"I think he likes you," Mary said kindly. Watching Joey's face light up like that was pretty nice. It made her happy, too. And even though she hadn't asked him about his muteness (how incredibly rude and callous would that be?), she could understand the simple desire to talk without resorting to pens and paper and signs. Everyone wanted to be understood, after all.

"So, how would you train him to talk? I don't know a thing about birds or how that works."