Cy and Athena sat at the long kitchen table, heads bent together. I lingered in the archway between rooms, arms folded under my chest as I watched the two of them interact. They were so wrapped in one another that they didn't even notice me.
Cy mouthed words slowly in her face. Athena's fingers moved as she signed them back, correcting him gently and repeating the shapes until he got them right. Every time he nailed one, she grinned.
I couldn't help but smile despite everything.
Athena leaned in and brushed her mouth to Cy's ear. He blinked, then turned fully toward her with a grin that made him look like a puppy in love. I tilted my head. She'd just spoken to him. Softly. Privately. She hadn't used her hands.
So she could speak. She just didn't.
Every minute or so, Athena did it agai
