Speak Now | Shawn Mendes

0.5

"Grace says to pop out from behind the couch after I greet her parents." Shawn says to me. I nod my head and he goes back to sitting on the couch and doing whatever is was he was doing. I look out the window and await the surprise that I was ready to give to Nora, Charles, and Reese.

I hear the sound of the elevator and feel my stomach begin to be overcome with butterflies. From outside, I can hear her fathers deep Brooklyn accent. "Geez, how many times do I gotta tell ya to fix the light in the hall?"

"Dad, the light is fine," Grace replies calmly.

The keys are placed in the door and the door suddenly opens. I look under the space of the couch and see Shawn's feet. I slip my hand under and tickle the back of his foot and he kicks his leg up and lets out a weird squeal.

"Did you squeal?" Grace asks Shawn.

I place my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing as he stands up and tries to come up with an excuse. "Huh?"

"What was that noise you made?" Grace asks.
"I was watching some video on my timeline." He says.

"I could've sworn that was you."
"No, I don't think it was."

"I could have sworn..."

"Mr and Mrs Webber, how are you?" Shawn interrupts Grace. His feet walk over to the other side and I patiently wait until it's my turn to pop out.

"Mom, dad, Reese, I have another surprise for you guys." Grace says.

"Oh you're pregnant?" Her dad guesses. "Shawn, am I gonna catch a court case for your murder?"

"Oh, no! God, no. Please don't." Shawn says.

"Surprise!" I say as I jump from behind the couch.

"Tina!" Reese, Grace's younger sister, screams my name. I step around the couch and run over to her. She hugs me tightly and I hug her back while we rock side to side on our feet.

I pull back from the hug and begin to sign to her, but she stops me by placing a hand over mine and then tucking her hair behind her ear with her other hand. Reese turns to the side and reveals that her hearing aid is no longer in her ear.

"The surgery was a success." Nora says from behind.

"Reese?" I say.
"I can hear you just fine." Reese says to me.

I let out a scream in excitement and and hug her again. For all the years that I've known her, Reese was deaf from one ear and had a hard time hearing from the other. She would teach me to sign whenever I went over to dance or sleepover with Grace. I would always practice my ASL whenever I could.

"I never imagined you with an accent," Reese says as we pull apart from the hug. "It's good to finally be able to hear your voice." She tears up. I chuckle and wipe away her tears with my thumbs before they could even fall. I hug her tightly one more time before we pull apart and she gets to meet Shawn for the first time.

"Christina," Nora says in a serene, yet happy tone. I wrap my arms around her as she hugs me. "How  you been holding up, baby?"

"I've been doing good." I reply in her ear. She rubs her hand up and down my back.

"That's wonderful." She says. We pull apart and I go to Charles and he chuckles deeply as he has his arms out wide and motions me inward.

"Bring it in, Chris." He says. I smile and wrap my arms around him as he hugs me.

"It's good to see you." I tell him.
"You, too." He replies.

"Oh, all the people I love are in the same room!" Grace says as she clasps her hands together.