Page 33 of The Sound Of Us

“What are you up to?” I ask in sign, after I’d rubbed his dog enough. That was last week’s lesson. He was there, but he’d left before the lesson was over, so I don’t know if he’ll recognize it.

He does. He brings his phone close to his face so I can see his lips. “Nothing much,” he says. Then, with a worried frown, he says, “Did I disturb you with my flashlight?”

I shake my head and then get my phone so we can communicate faster. “Are you playing a game on your phone?” I type.

He shakes his head and then turns his screen to me. It’s a YouTube video of someone playing the piano.

“Do you like the piano?” I type.

A nod with another hint of a smile.

“Do you play?”

He holds his hand out, palm facing down, and turns it from side to side, indicating, so-so. “I used to play at church, but that was a long time ago,” he says.

“I have a piano. You can practise on it if you want.”

His eyes light up and then dim again almost immediately. “No, it’s okay. I have an app on my phone.”

But the way his eyes lit up for that one second…

“You should use it. No one else will.”

He thinks for a long minute and then, as if he was choosing his last meal before his execution, he nods.

I gesture for him to follow me. When we get to the house, he hesitates at the doorway. His dog trots in ahead of both of us. I love this dog already.

I lead Axel into the living room and point to the piano. He looks like a shy kid in a toy store. Excited, but still afraid to touch. When he just stands there with stars in his eyes for the piano, I grab his wrist and pull him further into the living room.

He pulls his hand out of my grasp immediately, his eyes flying to my face. Then, his face goes red. “Sorry,” he says, and then hurries to the piano.

He doesn’t sit down immediately. He first inspects it from every side. Runs his fingers over the shiny surface. I stand back and watch him, fascinated by how much I like this perfect stranger. He carries a certain innocence that I find endearing.

He finally sits down and tests the keys. Then his hands move slowly across the keys, playing something. I move closer and place my hand on the top of the piano, palms flat down.

Axel smiles, his eyes on me, and his fingers moving more confidently now over the keys. “Are you feeling the vibration?” he asks, his smile widening.

I nod.

“So cool,” he says, looking impressed.

I smile too. I like that I’ve impressed him.

He closes his eyes, and with languid movements, he plays. It’s a slow melody, thrumming softly against my palm. Almost… sad. It feels like a sad sound. It seems strange to think about it, but I come to the conclusion that perhaps it sounds like him. For all the small smiles and innocence, there seems to be a sadness about him that pulls on something inside me.

I think he plays the same melody twice. The vibrations feel the same.

His phone, which he’d set down on the bench next to him, lights up. He doesn’t see it, but my eyes fall on the screen involuntarily. The text notification pops up.

Sweetheart, where are you? There’s more, but it’s hidden from the notification bar. His phone must be on silent.

He continues playing. I debate whether to alert him to his text. The picture of his reddened cheek that day at the library flashes through my mind and I decide against it. His wedding band, dull against his finger and infuriating, serves as an unwanted reminder that this man is not available.

He finally notices his phone flashing and his mood plummets immediately.

Grabbing his phone, he looks at me, apologizing. For what, I don’t know. “Thank you,” he says and hurries out of the house with his reluctant dog. I watch him leave, and an unfamiliar heaviness settles in my chest.

Chapter 17

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