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But what did surprise him was when Katrina pushed her hair up on her left side. What was she doing, showing the little girl a pretty earring or something? Or maybe doing some kind of distracting magic trick, because she pulled something from her ear.
But the little girl still wasn’t smiling.
He frowned, drawing closer, and heard a snatch of conversation. ‘See? It’s really easy to take out. And easy to put in. It doesn’t hurt because it’s made to measure.’
What was?
‘What they do, they have some special stuff to make a mould. It looks like play dough and it’s pink and purple. They mix it together—and then they put it into your ear. It feels a bit weird, but it doesn’t hurt. You can feel it getting a little bit warmer, and then when they take it out they’ve got the exact shape of your ear and they can make you a special mould that fits your ear only.’
Ear? Mould?
Everything suddenly fell into place.
Ruby’s audiology test must have shown that she had hearing loss—if a further test in six weeks didn’t show a marked improvement it was very likely that she would need a hearing aid. But the way Katrina was talking felt personal—as if she knew exactly what it felt like, rather than what the audiology team had told her.
‘And you know that test you did, where you had to listen for the beeps? That showed the audiologist what you could hear. So then they can programme the hearing aid to help you hear the bits you can’t hear right now, but they don’t make the bits that you can hear any louder.’
‘And it doesn’t hurt?’ Ruby asked.
‘Nope. Once it’s in, I forget it’s even there—like I said, it’s made to fit you perfectly, and only you. Feel. It’s not heavy, is it?’
Rhys realised then that Katrina was definitely talking personally.
She wore a hearing aid.
‘And watch this.’ Katrina lifted her hair again, took the aid from the little girl’s hand and slipped it back into her ear. ‘Push this switch to turn it on—and, hey, presto, I’ve got a bionic ear. I can hear the same as your mum and dad now—well, almost.’
‘So you can’t hear, like me?’ Ruby asked, looking surprised.
‘Nope. And it hasn’t stopped me doing anything I want to do.’ She laughed. ‘Well, obviously I don’t wear it if I go swimming. It’d be like putting your handheld game console in the bath.’
Ruby giggled. ‘That’d be silly. It doesn’t work if it gets wet.’
‘Exactly.’ Katrina smiled at her. ‘So if your next test shows that you do need a hearing aid, you’ll know not to worry because you’ll be fine. And you can get special help at school if you need it.’ She looked at Ruby’s parents. ‘There are support groups, and the audiology team can work with Ruby’s school. And, believe me, a hearing aid takes a lot of the struggle out of lessons. There won’t be any difference between Ruby and everyone else in her class.’ She smiled at Ruby. ‘Except you can show people exactly what the inside of your ear looks like and really gross them out. Oh, and you can choose your colour. I had to have a clear mould because I’m a grown-up, but you can have a pink sparkly one if you want.’
‘Really?’ Ruby’s face brightened.
‘Really. Or a purple one. I really wanted a bright blue one to match my eyes, but grown-ups don’t get to have the fun ones.’
Rhys withdrew, feeling a complete and utter heel. Now he understood why Katrina had ignored him: she hadn’t heard him. And because he’d called out from behind her she hadn’t seen him either, so she’d had no idea he’d even spoken. Considering he’d been about to accuse her of deliberately ignoring him and being petty…Guilt flooded through him. Admittedly, he hadn’t known Katrina Gregory for very long, but in that day and a half he’d really been aware of how warm and sweet she was. She wasn’t the type to be petty or to bear grudges and give someone the silent treatment.
He really should stop judging people by his own family’s behaviour.
And he most definitely owed Katrina an apology.
Katrina dropped by his office later that afternoon. ‘I’ve got Petros Smith’s blood results back. You’re right—it’s G6PD. Thanks for picking that up. There was something nagging in the back of my mind but I couldn’t quite place it.’
‘That’s what colleagues are for,’ he said lightly. ‘Do you want me to come and talk to them with you?’
‘No, that’s fine. I can see you’re busy.’
‘If you’re sure. The offer’s there.’ He paused. ‘Actually, before you go, can you close the door a second?’
