Zachariah Davies

> I got this from my mom who is just about the sweetest woman on the planet. Don’t get me wrong, she’ll give you what-for if you mess with her repeatedly and my brothers and I learned that lesson the hard way many times over but she’s never one to turn away someone who needs help. I greet new people with a smile and I’ll be the first to give someone directions if they’re lost. You never know if someday you’ll be the one in need of help and have to rely on a stranger to pitch in.
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Ambitious.

> This is from my dad who is a Davies through and through. He taught me that we go above and beyond not for personal success but to make the world a better place. It doesn’t matter what hand the world dealt you, you overcome the obstacles and prove to everyone else that you’re worthy of a spot at the table.
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Academic.

> I have a love of research and books, what can I say? Maybe that makes me a bit of a nerd but I own it.
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Married to his work.

> Research during the week, organizing protests on the weekends, late-night meetings… I’m a man who is dedicated to his job. My aunt gives me a lot of shit for it because she thinks I need better work-life balance. I’m working on it, I swear.
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Tardy.

> At this point, I show up to meetings with a cup of coffee for other people so they don’t hate me for arriving ten minutes late.
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Serial dater.

> My inability to relax hasn’t slowed down my dating life but it hasn’t exactly set me up for something long-term. It’s another thing my aunt gives me shit for.
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#### History

##### Family History

When Efrem met Nakeisha, it was by chance. She was a Muggle who was assisting at a march in the city of Buffalo, providing medical care to anyone who was injured during it. He was there to assist anyone who found themselves in need of legal assistance. Even though he was of magical blood, the Davies family couldn’t stand back and allow themselves to observe the Muggle world without getting involved. It would have been morally abhorrent to do so. After a series of gestures, finally to his ear to indicate that he couldn’t hear her, the nurse began to write out things on a piece of paper for him. The pair chatted this way for quite some time and then she left him with her phone number written on the back of his hand.

So, he needed to buy a phone and figure out how to work it.

For a while, he traveled between Rochester and Buffalo to see her, telling her that the traffic was good when he’d never set foot in a car and had no intention of doing so. Efrem learned a lot about her, that she’d relocated from a much warmer climate in order to attend school in Buffalo on a full scholarship. Her family didn’t have much money and so she was thrilled to be able to come out of school without any debt. She worked in the hospital in the maternity unit, working mostly overnight shifts which she said, surprisingly, seemed to be when all of the babies wanted to be born.

Depending on how her shift had gone, Efrem either brought her wine or he brought her food. There were days that she didn’t want to talk about what happened and on others, she gushed over a little baby that she loved caring for. In the beginning, he mostly tried to lipread her and speak in response but Nakeisha learned some basic ASL which he really appreciated.

He asked her after a few months what it was that they were to each other and Nakeisha responded with *I sure as hell hope we’re dating because I’m not about to waste my time*.

When things became more serious, Efrem introduced her to his family which was her first interaction with Deaf individuals other than Efrem. She was nervous, given her novice ASL skills, but there are some things that cross communication barriers and that thing, for Nakeisha, was food. She brought a dish with her to dinner and managed to hit it off with Efrem’s mother. His sister, Sybil, was dubious at first but when the music turned on after dinner and they danced, the pair started to warm up to each other.

They married on a cold December night in the middle of a blizzard. Prior to the wedding, Efrem had to break the news that he was able to do magic and Nakeisha’s response was *Unless you can make all this snow disappear with a snap of your fingers, I don’t care*.

Exactly one year later, they had their first son Zachariah. Then they had Isaiah and Ezra by the time Zach was three. In an effort to have a girl, Elias was born. At which point Nakeisha informed her husband that he was going to have to live with only sons because she was never going into labor again.

The pair still reside in Buffalo, Efrem apparating to Rochester to work for the Davies non-profit providing legal support while Nakeisha drives into the hospital to continue her work in labor and delivery. They have managed to navigate their way in a bilingual Muggle-magical family and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

### Connections

#### Friends

* Pippa Prewett - fellow professor
* Zoey Fox - former student
* Eoin Kavanagh - friend
* Taynie Dosela - former classmate and current colleague.