Chapter 4 #2
Iris stood and held out her hand. I slid mine into hers and got up too. She led me toward the entryway, where the two boys had already taken off their coats and boots. We stopped right in front of them, and suddenly, there was nowhere to hide.
The taller boy had very light blond hair. It was wavy and stuck in every direction like he hadn’t brushed it in days. His eyes were pale blue, and he was smiling at me. Boys usually looked at me funny, but this boy didn’t. I decided that maybe he wasn’t a loud, annoying boy after all.
My eyes shifted to the shorter boy. Unlike his brother, he was looking at me funny. He was staring at me with wide brown eyes and his mouth open. I wanted to scrunch my nose at him. It wasn’t polite to stare at someone like that.
The boy had brown hair, though most of it was hidden under a strange blue hat that was too big for his head.
It had long flaps on the sides that hung down near his shoulders and a wide furry part across the front.
His nose was dotted with freckles, which confused me.
I thought people only got freckles when the sun shone, but the sun hadn’t shone for a long time.
It was always snowing and gray outside. Maybe some kids just had them no matter what.
Maybe this boy was different, and that’s why he stared at me like that.
“Milow, this is Wesley. He’s thirteen,” Gus said, resting a hand on the taller boy’s shoulder and giving it a small squeeze. Then he put his other hand on the shorter boy’s shoulder. “And this is Ashby. He’s seven.”
“Hi, Milow,” Wesley said, his smile growing even wider. “How do you like your room? I helped decorate it.”
I tightened my grip on Iris’s hand and then wrapped my other hand around it too. Wesley talked a lot, but he wasn’t loud. He seemed happy to see me. And he had helped with my room, which was nice of him.
I nodded to let him know that I liked it.
Wesley kept smiling, but Ashby’s brows pulled together tight.
I looked at him, feeling the urge to stick out my tongue because he was still staring. But I stopped myself. Obedient girls didn’t do that.
When Ashby kept staring, Wesley nudged him with his elbow. “Don’t be weird.”
Ashby blinked, as if he’d just woken up, then stumbled over his words. “Hi. I’m Ashby.”
“She knows that already, you goofball,” Wesley said, frowning at him.
Ashby shrugged and shot Wesley a look. “What else am I supposed to say to her?” He looked back at me, thinking very hard before asking, “Do you like our house?”
I nodded.
He tilted his head, studying me like he was trying to solve a puzzle. “Can you not speak?”
I hated the question because it reminded me of everything I couldn’t do. But it also made me feel strong, because I knew something he didn’t. I lifted my chin and slowly shook my head. [No, I can’t.]
Ashby stared at my hands as they lowered, his face changing. For a second, he looked confused. He looked at Gus, then at Iris, and then back at me. His eyes widened, not with fear, but with something bright and curious. Then, a smile spread across his face.
“What does that mean?” he asked. “Is that a secret language?”
My chest felt funny all of a sudden. He was asking a question no kid had ever asked me. They didn’t care about my language. They didn’t care to learn it so they could understand me.
I nodded slowly, standing a little straighter because I knew my language was special.
“That’s so cool,” Ashby said quickly. “Will you teach me?”
Teach him? He wanted me to teach him my language?
I tilted my head to the side, wondering if he truly meant it. His smile stayed glued on his face, and he waited for me to reply.
I nodded again, and this time I smiled too. It was a real smile that reached my eyes, making my face hurt.
Ashby’s smile grew even wider when he saw it. “Awesome! And maybe you can teach Wesley, too, so we both know your secret language.”
His enthusiasm kept me smiling, and it made Gus and Iris chuckle.
“That sounds like a super fun idea,” Gus said, placing his hands on top of the boys’ heads. “But first, you two need to go shower and clean up.”
They both groaned quietly but didn’t argue.
“After that,” Iris added, looking at all three of us now, “we’ll have dinner, and get to know each other a little better.”
“Okay, Mom,” Wesley said, then he looked at me again. He was still smiling. “See you later, Milow.”
“Yeah, see you later, Milow. I can’t wait to learn your secret language!” Ashby said, then they both disappeared upstairs with Gus.
I looked up at Iris to see her face. She seemed pleased with that first interaction. She smiled at me and brushed her hand over my hair. “They’ve been so excited to meet you,” she told me. “Would you like to help me prepare dinner?”
I quickly nodded. I never got to help cook, but I’ve always been intrigued by it because I could use my hands and learn new things.
“Perfect.” She took my hand and led me to the kitchen. “We’re making chicken with potatoes and spinach. And we’ll make a batch of cookies, too.”
I lifted my free hand and signed, [Yummy!]
She looked at me and smiled. “Sounds delicious, huh?”
She pulled a step stool over to the counter, and I climbed onto it to watch her. She washed the potatoes and handed one to me, then showed me how to peel it.
While the chicken cooked, Iris let me tear the spinach with my fingers and put it into a bowl. It was a lot of spinach, and I wondered if we’d really eat that much, just the five of us.
[This is a lot of spinach.]
Iris studied my hands for a moment, then looked at the spinach. It took her a moment to understand what I meant, but then she asked, “The spinach? You think it’s too much?”
I nodded, making the same motion with my hands again. [Too much for all of us.]
She pursed her lips, taking a moment to understand what I signed. I loved how patient she was with me and with herself, because it meant she truly cared. She and Gus had learned a lot of my secret language, which showed me how much they cared.
“Oh, you think this is too much spinach for us?”
I nodded harder this time.
She smiled and looked at the bowl. “It does look like a lot, doesn’t it? But you know what?”
[What?]
“When we cook the spinach, it shrinks.”
My eyes widened. [Really?]
“Yes.” She grabbed the bowl and placed it next to the pan on the stove. “You see, spinach is over 90% water, and when it gets cooked, that water evaporates.”
Evapo-what?
I tilted my head, giving her a strange look.
Iris laughed softly. “Here, watch closely.”
She put all the spinach into the pan. Some leaves fell out because there were so many that they barely fit into the pan. I kept my eyes on it, and over time, I noticed the pile of spinach getting smaller.
“See?” Iris said, leaning in a bit closer to me, her eyes also fixed on the spinach. “The water inside the spinach is evaporating.”
[What is that?]
She looked at me. “Evaporating? That’s when water changes into gas. It’s chemistry.”
I’ve heard that word before, but I didn’t know that spinach had anything to do with it. Pursing my lips, I looked at the pan again, and my eyes widened when I saw that the leaves were now just a small mass.
“Cool, huh?”
I nodded, hoping I could learn more fun things like this in the future.
I heard footsteps and voices getting closer, and I turned my head to see Gus walk into the kitchen, with Wesley and Ashby right behind him. Both of them had damp hair, and they were wearing pajamas now. It was the first time I saw Ashby without his funny hat, and he looked less silly now.
“Something smells really good,” Wesley said.
“That’s because you’re finally clean,” Iris replied teasingly.
Wesley grimaced. “Good one, Mom.”
Ashby came to stand between us, peaking over the counter to see what we were making. “What’s in that pan?”
[Spinach,] I fingerspelled.
Ashby stared at my hand, his eyes wide with wonder again. “Whoa. I have no idea what you just said.”
I scrunched my nose, then looked at Iris for help. She smiled softly and looked at Ashby. “It’s spinach. And try to say ‘signed’ instead of ‘said,’ darling.”
Ashby’s face twisted into a frown. “Why?”
“Because it’s more appropriate. Milow signs.”
It was an easy explanation, yet I didn’t really understand why it mattered so much.
Ashby thought about his mom’s words, then nodded slowly before looking at me again. “You speak with your hands.”
I did speak with my hands. It was the easiest way to put it. I nodded, then lifted my hands again. [Chicken and potatoes, too.]
The more I signed, the more fascinated he looked, and it made me smile because he still wasn’t laughing or making fun of me. He was truly trying to understand me.
“There’s chicken and potatoes, too, and for dessert, we made…”
[Cookies!]
“Cookies,” Iris repeated.
“Yum!”
“All right, boys, help Dad set the table.”
Gus carried the plates, Wesley helped with the glasses, and Ashby took care of the cutlery.
When we all sat down, I took the chair closest to Iris. I ate slowly while observing the others. Wesley talked about their Grandma’s house and the snow fort he’d built in her backyard. He said he had to keep rebuilding it because Ashby jumped on it. Ashby laughed and didn’t even try to deny it.
I wanted to let Ashby know that ruining someone else’s snow fort on purpose wasn’t nice. But Wesley was smiling when he talked about it, like it was a funny story instead of a bad one. So I kept eating and decided it was okay to let it go.
I listened and watched their faces. No one told me to join the conversation. No one waited for me to lift my hands and sign. I was allowed to be there and take everything in.
A new feeling I couldn’t place made itself noticeable in my chest, and I held it there, trying to understand what it meant. They were a family, and even though I had only been here for one day, it felt like I already belonged with them, too.