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must sound silly because all sign language seems the same, but surprisingly it isn’t. Each person signs in a slightly different way. Much like when you speak, you can have an accent. It’s the same concept. As I watched his hands move and spell out the letters, I smiled. I looked up at his face.
    “What?” he asked, confused.
    “That’s the first time you’ve ever signed my name.” Neither of us had anything to say. We sat watching the sun, content with silence. I reached over and took his hand. I wanted to be as close to him as I could. I expected him to pull away but instead he opened his palm out and let my fingers slide in between his. I smiled and we sat for a while, not moving, embracing the moment.
    After a while, I glanced down at my watch and noticed the time. I let go of Joshua’s hand and signed to him that it was time for dinner in my house. All the happy energy from the afternoon evaporated from Joshua’s face in that instead. I felt the complete bliss inside me die a little.
    “Have dinner at mine?” I suggested. Joshua looked skeptical. “It’s fine. Daddy can ring your mum and let her know you’re here. He won’t mind.” I smiled at him.
    “Okay,” he signed. We climbed down the ladder and collected as many pebbles as possible to replace the ones from the tin. I hid the tin in the middle of the bush, at the base of the tree-house tree so Helen could take it up with her the next time she went up.
    Daddy must have heard the door open because his head appeared around the doorframe a few seconds after I stepped into the house. If he was surprised at seeing Joshua, he didn’t look it.
    “Is Joshua okay to stay for dinner please, Daddy?” He nodded and asked if I needed him to phone Joshua’s parents. I nodded. It amazed me how understanding he could be sometimes. Daddy asked Joshua if he could come dial the number on the phone for him. I nodded encouragingly at him, knowing how shy he got in a new situation. Still unsure of himself, Joshua walked ahead of me into the kitchen where Daddy was.
    Helen was sat at the big oak table in the middle of the room, doing what I presumed was her homework. Her little brown eyes lit up when she saw me.
    “Look what I’ve been doing, Jocelyn.” I came round the table and looked at her colorful collage. She’d been sticking pictures of a selection of toys on a piece of paper. I kept an eye on Joshua with Daddy, just to make sure he was okay but I couldn’t help compare the way they’d both signed my name. Helen had been doing it for years but for some reason Joshua’s seemed more fluid. As if he’d been practicing and practicing until he’d got the movement of it perfect.
    “It’s very good,” I told Helen. “Is it a mixture of all your favorite things?” She nodded, excited that I’d understood without need of an explanation.
    It didn’t take me long to help Daddy finish cooking dinner. Helen helped to lay the table and I could see Joshua feeling out of place with nothing to do. I looked up and smiled at him when I could and tried to engage conversation but it was difficult when I needed my hands for the cooking and I knew Joshua wouldn’t start the conversation on his own.
    I caught Helen’s eye and glanced over at Joshua who was looking at the table. She smiled at me and went over to sit by him. I watched her chat to him. Not about anything in particular but I could see that it instantly took his mind off feeling out of place.
    Dinner was pleasant enough. We all sat around the table and occasionally talked. Daddy and Helen would rarely speak to each other when at the table because Daddy insisted that it was rude to me and so if they had anything to say, they would sign it and that way all members of the family would feel included in the meal. Joshua was amazed by this and I could see him gradually feeling more and more comfortable.
    After dinner he even joined Daddy in the living room to watch the motorbikes whilst me and Helen cleared