Ashlyn hasn't spoken a word since the age of eight, and her heart's never felt more protected. But, when the confident and ever so charming Derek stumbles into her quiet little world, her emotions-and forbidden desires-have never been so loud.
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I hope you will know today that there is no one as understanding or as understood as you.
Ashlyn's lips turned up in a beaming smile as she re-read the message on her phone twice more.
For the past few weeks, Derek had frequently made small gestures, reminding Ashlyn that he saw her and that he cared. Each one stole her breath as much as the last, and the butterflies that lived in her stomach had all taken to a permanent flight pattern, their flapping a gentle reminder of what had been given to her.
On the days that she needed her space and a chance to process everything, Derek respected that, almost as though he had a sixth sense that told him when to act and when to let things be. But on the days that he did act, his reminders came at precisely the moment when her doubts were most prominent. Like a thriving plant lost to the harshest of winters, the doubts were silenced, and faith took to life in their place.
The mornings when she awoke to an encouraging text message from Derek, reminding her of her worth and her strength, Ashlyn took those words to heart and felt as though she could have done anything. On those mornings, she was a dandelion seed, lifted on the winds of time, soaring through the skies, existing beyond the chains of fear.
Most days, Derek would walk into Salt at precisely one o'clock and invite her to lunch. Some days they ate at Salt, and other afternoons when the sun was high, and the breeze was warm, they sat out by the waterfront sharing a plate of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and fresh fruit. It was in these simple acts - the homemade lunches, the morning texts, the smile he always carried - that Ashlyn glimpsed his heart.
Their sign language classes had resumed as usual, and Derek had made significant progress. He'd surprised her one evening when he'd picked her up from work so that they could head to the library together by demonstrating some of the new phrases, of the personal sort, that he had learned courtesy of Abel.
Abel had let it slip before he left that Derek had been spending time with him into the late hours of the night, asking as many questions and learning as much as he could.
"He is one determined man," Abel had told her before he boarded the bus.
Mila had given birth to a healthy little boy three weeks after Abel was discharged from the hospital, and Abel had finally been cleared by his doctor to leave town so that he could visit their little family.
Ashlyn had smiled, wishing him all the love and joy for the next three weeks before she hugged him goodbye.
That night she had laid in bed thinking on the kindness and love that Abel had taught Derek to voice in his signs. The things he had said had been some of the most distinctive and beautiful things that anyone had done for her, and often when he spoke, her heart would soar.
She had managed to cry more happy tears in those last few weeks than she had in her twenty-eight years. On the days that she found her doubts speaking louder, she would look back on the things that Derek had said and done, and remind herself that her doubts had no ground to stand on. Someone had shown her that they were prepared to fight for her, and she was going to do the same. For once, the desires of her heart held more precedence than the doubts of her mind.
