9781422288184

C HAPTER 1

12

the wet dishes slipped from her grasp, smashing against the floor tiles in a chorus of crashing ceramic and breaking glass. As the re- mains of the shattered dishes rang around her, Dana froze, held her breath, and waited for Denzel’s frightened wails to begin. But noth- ing happened. The clatter of the broken dinnerware faded away un- til there was quiet. The longer she stood in the sudden silence, the more her alarm grew. Why wasn’t he crying? Had something hap- pened to him while she was in the other room? The Teletubbies con- tinued to gurgle and coo, but Denzel didn’t make a peep. Sure that something must be wrong, Dana rushed across the kitchen floor, heedless of the broken glass that clung to her socks, and ran to Den- zel’s playpen in the living room. There he was, sleeping peacefully, teddy bear grasped in his outstretched hand, unaware of anything amiss. As Dana turned the television off, a small ribbon of fear wrapped itself about the back of her mind. At the hospital’s audiological center, with Denzel on her lap in the small room, Dana reflected on this and other times when Den- zel seemed unfazed by loud noises around him. As much as her brain tried to deny it, her heart knew that this test had to be done. She looked at the reflective window in front of her. She could not see through the dark, mirror-like glass, but she knew there was a technician sitting on the other side observing Denzel’s every move. The technician’s voice came over the room’s speakers. “Ok, Dana, if you’re ready, we’ll get started. As the tones begin, I’ll be watching Denzel carefully for his reactions to the sounds.” Dana nodded and took a deep breath. An array of sounds began to flow from the speakers. They were quiet at first, soft whistles and bumps that even Dana found difficult to hear. Denzel did not seem to notice these sounds, but Dana kept her worries at bay by telling herself that the sounds were gentle and easy to ignore. Soon, how- ever, the sounds became louder. Nevertheless, Denzel’s eyes did not stray from Dana’s face. As the noises grew progressively more urgent and bothersome, Dana’s heart began to race. The technician had warned her that some of the sounds might be loud, but had assured her that they’d only become as loud as Denzel could tolerate. Now,