Happiness Falls

Hannah contacts doctors about Adam’s possible cancer diagnosis, while Mia and John decide to drive in person to the offices of communication therapists and neuropsychologists. Most are closed. But when they arrive at one home office, Eugene runs from the car to a basement door and retrieves a hidden key. They follow Eugene into a room with a trampoline. In an office inside, on a bulletin board, they find a photo of Adam and Eugene that reads “We love you Anjeli!” in Adam’s handwriting.

Investigating the office, John finds a bin labeled “EP,” which includes a letterboard and log of eight months of lessons in a new form of text-based communication therapy. Logging into a patient portal where the sessions have been recorded, they watch Anjeli ask Eugene a question about alternative energy sources; he uses the board to answer correctly, as well as to make a joke about Mia. While Mia acknowledges that they “should have been elated, or at least hopeful” (321) at Eugene’s ability to communicate, they feel devastated, both at the clear connection between Anjeli and Adam, as well as the fear that Eugene has been trapped without the ability to communicate for his whole life.