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He beamed at her, but Lily resisted his charms. No, but you fall asleep when we’re texting sometimes.

Oh, boy. He laughed again. You try mowing fields for fifteen hours and then we’ll see how long you last after a shower and a good dinner.

I’d like a good dinner, Lily said. I’m tired of eating microwavable meals.

Mitch met her eye, a pause between them now. He’d visited her in the hospital and at home. He’d gone grocery shopping for her in the beginning, and she got a lot of pre-prepared meals from Wilde & Organic, so at least she wasn’t eating the TV dinners he’d lived on during his time at the deaf school.

He was here with her now for this. He texted with her every day. But he hadn’t asked her out on a date. They had something playful between them, but also something obligatory. Mitch wondered if he would’ve noticed her in another situation, and he honestly didn’t know.

Does it matter? he asked himself.

He started typing again, this time to ask her out for a good dinner, but the door opened and the doctor walked in.

Lily said hello, and she indicated Mitch. He’s deaf, she said. But he can read your lips, and he’s here to help me get the information I need. Is it okay if he asks questions?

Of course, the doctor said, and Mitch put his phone away, because a medical conversation between two people who weren’t talking directly to him would take a lot of concentration.

We’ve actually got a girl here who can sign, the doctor said. Would you like me to get her?

Mitch started to nod, and he said, “Yes,” though he had no idea how the letters sounded as they came out of his mouth. Lily gave him a smile that said he didn’t speak well, and Mitch believed her. Some deaf people spoke and tried to learn how to form the words and letters so others could understand them, even if they couldn’t hear.

Mitch had never done that, and he’d rather rely on sign language, his dog, and his phone to be able to communicate.

The doctor ducked back out, and it only took another thirty seconds for him to return, this time with another dark-haired woman. She wore a brightness to her person that Mitch liked, and she started signing.

I’m Claire, and this is Doctor Clemens. He’s got Lily’s results of her MRI.

Mitch noticed the doctor had started talking, and he turned and flipped a switch on a light box attached to the wall. With his back to them, he pointed to something, and Mitch never would’ve been able to understand anything he said.

But Claire signed everything, her facial expressions going right along with it. She was an excellent signer, with great fluidity and fluency, and he wondered if she was certified to be an interpreter. Sure seemed like it, because she knew a lot of medical terminology.

The scan looks good, she said. This shows both hemispheres of the brain, and over here on the left side, where we had the swelling and that bruise I was worried about, we see there’s no more swelling in the brain, which is great, obviously. No evidence of anomalies. No lesions, masses, or that bruise. You’ve healed well, and that’s going to be due to you following the directions to stay off screens and give yourself time to heal.

He turned back to the pair of them, a slight smile on his mouth. I think you’re cleared to go back to work in the office. He pulled up a chair. How are you feeling? Headaches still? That optical migraine in your vision?

Lily nodded, and Mitch’s eyes flew back to Claire to see her answer. Only when I’m really tired.

Well, you’ve been the perfect patient so far, the doctor said. So keep that up. When you’re tired, slow down. Stop. Go rest. Okay?

Lily nodded as she said, Okay.

Claire’s hands stilled as the conversation stopped, and Mitch reached over and took Lily’s hand in his. This was great news, and he didn’t understand the tears shining in her eyes. Maybe they were happy tears, as his mom and his aunts sometimes cried even when they were happy.

One of Mitch’s girlfriends in Virginia had done that too. He honestly didn’t know what to do with it, because when he felt strong emotions and needed a release, he yelled. He went out onto the ranch all by himself and just screamed his frustration to the sky.

Sometimes that worked and sometimes it didn’t. Momma said crying always helped her reset, and Mitch wondered what that would be like. He pretty much carried everything that troubled him in a metaphorical backpack, and he only shrugged it off and dropped the rocks he carried when he couldn’t stand living his life with that load for one more minute.

I don’t think you need any medications, the doctor said. I can write you a note for your job. Limited screen time. Afternoons off. That kind of thing.

Okay, Lily said. Do I need to come back, or just play it by ear?

I don’t think you need to come back. Doctor Clemens stood, the appointment clearly almost over. You’re doing great, Lily. He nodded to Mitch, then turned and did the same to Claire.

Mitch quickly signed, Thank you, Claire. That was so much easier.

She grinned and said, You’re welcome, before she followed the doctor out of the room. Mitch took a long breath and faced Lily.

He didn’t want to type out his congratulations. He just wanted to be able to celebrate with her that she’d recovered from the terrible accident that had left her out in the elements overnight, injured, and desperate to be found.