t recognise where she was. She rubbed her eyes and then she noticed the screen and saw Daniel leaning over her. “Oh no, I’m so sorry,” and she put her hands over her eyes. “I can’t believe I fell asleep. I hope I didn’t snore too much,” and she sat up straight and leaned back against the couch. “You didn’t,” he smiled. “I think we can all do with some sleep. Come on, I’ll help you upstairs,” and he helped her get up and they walked up the stairs together. She was a little unsteady on her legs, so he took her arm and guided her upstairs. He opened her door and she stepped to the bed and fell on it. “Do you need help?” he laughed. “I’m ok, just leave me here,” she mumbled. “I can’t leave you like this,” and he took her shoes off and pulled her up and put her head on one of the pillows. She started to fiddle with her zipper but she couldn’t take her skirt off. “Let me help you,” he said and she sighed and put her arms next to her. He opened the zipper and pulled her skirt off. He put the sheet over her and turned her light off. “Thanks Daniel, you’re sweet,” and she turned on her side and fell asleep again. He watched her for a few seconds and with a smile he closed her door. Sunday Nat woke up and thought about the night before. She looked at the skirt that was hanging over the chair next to her bed. Daniel had taken it off and he had been the perfect gentleman. He had put a sheet over her and had left her room. She couldn’t believe she had fallen asleep on him. She took a shower and put one of the dresses on she had packed the day before. When she came downstairs she felt a little embarrassed. As soon as Shiri saw her she got up and gave Nat a hug. “Good morning,” Daniel smiled. Shiri let go of Nat and sat down again. Nat sat down next to Daniel. “I’m sorry about last night, I…,” but Daniel interrupted her. “I’ve had a great night, don’t worry about it,” and he finished eating his breakfast. “So you’ll spend the day with Maria today. Will we have to be prepared to be poisoned?” She hit him. “Ouch!” he smiled. Shiri watched them and smiled. She signed something to Nat and she signed she was going to her room to play. “I didn’t get that, what did she say?” Daniel asked. “That we remind her of her parents,” and Nat looked at her plate and moved her food around. The room went quiet. “I miss my sister,” Daniel said. “She was so good with Shiri and she was always there for me. I felt obliged to take care of Shiri, but what do I know about raising a kid? But I can’t imagine my life without her now.” Nat put her hand on his and pinched it. “It gets better after a while, I promise.. It’s good you have Shiri, you need someone by your side, preferably someone who understands.” “Someone like you?” and he put his free hand on hers and looked at her. “Daniel, you’re my employer,” and she pulled her hand away. “I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. I’m sorry, I think it’s best I go,” and she ran upstairs to pack her bag. A little later she came downstairs again and she put her bag down. “Can Giles drive me home or should I call a taxi?” “Don’t be silly, Giles can drive you. Are you sure? Everyone was looking forward to the dinner tonight,” and he looked sad. She swallowed and fought the tears she felt coming. “I’m sorry, I can’t do this,” and she turned around and went looking for Giles. Monday As soon as Nat had entered, Simon knew something was wrong. He had asked her about it a few times, but she didn’t want to talk. He just let her be, but she was in a bad mood and she looked sad. Judging from how she looked, she hadn’t slept much. During lunch she didn’t eat and continued to work, the cup of tea Simon had brought her earlier was still on her desk, untouched. After lunch she was on her mobile phone for a while, Simon saw her put it down and pick it up again a few times. She was sending a text message and when he saw she was crying he walked over and gave her a hug. He let her cry for a while and rocked her a little. It reminded him of when they were kids, he used to do the exact same thing back then when she was sad. “What’s wrong?” he signed when he let go of her. “I don’t want to talk about it,” and she wiped her tears. “What did he do?” “Who?” “You know who! Daniel, what did he do?” Simon was getting angry. He had hurt his sister! He had warned her about rich people and now she was hurting. “I just texted him he needs to look for someone else, I quit. He didn’t do anything, I don’t want to talk about it,” and she sat down again and stared at her screen. She had shut herself off from him again. She used to be good at it, she used to close herself off from the world and she didn’t let anyone in, not even him. Right! He took his coat and decided to pay Daniel a visit. When he arrived, he rang the doorbell and Shiri ran up to him and hugged him. Daniel was standing in the door and looked tired. Looks like he hadn’t gotten much sleep either. He told Shiri to go inside and she ran off again. “What did you do to my sister?” he slowly signed. “I didn’t do anything to her, she just sent me a text saying she quit!” he said with a sad expression. “What do you mean, you didn’t do anything? She hasn’t slept, she was crying and now she quit her job! She liked working for you, she loves that little girl. Why would she quit?” “I think she’s afraid? I kind of made it clear I have feelings for her and she ran off.” “What do you mean? You love her?” “She’s beautiful, she’s the most caring person I know, she loves Shiri, she doesn’t have a bad bone in her body, what’s not to love?” “Can I come in?” Daniel stepped aside and let Simon enter. They sat down in the living room. “Do you want a drink?” Simon nodded no. “She’s afraid to get hurt again, she doesn’t want to be happy again because she fears it’ll all be taken from her again. You need to persuade her you love her. Go to the shop, she’s still at work and she’s feeling miserable.” Daniel got up and turned around again. “I’ll mind Shiri, go!” Simon signed and Daniel ran out the door. Nat didn’t hear the door open and close. She was lost in thought. “Nat, can we please talk?” She startled when she recognised the voice. “What are you doing here? Where’s Shiri?” “Simon’s with her, he told me to come here and talk to you. He told me how miserable you were today. Nat, I’m miserable too. I was so sad when I read your text saying you quit. Please don’t quit your job. I haven’t told Shiri yet, she’ll be devastated. Please don’t leave us, you have no idea how much I’d miss you,” and he grabbed her hand. “You’re the best thing that has happened to us in a long time, please don’t throw it away.” “You’ll find someone else, I’ve already asked around,” and she pulled her hand away. “I don’t want anyone else. I’m not talking about signing, I’m talking about us. I don’t want to lose you Nat, my heart broke when I read that text,” and she saw the tears in his eyes. She didn’t know what to say. “Don’t you think we could be a great family? Haven’t you thought about it?” “I have, but I never get what I want. So why set out for hurt again?” “So you have thought about the two of us together?” and he stepped closer and was now just in front of her and he could see she was swallowing. He felt his heart beating in his chest. “What if I kissed you?” and he slowly bent over and she didn’t move. He gave her a soft kiss and when he felt her go soft, he put his arms around her shoulders and deepened the kiss. He heard her moan and the kiss got heated. They broke the kiss when they both needed to come up for air. “This could be so good. You, me and Shiri. Will you please think about it?” and he looked at her lips and couldn’t help himself. He had to kiss her again. Nat’s legs went all weak and she had to lean against the desk so she wouldn’t fall over. She lost all control and gave into him. Epilogue It was Friday and as promised they took Shiri to the zoo again. This had become a somewhat regular thing of Nat and Shiri, but today Daniel had come along. They were sitting at one of the picnic tables, eating the lunch Maria had packed. “What would you say if Nat were to move in permanently?” Daniel asked Shiri. “For real?” and a wide smile spread across her face. “For real,” and Daniel couldn’t resist smiling too. Shiri jumped up and put her arms around Nat and Daniel. “This is the best,” she signed and she ran off to look at a few animals a little further. “Your signing has improved so much these last couple of months,” and she kissed him. They looked at Shiri for a while. “How do you feel about a brother or sister for Shiri? I don’t mean right now, but somewhere in the future. I think she would make a great big sister,” he asked. “Yes she would. I wouldn’t say no to one or two more kids. But not just yet,” and she smiled and gave him a quick kiss before she ran off to Shiri. Daniel packed up their picnic basket and off they went again. He smiled. Finally the future looked good again.