"Didn't you translate the final pages?" Dean asked the boy. Donnie emphatically shook his head no and tapped his pad, as if to ask the question again.
"What happened to your copy of the notebook Cynthia made for you?" Dean asked. Donnie shrugged.
"Did you show them to your mother?"
Again, the boy shook his head no. He picked up his pad and wrote, "Lost them."
"When?" He shrugged and pointed at his first question.
Dean sat down next to him. "Annie was a very sad and troubled woman, Donnie. Perhaps a little like your mother." He didn't elaborate further but the boy seemed to understand.
Franny came over and leaned down to put her arm around his shoulders. He gave her a hug back and then, at Martha's enthusiastic invitation was off to see her new room.
"We took Donnie to a doctor," Franny said when he was out of ear shot. "He said except for Donnie's refusal to speak, in every other way he appears perfectly normal."
Ryland added, "The doctor was very surprised how unaffected Donnie appeared after we described his dysfunctional family environment. The poor kid. But in spite of it, he appears to be well adjusted. The doctor thinks there's a good chance he may even get over the speech problem in time."
"Did the doctor believe Donnie's muteness went back to the death of his half-brother?" Dean asked.
"It was a quick first visit, so the doctor didn't come to any real conclusions. He did say that something as serious as Donnie's stepbrother's death would have been very traumatic to a child. Any time anyone tries to raise the subject to Donnie, he just turns away and acts as if he didn't hear the question."
"He's blocking it out," Cynthia said.
"He has a long road ahead of him, but I'd say he's now in good hands," Dean said.
Dean wandered to the kitchen for pie and coffee for the guests while the others chattered in the parlor. As he was waiting for the coffee to perk, Donnie ran upstairs for something. Dean took the opportunity to knock on Martha's door and step inside.
"Do me a favor?" he asked.
"Sure," she shrugged. "You're the boss now."
"Ask Donnie what happened up there when his stepfather fell." She looked at him, as if she didn't want to go there. "I'm not trying to get him in trouble. Mrs. Dean saw him up there when Mr. Shipton fell and she's concerned...about Donnie."
Martha peeked around the corner to see if Donnie was in sight. He wasn't. "He already told me."
"What did he say?"