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Show Moon - 48 then she said, "Last night the angels came and carried your grandfather to heaven." Joy asked her if the angels topk the radio, too, but her mother laughed and said, no, it was her other grandfather who'd gone to heaven, the one married to Ruth. Her hand trembled a little as it held her daughter's, and Joy felt suddenly the beauty of her mother's held-in feeling. She imagined her grandfather splayed out in the sky, caught in a wing-beating rush of angels. He was looking down at them with those sad eyes, knowing that none of them would ever see him again. The picture she held of the angels carrying him stayed with her, rising above everything like smoke curling up and away from a train. James had chosen her mother as the one he loved, that Joy could not avoid seeing. It came down to his choosing. She didn't know how, exactly, but he made it clear with his eyes and his shrugs that his females were supposed to vie for his love, and someone had to be the loser. He bought his wife a dressing gown with organdy ruffles that cascaded down to the floor like a waterfall. When she came out into the living room wearing it, he picked her up at the waist and whirled her round and round the room. They were always kissing. Joy heard the letter M on the stairs. She bumped into them embracing in the hallway. She found them huddled together on the sofa in the evening. She'd duck her head, hunch up her shoulders, and hastily retreat to her room. At night before she fell asleep she would think of Uncle Michael's arms pulling her close, as if she, too, had a man who loved her the best. |