He looked tired enough to fall asleep standing.

“I hope you’re right.”

A week later, the independent speech-language pathologist, Dr.

Elena Morales, met Pearl at the house.

She came without a white coat, introduced herself in spoken English and sign, and asked Pearl whether they might play with Captain.

Pearl agreed.

She demonstrated a surprising range of vocabulary.

Some gestures were conventional American Sign Language, others were personal signs she had learned with her mother.