She touched her tablet.
“COME BACK.”
I stared.
Daniel smiled.
“That's a direct invitation.”
I looked toward her.
Then nodded.
“I'll come back.”
She selected another phrase.
“PROMISE.”
The word struck me.
For a second, I saw Claire standing in my old kitchen.
Dad, the kids need their grandfather.
Then I saw Nora's frightened face in Walmart.
I took a breath.
“Yes, sweetheart.”
I looked directly into her eyes.
“I promise.”
She smiled.
And this time, I intended to keep my word.
Two days later, I called June, the pharmacy clerk.
Eric had helped me pass along my number so she could decide whether she wanted to speak with me.
She called on a Friday evening.
“Mr. Dawson?”
“Please call me Ray.”
She laughed.
“Okay, Ray.”
I thanked her again for recognizing Nora's signs.
She sounded embarrassed.
“I just knew what she was trying to communicate.”
I shook my head, even though she couldn't see.
“That's a pretty important thing to know.”
She became quiet.
Then explained why she knew.
Her younger brother, Toby, was seventeen.
He had complex communication needs and used a combination of signs, gestures, and an AAC device.
June had grown up learning how to communicate with him.
Their family had worked with qualified professionals to help him develop reliable ways to express his needs, preferences, and ideas.
June said people often assumed her brother didn't understand them because he didn't communicate through ordinary speech.
That assumption infuriated her.
“He understands plenty,” she told me. “He just doesn't always communicate the way strangers expect.”
I thought about Nora.
The little hands.
The desperate gestures.
June continued.
“People see somebody who doesn't talk, and they start talking around them.”
Her voice tightened.
“Like they're not there.”
I listened.
She told me about taking Toby to a restaurant.
A server once asked June what he wanted, even though Toby was sitting directly beside her with his communication device ready.
June politely suggested asking him.
The server looked confused.
Then repeated the question to June.
Eventually, Toby used his device to announce that he wanted a cheeseburger with extra pickles.
June laughed while telling the story.
“He looked so proud.”
I smiled.
“Sounds like he knows what he wants.”
“Oh, he definitely does.”
She paused.
Then became serious.
“When I saw Nora in Walmart, I recognized the urgency before I understood everything she was signing.”
I leaned forward.
“What do you mean?”
“She was using a sign for being sick, pointing toward her dad, and repeating it over and over.”
June took a breath.
“She wasn't confused. She was trying to get us to move.”
I closed my eyes.
June continued.