Mrs. Grey was ecstatic. There was no other word to describe her emotions at that moment. She sipped her coffee in an effort to hide her smile from her serious son. He sat there, sitting across from Kintra, eyeing her curiously, his gaze slipping and sliding over each one of the girl's features. Mrs. Grey took another sip to hide yet another smile as she watched her son. Even though he would be the last one to admit it, there was a connection there between the two teens. Mrs. Grey had never seen her son let anyone play his piano, and her ruse to get him to come out of his room had worked, in a more complete way than she could have hoped. She broke into the conversation, saying, "As much fun as all this is, I think Kintra would like to be able to add some input, so I think we should get started with the lessons." She pushed back her chair and stood, striding to the sink to wash out her cup. "You're welcome to stay, Nick," she said, acting as though the remark had been an afterthought. She turned to Kintra and her mother and added, "Out of all my boys, Nick is the most fluent with sign language." When a few moments passed and Nick didn't move, Mrs. Grey accepted his presence and the lessons began.

"Thanks for coming!" Mrs. Grey waved cheerily and Nick raised his hand as the car drove off. Mrs. Grey closed the door and leaned against it for support. "Well," she said to her son, "she's a very nice girl."

"I guess," Nick said nonchalantly. He shrugged. "I think she has a photographic memory," he added.

His mother eyed him carefully. "Oh?" she said, trying to sound disinterested. "Why do you say that?"

"She picked up everything so quickly," he answered. "She and I practically had a whole conversation."

Mrs. Grey nodded slightly. "You may be right," she conceded, "but maybe not. She may just learn quickly. If you had a handicap like that and you needed to learn something to support yourself, you'd be amazed at how fast you could learn it as well." She noticed the thoughtful look in her son's eyes and left him standing in the living room contemplating that remark while she went to fix dinner. She pulled the celery out of the fridge and smiled, her shoulders shaking with the slight laughter. "I can't wait for tomorrow," she whispered.

The next day, no ruse was needed to bring Nick out of his bedroom. He was there in the living room with his mother when Kintra and her mom arrived. "Morning," he said to Kintra, trying to be polite. She surprised him by greeting him happily in a rush of sign language, her small hands flittering around as she "spoke."

"Very nicely done," his mother praised, having watched the exchange. Kintra placed her hand at her lips and drew it down, a silent, "Thank you." "Shall we get started?" Mrs. Grey asked. Kintra nodded eagerly and in her excitement, led the way into the kitchen.

By the time three hours had passed, Kintra had made unbelievable progress. She was an eager student, bright and cheery, and she learned as quickly as Mrs. Grey could teach. Her mom learned at a slower pace, however, and soon, Mrs. Grey sent Kintra and Nick off to practice by themselves while she gave Mrs. Philips a little more instruction.

Nick led the way out of the kitchen and stopped, trying to decide between conducting their practicing in the living room or going upstairs. He really didn't want Kintra in his bedroom, but how could he seat her in the living room and try to make conversation from across the room? With an almost inaudible sigh, he led Kintra up to the second floor of the house, twisting sharply to the left as he reached the landing. His door was the second on the right and he opened it widely, stepping aside courteously so that Kintra could enter first.

She repeated her "Thank you," and stepped inside, twisting to make sure that Nick had not closed the door behind him. She need not have worried, for Nick had opened the door as far as it would go, and was attempting to make it go further. She smiled slightly, and then he turned around. The sight that met him was shocking. Kintra sat there on his bed, with her hands folded primly over her knee, glancing around the room with curiosity. Nick felt a slight twinge in his heart as he watched her. She was the first girl, besides his mother, to have ever entered his room. He had always closed his room off because it was his sanctuary. He didn't need the memories of a date-gone-wrong to interfere with the one place he felt completely comfortable. Seeing Kintra sitting there, looking like she fit in perfectly, made his heart give an unknown squeeze. Trying to shake off the feeling, he cleared his throat and asked, harsher than he had intended, "What should we talk about?"

The question brought Kintra's wandering eyes back to his face. She looked intently at him for a moment and then signed, "Tell me about yourself."

Nick had not been prepared for that answer, and he stood, blinking for a moment. He had expected her to ask about his life as a star, or the tour that he and his brothers were going on in a couple of weeks, or something trivial that girls might be expected to ask. But this question, asked with the utmost sincerity in her eyes, threw Nick off balance. Striving for control, he began detailing his life, editing much. He didn't like the idea of having someone know his whole life story. Running quickly out of things to say, due to the editing, he began to talk about the tour, and she let him. For the first time in Nick's life, someone other than a family member was sitting completely still, listening as he talked. It felt good! He'd never talked this long in one sitting before! He wound up with, "And you know about my diabetes."

Kintra nodded her head thoughtfully. "That must be difficult to live with," she signed. "I can only imagine what that must be like."

That sentence made Nick's face morph into a setting that resembled stone. "No," he said icily. "You can't imagine. No one can imagine what I go through on a daily basis. You don't know what it's like to have to depend on something so heavily because without it, you might die." He turned his back to her and said, "I need to be alone now." It was not a diplomatic way of excusing Kintra, it was a barely fluffed, "Get out." She slipped out the door so quietly that Nick barely heard her. Since his back was to her, he didn't see the tears streaming down her face.

Before rejoining the moms, Kintra took a moment to carefully compose herself. She then put on a smile and marched into the kitchen. "Are we ready to go?" she signed. "I'm tired." Her mom took the hint graciously and stood, thanking Mrs. Grey. "So we won't see you for two weeks," she clarified.

"Absolutely," Mrs. Grey said with a nod. She smiled knowingly at Kintra and in that moment, Kintra knew that her teacher knew about her sickness. "I hope everything goes well and you feel better soon," she said, giving her pupil a hug.

"Thank you," Kintra signed, and she and her mom led the way out of the kitchen to the front door. As she passed the stairway, Kintra couldn't help but look up to see if Nick might be standing there. He wasn't. She and her mom waved goodbye to Mrs. Grey as their car drove away, and Kintra's eyes automatically drifted up to the window where Nick's room should be. The blinds were closed.

Kintra was still waiting for him to understand.