“That’s true. Aurora didn’t speak in the past and used to only stare at people. I thought that she was mentally retarded before she was five years old.”

At this point, Laura changed the topic of conversation. “Rory has been very guarded since a young age. How come she actually told you about this?”

Deirdre said smilingly, “It’s because I just attended the birthday party you threw a year ago, Ms. Smith. Rory is already six, and I was very curious, which is why I asked. Rory then told me about i