Chapter 15

Chapter 15 Valentine's Night consonance (n) the repetition of the same sounds (particularly consonants) within words that are nearby It was when the shadows grew long and the last streak of winter sunlight sank behind the trees that Grandma was at her worst. There was something about the dying light that brought on her confusion, as if the shadows and dark corners of the house held her memories, and she couldn't quite see them anymore. They were there, but just out of reach. Evan walked into the kitchen a little after five o'clock and found Grandma in front of the open pantry. She was pulling cans and boxes off the shelves, stacking them up on the floor all around

her. Usually she napped until six, waking up just in time for dinner, but sometimes she had trouble settling down. Evan noticed that her shirt was untucked and her feet were bare. Not a good sign. "Hey, Grandma," said Evan. He had learned not to come too close to Grandma when she was confused without first giving her a little warning. Sometimes, it made her feel scared when Evan walked up to her too quickly. "This is bad," said Grandma. "We don't have any of the things we need." Evan wondered whether he should go upstairs and get his mother, then remembered that she had gone to the hardware store. She would be back soon. He had to keep his grandmother calm until his mother came back. "What do we need?" he asked. "Well, everything. It's going to be a very long winter. And we don't have... anything." She swept her hand in front of the pantry, which was

overflowing with food. "There are no beans. No tomatoes. Squash. Corn. Peppers. Applesauce. Nothing! We're going to starve this winter! You can't live on love, you know!" Evan slowly inched his way across the room. His grandmother had grown up on a farm where they had raised most of the food they ate. And even though her farm wasn't really a "working" farm anymore, she still kept an enormous vegetable garden there through the summer and canned every fall. Evan always loved to look at the rows and rows of sealed glass jars cooling on the shelves in the canning shed when Grandma put up peaches and plums from the trees on her farm. But what would become of the garden this summer now that Grandma lived with them? Evan imagined the tangled overgrowth, the choking weeds, the fence fallen down. "We've got some tomatoes," said Evan. "See?" He opened another cupboard and pulled down a

store-bought can of tomatoes. Grandma walked quickly across the room and snatched up the can. She could move surprisingly fast for an eighty-year-old woman. "What is this? What is this?" She put the can on the floor and immediately started rummaging through the newly opened cupboard. Uh-oh, thought Evan. That was a mistake. He had to think of something to calm her down, something to distract her from the food in the cupboards, or else the entire floor would be covered in food and it would take hours to put everything away. "Grandma, did you know today is Valentine's Day?" It was actually the day before Valentine's Day, but Evan was betting his grandmother wouldn't know that. "It isn't day at all," said Grandma, waving absently at the window. "Well, Valentine's Night, then. Okay?" "Hmmph," said Grandma, not slowing down a bit. She had gotten into the baking stuff and was

hauling out bags of flour and cornmeal. "We can use this," she said, setting aside the five-pound bag of sugar. "I have a valentine for you. Do you want to see it?" Evan was starting to feel a little desperate. When Grandma got like this, there was no telling what direction she might go in. He looked at the clock: five fifteen. When would his mother get back from her errand? "Come on," he said, gently taking her hand and pulling her away from the cupboard. "I'll show you your valentine." Luckily, she came along without a fight. His grandmother might be old, but she was still strong, and Evan was glad he didn't have to tussle with her. Halfway up the stairs, she asked, "Where are we going?" Evan said, "I have a valentine for you. Today is Valentine's Day." His grandmother smiled. "I love Valentine's Day." Then a few steps later she asked, "Where

are we going?" In his room, Evan gently seated his grandmother on the edge of his bed. He was glad Jessie's door was closed and had the Locked sign up. She had been working all day on her newspaper, and Evan hoped she'd stay in there until their mother got home. Jessie didn't like seeing Grandma confused. It made her anxious, and then she'd start to shout, which made the situation worse. Evan would have to handle this alone. "See?" he said. "I wrapped it and everything." He handed the package to his grandmother, wondering if she would open it. You could never be sure with Grandma these days. "For me?" She giggled. "I love surprises. Thank you!" Quickly she tore off the paper, then read aloud the framed poem that Evan had copied over five times until he got it just right. a tree(doesn't have)