Her son looks at her directly. He’d gone to speak with his father, not with her. He’d intentionally come while she was out

Tovi

When I take out the protective earplug, I hear sounds from an unfamiliar place. I can’t explain it to regular people — it’s weird. Until now, I heard everything through my bone-anchored device. Now sounds are coming into my ear, and I need to process them in a whole different way. I’ve noticed that I’m wrinkling my forehead as I try to understand what people are saying to me, like some professor. I guess it’ll take time to get used to this new way of hearing.

Before I leave the house, I always slip an earplug into my ear — a bright fluorescent pink one. Dr. Barclay warned me not to go out to any public place without an earplug until my hearing canal is completely healed. At the clinic they offered me a choice of these bright-colored earplugs or plain, ugly beige ones. Abba almost took the ugly beige ones.

He looks at me now. “Are you sure you want to come to the bar mitzvah?” he asks.

He’s hesitant. My stitches are showing, and there’s still some swelling. My new ear is still a bit purplish-red, though it’s slowly taking on my normal skin tone. And that crazy pink earplug.

Ima won’t be there with me at the bar mitzvah, she’s staying home, probably because we’re going to have a new baby soon. I hope it won’t have microtia like me. Last night, Chaim’ke told me he wouldn’t mind another brother or sister with microtia, as long as it won’t be a pain in the neck like me. I answered him back, and we both enjoyed it. Ten days without fighting with Chaim’ke had been very long. This felt much better.

Now Abba wants to know if I really want to go to the bar mitzvah. Of course I do. How could I skip Beri Bernfeld’s bar mitzvah? He was my best friend until he started high school and started feeling too grown up and important to talk to me. I’ll be the guest of honor there! So why is Abba so hesitant, anyway?

“Would you rather I didn’t come?” I ask him, a bit cautiously.

“Chas v’chalilah,” he says. “If I were in your place, I might prefer to stay home, but you’re your own person and you should do what works for you. If you want to come, and you feel you’ll have a good time, I’ll be happy to take you.”

I know what he means to say — he means he’s proud of me.