"It is so good to see you smiling again," Lucy said the next day, after the excitement over Sue and Jack's new relationship had died down a little bit.
"It feels so good to smile again," Sue agreed.
"What woman wouldn't smile with a gem like that on her finger?" Myles asked with a sly smile. "Agent Sparky here did well, even I, a connoisseur of fine stones, must admit to that."
"I should never disagree with your opinion there," Ms. Thomas laughed.
After a few hours of work, it was time to eat.
"I don't suppose you lovebirds could be persuaded to join us for a bite at the Italian Restaurant down the street?" Tara asked teasingly.
"Thank you, but we already have plans," Sue replied.
After their coworkers had filed out, Jack took Sue's hand and led her into an empty, silent conference room. There, they unpacked the food they had brought and quickly ate. After they had finished, Jack reached out, took her hand, and said,
"This is how it will work. I will sign something to you, and then I will say it out loud. This will hopefully allow you to learn what the spoken words sound like. Are you ready?"
"I believe so."
"Remove your earplugs, then."
As soon as the white little items were laying on the table besides Ms. Thomas, Agent Hudson finger-spelled,
"S-U-E". Then he tenderly said, "Sue".
Tears sprang to his fiancée's eyes.
"Is that what my name sounds like?" she whispered, overcome.
Jack nodded.
"And yours?"
"Jack," he said softly.
"Sue and Jack," she repeated, wiping her lashes. "I like that."
"So do I," the handsome agent said, reaching for her hand and pressing a kiss on it.
As he leaned back in his chair, it squeaked. Sue froze.
"What was that?" she whispered, frightened.
Jack stared at her for a moment, uncomprehending, until he realized what she must have heard.
"That was the squeak of a chair, Sue," he smiled.
Ms. Thomas looked at him as if he had ten heads.
"Chairs make sound?" she asked, shocked.
"Practically every object makes sound if it is moved, Sue, dearest," Jack explained. "A pen makes sound when it writes something on a sheet of paper." He reached for a legal pad and fountain pen and demonstrated. "Chairs squeak when people sit down in them or get up. Doors creak when they are opened or closed." He walked across the room and opened the door. As predicted, the hinges creaked.
Sue looked shocked.
"I never thought about that sort of thing at all! This is going to be very, very hard!"
"Not for a brilliant woman, such as the one I am engaged to," Jack said, walking over to her and pressing a kiss upon her head.
Sue smiled up at him, and asked to continue the lesson.