continues to clean. "You always said Grandpa was a gentleman. Now you're saying he wasn't?"
"We met at the age of 15. Boys that age don't always behave properly. But as he matured, he became a gentleman and remained that way until the day he passed."
"Why did you date him if he wasn't nice to you?"
"Because I saw he had potential. And it's not as though he was rude to me. He just paid no attention to me, despite my efforts to get him to notice me." She smiles. "I spent weeks making a bright pink dress that I was sure would get his attention."
"And did it?"
"Not in the way I was hoping. I asked him what he thought of it and he told me it reminded him of a stick of chewing gum. Oh, I was so angry with him! I told myself that was my last attempt at trying to win him over."
"So was it?"
"Yes, although I still watched him from afar. I was completely smitten with him. And then, months later, he asked me to the school dance. I was so shocked I didn't answer him at first. I thought perhaps he was confused and meant to ask someone else. After ignoring me for months, it didn't make sense that he'd ask me to the dance."
"Did he ever tell you why he ignored you?"
"Not until years later. He said he simply didn't have time for girls. His father's farm had been struggling and he'd spent every spare moment working to help save it. Eventually things turned around and that's when your grandfather asked me to the dance. He said he'd wanted to court me earlier that year but couldn't, given his commitments at home. He was hoping I wouldn't end up with someone else, but the thought had never even crossed my mind. My heart had always been with him. I knew we'd end up together."
"So maybe Tyler is like grandpa. Maybe he acts the way he does because he's going through something. Something we know nothing about."
"Which is all the more reason to not get involved with him." She hands me the dishrag. "Enough talk about men. Let's get back to work."
We finish cleaning and tossing stuff out. By five, we're both exhausted. I convince Grams to order a pizza, which she almost never does, and we have dinner in front of the TV. At seven she gets up and goes to the door.
"Where are you going?" I ask.
"I forgot to water the flowers on the porch. I'm just going to give them a little drink before going to bed."
"You're going to bed this early?"
"I'm tired. It's been a long day and I didn't get my nap in."
She goes outside, then comes right back in.
"That was fast."
"This was on our porch." She holds out the pink hand towel I brought Tyler yesterday to clean up his bleeding head. Her other hand holds a book. "Why was our hand towel on the porch with a book?"
I get up and go over to her. "They were together?"
"The towel was wrapped around the book, like wrapping paper."
I take the book from her. It's a copy of Wuthering Heights, a used copy with yellowed pages and a wrinkled dust jacket. I'm guessing it's from Tyler since it was wrapped in the towel but why would he give me a book? And the towel? It was in the trash. I saw him toss it out.
"Why would someone have our towel?" Grams asks.
"I gave it to him."
"Who?"
"Tyler. When I was over there yesterday I startled him when he was working on the car. He hit his head and it was bleeding."
"Goodness, Faith! You don't use our good towels for that! Use a washcloth or a paper towel."
"I wasn't thinking. I just saw the blood and ran back to the house and grabbed whatever I found first, which happened to be this towel." I take it from her and see the blood is gone.
"What about the book? Is that yours?"
"No. I don't know where he got it." I smile as I look at it. "But it's one of my favorites."
"Why would that boy leave you these things?"
"I don't know," I say, still smiling.
"The apple doesn't fall far," she mumbles as she walks past me.
"What?" I ask, turning to face her. "What do you mean by that?"
"His grandfather's the same way. He does things that make no sense." She shakes her head as she walks to the stairs. "No sense at all. Goodnight, Faith."