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Show 24-5 That day we all seemed preoccupied. Joe tried to talk to Mother about what had happened in church but she cut him off, saying she didn't want to discuss it. He shrugged his shoulders elaborately and returned to his newspaper. When Father got a call from the hospital about a patient, we all used it as an excuse to leave. Grandfather was tired, Grandmother in a strange mood and Mother silent. We dropped Father off at the hospital and then came on home. After seeing my grandparents safely across the street, I came and sat on the porch swing. I heard Mother moving around in the kitchen, putting the breakfast dishes away. The yard and garden had a soft brilliance from the chrysanthemums and zinnias, now in full bloom. The trees were beginning to change colors and the rain of the last week made them shine like Tiffany lamps. I usually loved this time of year because even though the green things were dying, my year was beginning, the year of school and friends. Summer, after reigning supreme for months, now had to give way to more sober pursuits, and so bowed out with one last radiance. This year, I didn't want the colors to fade and the flowers to die. I dreaded the coming of the cold because I knew it would be that much harder to see Andrew on the dark, snowy afternoons. And what would all the men do, the men who loved to sit outside in the shade and rest? And Andrew who loved the sun to warm his face and hands. Winter would be long for all of them, as it would be for me. Mother stood at the door. "Annie, I'm going to lie down and rest for a bit. Wake me if your Father calls and needs a ride home." So I sat alone through the long melancholy afternoon. I wished I had stayed at the hospital with Father and spent the time with Andrew. I hadn't because I had had school work to do, but now I couldn't make my mind quiet enough to attempt it. I felt as if a giant spoon had stirred all my insides and left them |
