“It’s important for me to know your oral anatomy before I can properly treat you.”
“It could show I have a physical d-defect causing my stutter?”
“Potentially.”
“Interesting.” After eyeing the tools on the table, I asked, “You just had these lying around your apartment?”
Sarah laughed. “No. Since I knew I’d need them, Lev took me to my office yesterday on the way back to the house.”
When I grunted, she rolled her eyes. “He was just doing what you asked.”
“I d-didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“Since you t-two are so close, maybe I should invite him t-to dinner.”
Sarah shot me a wicked look. “That would be lovely. Maybe you can ask Aleks as well. Oh, and I hear there’s another one of your brothers I haven’t met yet.”
“D-Dima.”
“I don’t think I’ve heard that Russian name before.”
“It’s short for D-Dmitri.”
“Ah, I have heard that one.”
“It’s because of me he’s called D-Dima.”
“Really?”
My lips curved at the memory. “When he was born, I was just two, so I couldn’t say D-Dmitri. I called him D-Demmy. His mother started calling him D-Dima since it was closer t-to the actual nickname for Dmitri.”
Sarah’s eyes turned soft as a smile brightened her face. “That’s so sweet.”
“I have my moments,” I teased.
Jutting her chin up, she replied, “Few and far between.”
“Excuse me? You were just b-baiting me about my b-brothers.”
“I was not!”
“I noticed you didn’t mention having my sisters over.”
“I would love to meet them.”
And I would love to introduce you to them. But as more than just the speech pathologist who was treating me.“I’m sure they would love to meet you as well.”
“Really?”
“T-They know how much my stutter affects me.”
Sarah’s expression grew serious. “I’m going to give it my all to help you.”
“I appreciate t-that.”
She motioned to one of the chairs at the kitchen table. “Sit there.”
