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Show Fair Forever 40 Chapter Eight Listening for Whispers, One day last spring the telephone rang, and I listened as Mom chatted. I was up in my room, too far away to hear well. When she hung up, she climbed the stairs. 'Guess who was on the phone?' she asked. Before I could answer, she said, 'It was Amanda! She called to see if it was okay if she stayed with us a few days.' The old man is listening with his eyes closed, like he's trying to dream the story I'm telling-live it himself. I stop talking and he bends forward and reaches to his feet, picking up a small knot of driftwood, gray,and white. He pulls out his penknife, laying it unopened against the wood, studying the patterns and swirls, the grain and the run. We\ both rock in our boats and I stare at the lighthouse. "How long did she stay?" he asks. |