Since Grandma Diamond proved to be of no help, Ruby and I have decided to ask Pearl and her family for money to help Garnet instead. After all, Pearl and her sisters come from an affluent family, and they come from an affluent family of doctors at that. Surely, they've had experience with deaf people (or partially deaf people).

Garnet has no idea that there's anything wrong with her. She just thinks she's like every other baby. Ruby and I don't want to tell her otherwise, but we worry nevertheless what will happen to her when she grows up and the other kids start to notice her. She's a lovely little baby. Her skin has turned the same shade of brown as Ruby's, and her hair is just like hers as well. Her eyes hold the same round shape as Ruby's. Heck, one of her eyes is a dark brown like Ruby's. The rest of Garnet's face came from me. We have the same nose and lips. I feel like she's a fusion made of our love, and she's a fusion who will thrive because of that love.

Ruby and I need to make sure that our fusion can thrive under the best circumstances, and doing that means helping her hear like everyone else. However, I can't help but wonder what Garnet might think about that when she gets older. Will she want to hear like everyone else... or will she want to embrace her partial deafness? Honestly, who knows?

After dialing Pearl's number, I wait for her to pick up. I'm not sure how I should be asking her for the money. Pearl's never been the kind of person to send money overseas to someone. She's always exercised caution when it comes to these situations out of fear scammers might be on the other line to take advantage of her. Then again, Pearl and I have been friends for a while, so there shouldn't be too much of a problem, right? After waiting a couple minutes, Pearl finally picks up.

"Hello?" Pearl sounds.

"Oh, hi, Pearl," I greet her. "You mind if I ask you something?"

"Not at all. Why do you ask?"

"Well, Ruby and I just discovered that Garnet is partially deaf."

I can hear Pearl gasp over the phone. "She is?"

"Yeah. We need money to invest in either a cochlear implant or a hearing aid. I'm desperate for her to have at least some kind of normal life."

Pearl is silent for what feels like three minutes. I'm hoping she's thinking this over. Finally, she speaks again. "Alright. I'll help you. However..." She leaves in a dramatic pause. "...we must meet in person. I'm not about to transfer money to you when we're miles apart."

"Oh, thank you. When can we meet up?"

"Hopefully, soon enough. I need to buy a plane ticket first."

"Ah, okay. Well, I hope you see us soon."

"Me too. Bye bye now."

And just like that, Pearl hangs up. I breathe an uneasy sigh. I'm not sure what to expect next. The future doesn't seem certain for us, and it especially doesn't seem certain for Garnet. I just hope it doesn't seem as terrible to her as it does to me and Ruby. All we can do, however, is wait.

Ruby and I sit in the waiting room, hoping that the pediatrician will come out soon and beckon our daughter's name. Garnet sits in my lap, sweet and patient and not seeming to care about anything that's going on. I just beam down at her, happy that she's enjoying herself now. All that matters to me at this moment is that she's happy. I just want to make sure I can protect her whenever possible from a society that struggles to understand.

Finally, the pediatrician comes out and calls for our daughter. "Garnet Harvey-Dahl?"

I gasp while pretending to be surprised. "That's you, Garnet!"

We get up, Garnet holding onto me, and we make our way into the pediatrician's office. Hopefully, things will turn out for the best. They have to... right? I certainly hope Garnet's life will turn out better than before.

Ruby and I are nervous about what will happen next.

"So..." the pediatrician begins. "You two must be Garnet's parents."

"That's right," I tell her.

"Alright, let's have a look at your little girl. Oh my goodness, one of her eyes is so blue."

I just chuckle. "Yeah. A lot of people have noticed."

"Oh yes, I'm sure of it. Alright, let's have a look."

The pediatrician takes Garnet out of my arms and sets her down on the table. She goes through the usual process: listening to Garnet's chest, weighing her, checking her eyes and mouth and ears...

"Ms. Dahl?" the pediatrician asks of me.

"Yes?" I ask back.

"Look at her."

I do so. I'm not sure why, though. Nothing seems different to me.

"Yes, doctor?" I ask curiously.

"Going by the one blue eye she has and the fact that her hearing isn't fully there..." she begins. "I've come to the conclusion that she in fact has Waardenburg syndrome."

Wait, what? I've never heard of that. I ask her, "W-Waardenburg syndrome? What's that?"

The pediatrician just smiles. "I'm glad you asked. Waardenburg syndrome is a rare genetic condition characterized by at least some degree of congenital hearing loss and pigmentation deficiencies. These pigmentation deficiencies can include bright blue eyes (or a blue eye and a brown eye), a white forelock or patches of light skin. These basic features constitute type 2 of the condition, which just so happens to be the same type your daughter has."

"So... aside from that, she's okay?" Ruby asks uncertainly.

"The only thing you need to worry about at this point is her partial deafness," the pediatrician replies. "Have you decided what you want to do about it?"

"Maybe we can go for a cochlear implant. Surely, that might help, right?"

"Well, yes, but getting a cochlear implant is pretty expensive. Do you think you could afford it?"

"I hope so. We just asked a friend if she could give us money to help Garnet hear."

"Well, good luck."

Ruby just smiles hopefully. "Thanks, doc."

Ruby and I can barely hold in our excitement when Pearl gets off her flight from the United States (specifically Delaware). She has her pink duffel bag on tow. From the looks of it, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of stuff in there.

"Man, you travel light, huh?" Ruby asks jokingly.

"I only take the basic necessities with me when I travel," Pearl answers with the intonation of an erudite college professor.

"It's so good to see you again, Pearl," I tell her. "So how are things with Rose?"

Pearl twitches slightly. Something about that question has made her feel uncomfortable. She just says, "Good, good, couldn't be better."

"Has everything been great since you moved with her to Delaware?"

"Things have been... alright. Lately, though, something's been bothering me."

"Well, what's wrong?"

"Ever since she started hanging out with this guy named Greg, I've been feeling... left out."

"Don't tell me you're jealous, Pearl," Ruby jokes.

Pearl is now flabbergasted by what Ruby has just said. "What? No! I'm not jealous. No way, no how. Greg is just some stupid guy Rose wants to spend all of her time with. I bet you that in a few weeks, Rose will get bored of him and go back to hanging out with me."

Ruby just snickers and mutters under her breath, "Oh yeah, totally not jealous..."

"C'mon, Ruby," I say to her. "That's enough."

Pearl breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Sapphire."

"Any time, Pearl. Now come on. Why don't you stay with us? You can sleep on the couch."

We make our way out of the airport and back to our apartment where Pearl will be staying for a while.