UNSTEADY RHYTHM

“You’re doing great, Nikki,” Sydney said, both speaking and signing the words in American Sign Language. “You’ve got the alphabet down.”

She had spent the better part of the past thirty minutes helping Nikki brush up on her ASL. They were killing time on The Void’s tour bus awaiting the return of the band from a last-minute press conference. The band’s manager, Christopher Donahue, had arranged the conference in response to the release of the first House of Archer trailer the day before. It was taking longer than Sydney figured it would. At least she was making productive use of the time.

She hadn’t been sure Nikki would take her up on her offer to teach her ASL. She had mentioned it several times over the past week during some of the downtimes that she and Nikki had together while the band fulfilled their various commitments. Up until now, Nikki had blown her off. Then earlier that day she had asked Sydney if her offer still stood.

Sydney had immediately said yes. She was always eager to teach people new things. It was what she did for a living, after all.

She had started by getting a baseline of Nikki’s knowledge of ASL to gauge where to begin their lesson. With Sydney’s guidance, Nikki had completed a rather slow run-through of the alphabet. They were now at the point where Nikki was signing all twenty-six letters fluidly. So Sydney wasn’t sure why Nikki looked frustrated after she praised her.

“The alphabet won’t really help me,” Nikki complained. “I’ve seen Keith signing to his sister on their video chats. He doesn’t use letters much.”

Keith Connors was Nikki’s boyfriend and The Void’s bassist and backing vocalist. His sister, Lex, was hearing impaired so Keith, of course, communicated with her by signing. That was why Nikki was trying to learn it herself.

“It will help, trust me,” Sydney said patiently. “Just by knowing the alphabet, you can communicate effectively with ASL. Have you learned any other signs yet?”

Nikki shrugged. “I’ve learned ‘How are you,’ ‘I’m fine,’ ‘What’s your name,’ and ‘Thank you,’” she said while signing.

“That’s a good start,” Sydney said, though she privately wondered how Nikki had learned so little if her boyfriend was fluent in ASL and communicated with his sister every day. “A couple of tips before we move on. It can be hard for someone to understand what you’re saying if your hands and arms move too much, so try to keep your movements more focused and deliberate.”

Nikki made a face that conveyed irritation. Sydney had noticed that the other woman didn’t like to sit still, so she guessed her tip had hit a nerve. That didn’t change the facts.

“Also,” Sydney continued, “it’s considered shouting or emphasizing if you push your hands out towards someone while signing. So it’s important to keep your hands closer to your body. Like this.” She ran through the phrases Nikki had just shared. “Do you see the difference?”

Again, Nikki shrugged. The action looked abrupt and resentful.

No matter. Sydney worked with students with special needs. She was used to resistance. There were always ways around that.

“Are there any particular phrases you’d like to learn?” Sydney asked.

Nikki’s eyes shifted to her and sharpened with a look Sydney couldn’t interpret. “Yeah. How about ‘I want to blow you?’”

The crude words were surely meant to jar Sydney, but she showed no reaction. She just stared at Nikki in the calm way she had perfected with her students…a look she had learned from her mother. Within a minute, Nikki was averting her gaze and squirming in her seat.

“What does it matter anyway?” Nikki blurted. “It’s not like Keith will ever introduce me to his sister. Learning this is a waste of my time.”

Ah ha, Sydney thought. Finally a breakthrough. This was why Nikki hadn’t bothered to learn more ASL than she had. The other woman’s unhappiness was clear, even if masked in anger and impatience.

“Why do you feel that way?” Sydney asked.

Nikki’s gaze was intent on her hands as she fiddled with the numerous thin bracelets lining her wrists. She gave another of her shrugs. “Keith hardly talks about Lex with me. Whenever I bring her up, he changes the subject. I know we haven’t been exclusive for very long, but I’ve known him for a couple of years. Shouldn’t he be including me more in that part of his life?”

Yes, Sydney thought. He should.

Lex was the center of Keith’s life. Sydney had gotten t