Page 77 of The Voice We Find

August hands me my cup of decaf just as I answer his sister’s call.

“Hey, Gabs,” I say to the screen. “Oh, and hello Tyler.”

The two teenagers press in together and wave. They’re outside somewhere—a yard? A driveway?

August pops his head over my shoulder, and I don’t miss the way Gabby’s smiling eyes ping-pong between us. “So, let me get this straight,” he says in a teasing tone. “I text to say good morning and ask when you want a ride home, and you respond by video calling Sophie? How does that work?”

Tyler chuckles at this, and I wonder if he’s reading the live transcript on the screen or lipreading. It’s hard to tell.

Gabby swivels the phone to herself, and I can’t quite tell if she’s wearing her aids or not. “Sophie answers every time I call her.” Gabby smirks. “And she’s way prettier on camera.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Without warning, he leans in and plants a kiss on my cheek.

And when he does, Gabby comes undone.

“Wait, are you serious right now?” She squeals and jumps. “Are you guys together? Liketogether, together?”

I eye August like,Did you really just do that? And also like,You have no clue what you’re in for now.

“Well, at the moment we’re together trying to enjoy a peaceful breakfast—”

“It was the mistletoe I put in the booth, wasn’t it?” She jumps again, and it’s all I can do to keep my lips from turning up. She’ll be picking out bridesmaid dresses in no time.

Is that where this is going?

“No,” August says pointedly. “It was not the mistletoe.”

But Gabby is too busy holding a side conversation offscreen to pay attention to her brother.

“Gabby,” August says. When she doesn’t answer, he tries again. “Gabby.”

With her profile still turned to the camera, it’s clear she’s concentrating on something—orsomeone. It’s also clear she’s not wearing her aids. She nods and gives a thumbs-up.

She turns her lively expression back to us. “Are you cool if I stay a bit and help Tyler clear some of the branches from his neighbor’s driveway? The roads are still a mess here—there’s even a house across the street that had a tree crush their back fence.” Gabby flings the camera to show Tyler walking to the house next door wearing work gloves with a leaf blower strapped to his back.

One thing’s for sure, there is no way August can deny the kindness Gabby’s boyfriend possesses. They are well matched.

Butwhen I glance up at August, I don’t find the same easy demeanor as before. “Where are your aids, Gabs?”

Gabby looks momentarily stricken. “Inside.”

“Inside where?” he presses.

“My ... backpack. I can’t wear them around all this clean-up noise. And I haven’t missed anything you’ve said, right? This new transcript app works great.”

I don’t miss the disappointment in his voice when he answers with “I’ll pick you up around noon.”

She nods, but her smile is half-mast. “Will you still be there, Sophie?”

“Yes,” I say. “We have a full day of recording to finish in the studio. I’ll come with August.”

“Okay, see ya. Bye!”

As we end the call and move to sit at the table, August is subdued. And even though he compliments my scramble and tells me his plan to clear his neighbor’s driveway before we start our recording session today, his mind is somewhere else entirely.

I set down my fork and watch him. “You’re upset.”

“Her aids aren’t in her backpack,” he says without preamble.

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