14.
David called Dee on Skype the next day, as he did every morning to talk to Lea. She seemed to be doing pretty well, he wondered if she would miss him at all. She was getting good at signing and she seemed to be improving her speech too. David and Dee had agreed to continue to communicate with her in English since that was the language that Hayley used with her.
David was a very interested dad. We would ask all the details – if she was eating well, how she had slept, and how she was doing in kindergarten. Dee asked him about the internship too. Apparently he was really enjoying it and was already planning suggestions to introduce in ValSocial.
Before saying goodbye she finally got the courage to say:
“I think it’s great. Just please don’t hurt her.”
“What are you talking about?” – he wondered confused.
“Rachel” – she said.
After Hayley’s breakup David had had a few rebound girls, but had never been able to settle down.
David didn’t even know what to say. He and Rachel had agreed to keep it secret, so how could she know. He simply babbled – “I won’t. I really like her.”
He arrived at Rachel’s condo and she was waiting for him at the door. Before he could even say hi she asked:
“Did you tell her?” “Who? Dee?” Rachel nodded.
“No, I thought you did” – he defended himself.
They got in. He loved the way her house smelled, it was so Rachel.
“What did she tell you?” – he asked.
“She told me that she was rooting for us” – Rachel said – “she said she loved us both and she really hoped things would work out.”
“Just like that?”
“Yes. We talked about a bunch of other things, but I never even mentioned your name.”
“It was the same with me.” – he confessed.
“That girl is gifted, I’m telling you” – Rachel added.
They both laughed.
“It’s fine though she won’t say a word” – Rachel stated.