Laurie accepted one of the drinks and breathed in the warm smell of chai.
Dawn sat on the steps beside her, leaving enough room between them that she could turn towards her to talk.
How are you?she signed one-handed.
Laurie shrugged and looked out at the ocean.OK.
Dawn didn’t push. She turned her body forward and sat shoulder to shoulder with Laurie, sipping her tea. The simple fact of her presence was comforting, and Laurie was grateful for the lack of conversation.
She wasn’t ready to face the practicalities of her situation. Not yet.
Something moved in Laurie’s peripheral vision, and she turned to look. It took her a moment to recognize her niece; Zoe had dyed her hair again. The green was gone, along with her natural auburn roots. In the shade, her hair looked almost black. When she stepped into the sunshine, it shone a deep shade of plum that made her silver eyes seem extra bright.
Hey Auntie, Zoe signed as she walked across the yard.
“Of all of the colors you’ve dyed your hair, this is the least offputting.” Dawn signed as she spoke – not fluent ASL, but the signs that she knew:color, hair, less bad.
Thanks, Grandma,Zoe signed sarcastically.
“Of course, your natural hair color–”
Zoe rolled her eyes and walked up the steps, cutting between them to get into the house. Laurie drank the last gulp of her chai and stood to follow her.
Inside, the house was busy. Four tourists sat at the table, talking in an animated way. Even without her hearing aids, they were loud enough for her to hear a senseless torrent of noise. One man gesticulated with such energy that coffee sloshed over the side of his mug.
The air was crowded with the smells of coffee, chai, orange juice, eggs, bacon, and something sweet baking in the oven. Anne stood cooking at the stove, and a grumpy-looking Zoe swiped a piece of bacon off the counter.
Laurie walked through the chaos and up the stairs to check on Mia, who was still sound asleep.
She opened her laptop and tried to work, but her brain was still such a gray haze of stress that she couldn’t concentrate. So she closed it and went downstairs again. She had no appetite, but she knew that she needed to eat.
Dawn pointed to her and signed,Sit.
She sat at the far end of the table next to Zoe, who was wolfing down a plate of bacon and eggs.
Dawn put a plate down in front of Laurie, and she obediently shoveled scrambled eggs into her mouth without really tasting them.
Anne put a basket of fresh muffins down near her guests and sat across from her.
“Laurie,” she said and signed, “you slept in the blue room last night?”
My room?she signed sharply, eyebrows up.
Anne winced.Right.
The room that I lived in from sixteen to twenty-two? The room that I sleep in every time I come home? That room?
Now Anne looked annoyed. “Yes, Laurie.Thatroom.”
Yes, we slept there.
“Okay. It’s just that I have guests checking in this afternoon. They booked that room for the week.”
A sense of dread crawled through Laurie’s chest, and she swallowed.
You see?Zoe was irate.This is what happens when you turn our home into a hotel!
Sorry,Anne signed. She glanced at the guests at the other end of the table. All four of them were watching the exchange with open curiosity.You can sleep in Akemi’s room.
