It was a pleasant surprise to come across Dana in the kitchen preparing more appetizers for the guests, and I said, “Hello,” aloud in greeting.

Dana did a double take when she saw me and dropped the bagel chips she’d been sorting, wiping her hands off on her apron before she came over to give me a hug. A little startling, but I didn’t mind so much.

“Good . . . see you,” Dana said when she let me go, patting my cheek, and then she signed, HOW ARE YOU?

“Has Beau been teaching you sign language?” I asked with a small smile.

YES, Dana signed back, and she laughed. “Beau sure . . . talk . . . you . . . lot.”

It wasn’t a stretch to fill in the blanks of what Dana was saying. It also wasn’t easy to keep myself from getting hot in the face. How often did Beau talk about me when I wasn’t around? (Really, anytime I wasn’t looking at him he could be talking about me, because I never heard anything he said.)

Dana understood me when I signed, WATER, PLEASE, and went to the fridge to grab me a bottle of water. I twisted the cap off and took a few swigs, watching the party going on in the living room. Nina had teamed up with Beau and a few other student council members, and when Nina noticed me a second later she sent me a smile and motioned for me to come join them.

HELP HER, I signed, pointing to Dana.

Maybe that was a tiny fib, but Dana did look like she could use some help getting another tray of food together.

I kept one eye on the party while I helped Dana arrange some vegetables, hummus, and other dips. It was impossible to miss the way Dr. Watson was hovering a few feet from Beau, puffed up like a rooster. Anytime someone looked their way, Dr. Watson would clap Beau on the shoulder in an ‘atta boy gesture.

Beau definitely was aware of his dad’s behavior, with the way his lips would tighten and his eyes would narrow when he looked over at Dr. Watson. It made me wonder why no one else seemed to have caught on to how uncomfortable Beau was starting to appear, but then I realized that nobody paid attention to Beau the way I did.

“Do you think he’s happy?” I blurted out, looking to Dana.

Dana paused as she doled out some hummus into a fancy serving bowl and looked back at me in confusion. “Who?”

“Beau,” I said, nodding toward the living room. “I mean, do you think he’s actually happy about getting into Yale?”

This wasn’t the first time that thought crossed my mind, but it was the first time I’d ever said it aloud. This was supposed to be a party celebrating Beau’s grand achievement and yet now he was looking like he’d rather be anywhere else.