The atmosphere in the office was decidedly stodgy despite the store’s inept attempts to be edgy and hip. The pay was alright, even if the job itself felt pointless and boring. She found a job easily enough as an administrative assistant (well, secretary really) to the head of finance at the corporate office of a big name department store. By the time she graduated she was ready to start over in a new place where she didn’t know anyone. She had chosen a small school in Indiana near home, but her father had gotten sick in her freshman year and died in her junior year, leaving her to sleepwalk through college in a haze of grief that prevented her from making any friends, let alone boyfriends. She had moved to Seattle after graduating from college because she wanted to get away, to start over. To Kassie it seemed purely by accident that she ended up in this place at this time. “You’ll be fine,” Erik repeated as he pushed the door open. A sign over the door read Seattle Deafblind Center. Kassie grinned despite herself, then looked up at the low-slung building before them. “Come on, you’re not here as an interpreter. What if they don’t understand me?”Įrik put an arm around her, hugging her to his lean tall frame.

You’ll be fine.” He jogged across the parking lot while Kassie dawdled behind, even though the rain was increasing from a mist to a steady drizzle. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Kassie asked as she slammed the car door shut behind her.Įrik smiled down at her, his brilliant white grin reassuring. How can they come to a deeper understanding of each other, and find a future together? But as their friendship deepens into something more, the difficulty in communicating with each other only grows, and it seems like everyone they know thinks their relationship won’t work. Jake is more intelligent, more genuine than anyone she has met before, and for the first time Kassie starts to feel like her life has some direction.

Until a sweet-smelling girl introduces herself to him unexpectedly, and opens up a whole new world to him.

Despite the odds, he’s highly educated, but at 26, he’s gotten stuck in a rut, with few friends and no clear career plans. His disability has cut him off from the world, but beneath his isolated exterior, is a smart, sweet guy with a dry sense of humor. Jake has been deaf and blind since birth. Kassie feels compelled to try signing to him–the fact that he’s strikingly handsome doesn’t hurt. One day at a Deaf community event, she sees a young man sitting off by himself. Now 24 and living in Seattle, she gets interested in learning sign language through her roommate, a sign language interpreter. Kassie has felt adrift ever since her dad died when she was in college.

Love In Touch by Lucy May Lennox