Chapter Ten
The first step was the hardest according to the technician who was taking Shaye's ear molds. Shaye fussed loudly and neither dad bought her any distraction. Shaye was relieved her parents were too when it was over.
"I promise ya'll," the audiologist said, "the next appointment is the fun one."
Drew was back at work that night. Topher commented to him that "it was pretty shitty" that Jasper didn't tell them from the get-go that his wife was hearing impaired. Drew agreed but shrugged.
"The guy seems like he's grieving and still in shock. Maybe he forgot. If she hadn't died I'm not sure how his wife's, and Shaye's life would have been like. Her friends said she didn't have plans to give the baby up but Jasper said there was no way he could have been a dad to Shaye. Anytime he looked at her, he would have been reminded his wife cheated. I think it was an act of love to give her up. He knew she did nothing to be treated that way," Drew said.
"Jasper was going to give her up for adoption regardless?" Topher asked.
"Yep, But he wanted to give Rick and me a chance to adopt her before she went to someone else."
Drew hadn't met Jasper before that night but felt eternally to him. He had a feeling he and Rick would have had an up-hill battle to adopt despite new laws.
Topher told Drew that since the family met Shaye, and Janet had held the baby, she was beginning to regret having him get a vasectomy.
"You know they can reverse those," Drew quipped.
"Fuck you," Topher laughed.
How would his daughter react to having all of her hearing Rick wondered. He watched as she slept peacefully on his bare chest. Shaye wore just her diaper a blanket over her. She was a happy baby now. But once she heard the sounds of everything around her little mind would be amazed. Hearing loss or not she still reacted and at times smiled at their voices and Rick's singing lullabies. Those smiles couldn't be reflex.
Two weeks later…
Shaye looked confused but didn't fuss while the audiologist showed her parents to put the hearing aids in her ears. Everyone knew she heard more when looked to the direction of the very low chirping sound from one the technicians getting a text message. The phone was on it's lowest volume setting and across the room. Shaye hadn't reacted to this low level of sound before.
The audiologist said this was a great sign, it was going to follow-ups but Shaye Alister-Lincoln was getting her first taste much more sound. The whole point in attempting to improve their child's hearing was she would be able to learn to speak and navigate the world like everyone else but her parents had already signed up for private sign language lessons in their home, they could teach their daughter along the way. If Drew was able to master this skill it would be helpful to get critical information and not have to wait for an interpreter that was often squeamish.