The concert hall emptied rapidly; Sue had expected Myles to get up long before now, but he seemed content to stay where they were. After a few minutes, she tapped his arm. YOU OKQQ she asked.

YES, he replied. ME THINK. Then he stood and offered her a hand up. "I have a surprise for you."

She raised a suspicious brow. "Haven't you surprised me enough tonight?" She had to write it out for him.

NO, he grinned. WE THIS WAY GO. He motioned toward one of the doors leading backstage.

WHYQQ She leveled an even more suspicious look at him.

"She trusts me to watch her back on a case, but will she trust me here? No." He shrugged, and let out what she could only imagine was a dramatic sigh. "Never mind, then." He started for the lobby doors.

Sue caught his arm. SNEAKY ME KNOW YOU, she signed with a smile. O-K. She signed it bigger for emphasis. WE THAT WAY GO. ME TRUST YOU. She had to finger-spell "trust" only once, and smiled again when he copied the sign correctly.

THANK YOU. He offered her his arm again, and led her backstage.

A security guard stopped them, but Myles pulled out a pass. The guard looked it over for a moment, then handed it back to him and motioned them past. Sue glanced at him, and he shrugged again. "I thought you might like to meet Miss Glennie in person."

"Really?" YES! THANK YOU. She started to pull out the notepad again, but he stopped her.

"I can figure it out from the look on your face," he said. "You're welcome."

/

/

They stopped at one of the rehearsal hall doors and Myles knocked. After a moment, a woman opened it. "Yes?"

"My name is Myles Leland. I spoke with someone earlier this week about perhaps meeting Miss Glennie?"

"Oh, yes, Mr. Leland! I remember. Please, come in." She gestured them in as well, so he didn't have to look at Sue to figure out what had been said.

As they stepped in, he was again struck with a sense of confusion; he saw musicians busily packing up their instruments, chatting with one another and laughing. But he heard nothing; it wasn't as completely overwhelming as the lobby had been earlier, but he was beginning to really understand the quote Sue had shared with him at dinner. There was a loneliness about it; a little like being stuck in a soundproof booth while the world went on its merry way around him. Deafness cuts you off from people… He knew he'd think about that for a long time.

He felt Sue's hand on his arm and knew she was about to ask if he was okay when a woman approached them. Tall, with straight red hair that tumbled just below her shoulders, Evelyn Glennie was a striking woman. Dark brows raised and even teeth flashed as she smiled. "Good evening."

Myles had gone to see Helga several times in the past week, and practiced this carefully so he could get it right. HELLO, he signed. YOUR MUSIC BEAUTIFUL. He pointed at Sue. MY FRIEND, S-U-E T-H-O-M-A-S. BIG F-A-N HER, HER SAY YOU INSPIRE HER. He remembered to sign "big" large enough that it indicated Sue's "fandom."

Evelyn signed in response, but it was so fast he made no sense of it. Sue laughed softly and rescued him. NICE MEET-YOU. MY FRIEND, M-Y-L-E-S L-E-L-A-N-D THIRD. HEARING HIM, BUT TONIGHT EXPLORE BEING DEAF. ASL VERY SMALL HIM.

The percussionist raised a brow and considered him again. SORRY, she signed. Then she slowed down considerably. NICE MEET-YOU. INTERESTING, HER WORLD YOU SEE? TALK YOU, PLEASE FEEL FREE, MORE EASY FOR YOU. UNDERSTAND YOU WE WILL.

After Sue wrote it out for him, he nodded. "Thank you," he replied, signing it at the same time, "but I think I'll let you two talk for awhile. I'll just slow you down." He smiled as Sue started to protest. "I'm ok. I think I'll wander around for a bit and try to process all this some more, if that's all right." Then he turned back to Evelyn. "Miss Glennie, it was a pleasure to meet you, and I look forward to more of your music."

As he walked back toward the door, he turned and watched the two women for a moment. Though he could only pick out a few signs, as fast as they were going, he realized that they'd broken out of the loneliness of their silence. He watched their faces, the expressiveness, and was as enthralled as he has been at the nursing home.

No one heard his heavy sigh. I've been such an idiot.