Sam shook his head. He understood that parents were protective of their kids.

“I don’t know what you did to this thing, but thank you. It has never worked this well.”

Sam tried to smile but wasn’t sure the woman could even see it. That was just as well. He was sure it looked more like a grimace than a smile at the moment.

The woman didn’t seem to mind. “I’m Dee, and this is Amara. We’re in here every Monday.”

Sam sort of wished he’d learned sign language better when he’d studied in primary school, the same as everybody else. He thought he managed to say, “Nice to meet you. I’m Sam.”

Based on the woman’s smile, he got some of that wrong, but...

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