Chapter 10 - THE WOMAN WHO FOUND HER VOICE
Six months after leaving The Gilded Table, Isla completed her first major interpreting certification assessment.
She had studied late into the night.
Practiced with Cole.
Worked weekends.
And nearly quit twice.
When the results arrived, she stared at the screen.
Passed.
She screamed.
Cole rushed into the kitchen.
What happened?
She turned the laptop toward him.
His face lit up.
He lifted her off the floor.
That evening, Isla called Matteo.
He smiled when he saw her.
Good news?
She nodded.
I passed.
His entire face changed.
I knew you would.
She laughed.
I didn't.
He signed:
That's why it's called courage.
They began speaking more often.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Without pretending the past had disappeared.
Matteo told her about the progress of the investigation.
His businesses were undergoing restructuring.
Several executives had been removed.
The company had adopted independent compliance oversight.
And he was cooperating with authorities regarding conduct connected to his earlier leadership.
Isla told him about her work.
The families she helped.
The children learning their first signs.
The adults who had spent years being excluded from conversations.
One evening, Matteo asked:
Would you have dinner with me?
Isla stared.
As what?
He smiled.
A man asking a woman he likes to dinner.
She laughed.
No business?
No business.
No bodyguards at the table?
No bodyguards at the table.
She hesitated.
Then smiled.
Yes.
Their first real date took place at a small waterfront restaurant.
No private room.
No special entrance.
No fear-filled silence.
They sat beside a window.
Signed across the table.
And laughed until Isla's cheeks hurt.
When the evening ended, Matteo walked her outside.
He stopped beneath a streetlight.
Then signed:
May I kiss you?
Isla's heart raced.
She smiled.
Yes.
May you like
He kissed her gently.
And for the first time, the silence between them felt like peace.
