Her hearing loss was not total, but very close. She did use hearing aids and when she did she could hear very loud noises, but most of the time she didn't wear them. Should she just forget about the guy with the amazing smile? She didn't want to forget about him. Not at all. This was killing her and the more she thought about it the more acute the pain.
Chris thought about his parents and that made him feel a bit better. They were told by everyone they would never work out and they had proved everyone wrong, they were still together and loved each other so much they acted like the love struck teenagers they were when they met 26 years before. Chris's father Edward,  was a mechanic,from the Bronx, everything dirty and masculine and dark, being Italian he had black hair and dark skin. Chris's mother Marissa,  was everything feminine. She was also Italian, but she grew up exposed to the artistic culture of New York City-Manhattan, Her parents were both teachers and she became a music teacher herself. She wore long, flowing dresses and always acted like a lady. Her car had broken down after a trip to Atlantic City and Chris's father was the mechanic that fixed it for her. It was love at first sight. Their families were furious at first, but they could see the love between them and knew that nothing would stop them from marrying and being together. Chris had a sister, Vanessa, that lived in Brazil with her husband. They were both involved in protection of the environment. Maybe he and Claire could work. He wanted it to. All he needed was to talk to her. And to do that he had to find her.