Chapter 7 - The Hands That Brought Them Home
One year later, Table 7 looked very different.
No business files.
No whispered conversations about shipments.
No frightened staff.
Beatrice sat at the head.
Gabriel sat beside her.
Chloe entered carrying seafood risotto.
Beatrice applauded.
“My favorite customer,” Chloe said.
Gabriel frowned.
“I thought I was your favorite.”
“You're barely in the top ten.”
Beatrice signed:
He's still an idiot.
Chloe laughed.
Gabriel understood.
“Ma.”
Beatrice looked delighted.
That had become their running joke.
Gabriel's ASL was now fluent enough that Beatrice no longer needed Chloe to translate.
And Chloe had discovered something unexpected.
Signing didn't make Leo feel like a ghost anymore.
It made him feel remembered.
Gabriel had also changed.
Not completely.
He was still intimidating.
Still powerful.
Still a man people avoided angering.
But Beatrice no longer sat silently beside him.
When she spoke, Gabriel looked at her.
Every time.
Chloe placed the risotto down.
“Anything else?”
Gabriel nodded.
“Yes.”
He stood.
Chloe narrowed her eyes.
“Why do you look nervous?”
“I'm not nervous.”
Beatrice immediately signed:
He's terrified.
“Thank you, Ma.”
Gabriel reached into his jacket.
Chloe froze.
“Oh, no.”
“Oh, yes.”
“Gabriel.”
He produced a small velvet box.
Every conversation in the room stopped.
Chloe stared at him.
“You planned this here?”
“This is where you ruined my life.”
“Excuse me?”
“I had a perfectly efficient existence before you.”
Beatrice rolled her eyes.
Gabriel continued.
“Then a waitress told me my mother hated veal.”
Chloe smiled despite herself.
“You grabbed my shoulder.”
“You threatened to finish your order before allowing me to break your collarbone.”
“You deserved it.”
“I probably did.”
He opened the box.
Inside was a simple diamond ring.
Gabriel didn't kneel immediately.
Instead, he raised his hands.
He signed.
Before you, I thought listening meant waiting for someone else to stop talking.
Chloe's smile disappeared.
Her eyes filled.
Gabriel continued.
You taught me that people can spend years speaking while nobody hears them.
He glanced at his mother.
Then back at Chloe.
You gave my mother her son back.
Chloe shook her head.
“No. You did that.”
“Because you forced me to look.”
He finally lowered himself onto one knee.
The entire restaurant watched.
Gabriel spoke aloud now.
“Chloe Bennett, will you marry me?”
Chloe looked at Beatrice.
The older woman was crying.
She signed:
Say yes before he starts another speech.
Chloe laughed through her tears.
Gabriel looked over.
“What did she say?”
Chloe smiled.
“Confidential.”
“Chloe.”
She lowered herself slightly and touched his face.
“Yes.”
For several seconds, Gabriel didn't move.
“You're serious?”
“No, I thought I'd make this dramatically worse.”
He stood and pulled her into his arms.
The restaurant erupted in applause.
Beatrice hugged them both.
Later that evening, after everyone had gone, Chloe remained alone near Table 7.
She touched the ring on her finger.
Gabriel approached.
“You okay?”
“Yeah.”
She looked at her hands.
“I was thinking about Leo.”
Gabriel waited.
Chloe signed:
I wish he could see this.
Gabriel answered without hesitation.
Maybe he can.
Chloe looked at him.
“You've gotten good.”
“I had a terrifying teacher.”
She smiled.
Gabriel took her hand.
From across the room, Beatrice impatiently waved.
Are you two coming?
Gabriel signed back:
Yes, Ma.
Beatrice pointed toward the door.
Then hurry.
Chloe laughed.
Gabriel shook his head.
“I've created a monster.”
“No.”
Chloe slipped her hand into his.
“You finally learned to hear her.”
They walked toward Beatrice together.
A year earlier, Table 7 had been a place where Chloe tried to remain invisible.
Where Beatrice had spoken without being understood.
Where Gabriel Costello had commanded an entire room but couldn't understand the woman sitting beside him.
Now the mahogany doors stood open.
Beatrice was laughing.
Gabriel was signing.
And Chloe no longer felt like she was talking to a ghost when her hands moved.
She felt like she was carrying something forward.
A language.
A brother.
A family.
Gabriel opened the door for her.
“Ready?”
Chloe looked at Beatrice waiting for them.
Then at the man who had finally learned that power meant nothing if you couldn't listen to the people you loved.
She smiled.
May you like
“Ready.”
And together, they went home.
