"Penny of the Silent Path" 2
By Rita Widmer
Disclaimer: I don't write anywhere near like LM Montgomery so there shouldn't be any confusion. I'm just borrowing Kilmeny, Eric, and David.
AN: Thanks to mepb and Karisma for reviewing. Your support is loved and cherished and needed to make me write. Karisma, I didn't really mean to put a social justice in the story it kind of just happened. Enjoy and for those reading please let me know what you think of the story.
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David was cordially invited into the parlor. He decided upon entering it that he liked the room. It was elegant, but it was still very welcoming.
Mrs. Dunn still stood by the door. Her heart-shaped face was a little pail, but her eyes shined as bright as the afternoon sunshine.
The silence was getting to him. "Your friend, Mrs. Johnson, has told me you need advice for your deaf daughter," said David.
"She recommended your services. She maybe right that I need to send Penny to a deaf school, but I prefer not to settle for that unless absolutely necessary to do so. I'm not a rich woman, Dr."
"Is there any family that could help out?"
"No!"
Her voice changed with that one word. There was a story behind that one word, but he was not intimate enough with her to ask what she meant. It was too resolute to consider changing her mind.
"I would like to suggest first that I meet the child, and then I'm going to recommend she is seen by an audiologist. He will be able to determine how much hearing she has left."
"Do you mean you don't consider her deaf without even meeting her?"
"It is rare that someone has no hearing at all. It's the question of does she have any hearing in normal range of sound. If she does then it could make it easier to teach her to talk."
The woman before him considered his statement for awhile before answering, "Can you arrange an appointment for us?"
"Of course, I would like to come along so I can hear what his analysis is of her hearing. Plus I may be able to decipher what he has to say into what it means for you and your daughter."
"Thank you, Dr. Baker. I'll get Penny for you."
She left him in the parlor for a couple of minutes. Taking the opportunity, he stared looking more closely at the decorations. Unlike most parlors there weren't any pictures of family staring down at you. 'Maybe that's why the room seemed so welcoming.' At the time he wondered why she didn't have them.
He didn't have much time to ponder his thoughts. A beautiful little child entered the room. She had her mother's eyes, and the same heart-shaped face. He smiled down at her, and received a brilliant smile back. They were instant friends.
He looked up at the mother and said, "You have a beautiful daughter."
For the first time since they met, she gave him a real smile. Both had infectious smiles that could warm the coldest of hearts, and he may not be the warmest of me but he wasn't the coldest so it worked easily on him. There and then he knew that he was going to love working with them.
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Two nights later, David was having dinner with Kilmeny and Eric. They were intrigued by his newest case, and wanted to know all about it.
"This may end up being the hardest case I ever worked on. It's not easy teaching someone to talk properly when they already know how to talk and can hear. I have a disadvantage with Penny."
"I doubt the mother has such high expectations to think her daughter could be a public speaker. She just wants her child to be able to communicate with her," said Kilmeny.
"This is one time that perfection can't be expected, David. If there is some way we can help you let us know," added Eric.
"I would like you to meet her Kilmeny. You know more than any of us what its like to be a child, and not be able to tell people what you are thinking. I want to do my best with this child. She could have everything this world can offer if she could speak. Instead she's considered an outcast."
"You're falling for that little child," said Eric with slight worry in his voice.
"I am not. Is it so much to ask to want to help her without being accused of getting too close?"
"No, but be careful. This is a wonderful thing you are doing, but don't get too closely involved," said Eric.
David knew this, but somehow he had become entranced by the little child whose eyes called out for his help. Mother and daughter needed answers, and he was going to do his best to provide them.
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The rain fell heavily the morning of the appointment with the audiologist. It seemed to David a bad omen for how the rest of the day would go. He almost gave up going when at noon the sun came through, and the rain completely stopped.
The forces above may have stopped the rain, but the problems would not stop there. When he arrived at Silent Path, no one answered his knock. Hearing some noises around back, he headed into the backyard. There he found Penny up in the tree, and her mother trying to coax her down with no luck.
"She won't come down, Dr. I can't explain to her why she needs to," said the mother.
"Do you have a ladder? I can climb up and bring her back down."
"In the shed there's one."
Five minutes later, Penny was down from the tree, and they were finally able to leave for the audiologist.
"I...I want to thank you for doing all of this for us. It was much easier when Sam was alive; because we could help each other deal with her. For years I've tried to work with her, but it doesn't get any better," she said on the way.
"It's hard for both of you, and hopefully we can teach her a way to communicate to you what she wants and needs and you to her."
"All I want is the best for her."
He turned his head slightly away from the road to watch her. She had turned to look back at her sleeping daughter. A slow smile spreading over her face at the sight of her daughter, and David's own heart fluttered at the sight of the smile and love outpouring from those little blue orbs.
The ride didn't take very long, and they found themselves waiting in the doctor's office for their turn to see him.
"David, it's so nice to see you again," cried the audiologist as he came into the room.
Exchanges were made, and soon they were ready to start the exam. First, he looked into the ears, and made a couple of notes before he turned to David.
"We'll need to go into the other room to test hearing levels."
The test took awhile, and Penny was starting to get agitated by all the tests. The audiologist gave David a look before ushering everyone back into the office.
"There are a couple of questions I have for you, Mrs. Dunn, and then I will be ready to give you my analysis of your daughter."
"Please ask all you need to know, Dr."
David sat through the questions, and he knew before the audiologist said it what the diagnosis would be.
TBC...
