Free When We Were Saints by Han Nolan

wonder what she could have to say to a woman she'd never met, and hoping that his grandmother wouldn't be rude to her.
    Clare headed toward the house as though it were her home, striding ahead of Archie and walking through the door without hesitating or waiting for him to lead her inside. Archie scrambled to keep up and reached the foyer just behind Clare.
    Clare took a look around, glancing left at the living room and right at the kitchen. She ran into the living room and said, "Look at all these beautiful flowers and all these plants!"
    The plants stood on the coffee table, and the side tables, and in the two window seats, and lined up along the mantelpiece. Clare leaned over and smelled the Easter lilies that sat on the coffee table. "These smell wonderful. If I close my eyes, it's a warm sunny day out and the birds are singing and there's a waterfall in the distance."
    Archie stepped forward. "You see all that just by smelling the flowers?"
    "Mmm," Clare said. She went around the room, moving from plant to plant, flower to flower like a bumblebee sampling the nectar. "Are these your grandmama's beautiful flowers?" she asked, her nose in the daffodils.
    "Yeah," Archie said, surprised himself by all of the plants. When had his grandmother moved them out of the back room? "My grandmama used to just keep them in one room, the guest bedroom. My granddaddy didn't like plants growing inside. He said plants and animals belonged outdoors. I always wanted a dog. A farm needs a dog, but my granddaddy said he wouldn't let it inside, so I refused to have one." Archie sniffed one of the daffodils, noticing it didn't have much of a smell. "Anyway, as long as he didn't see them, my grandmama was allowed to have the plants in the house."
    "Well, she has a real gift, doesn't she?" Clare said. "You know, I always think the most beautiful souls reside inside people who can make things grow like this, don't you?"
    Archie was about to answer but then his grandmother spoke from the doorway. "Why, thank you, honey. I appreciate that. You must be Clare."
    Clare stepped forward and offered her hand. "And you're Archibald's grandmama, Emma Vaughn Caswell. I've been wanting so much to meet you."
    Emma Vaughn looked surprised. "You have?"
    Clare turned around and looked at all the flowers and plants. "They're such a comfort, aren't they—the plants. Like old friends, I would think," she said.
    "Why, yes!" Emma Vaughn replied, and Archie noticed her face flush with pleasure and surprise. He, too, was surprised. His grandmother seemed just as taken with Clare as he was. She sat down on the couch and asked Clare and Archie to join hen.
    Clare sat next to Emma Vaughn and patted the seat beside her. "Come on, Archibald, and sit, so we can get to know your grandmama better."
    Did Clare know how little he knew his grandmother or was that just some figure of speech? Archie sat down beside her wondering what she would say next.
    "This is where Mr. Silas Benjamin died, isn't it?" Clare asked, turning to face Archie's grandmother: He sure hadn't expected her to say that. He watched his grandmother to see if she would break down crying or get upset with Clare for bringing up such a touchy subject.
    "Well, yes, it is," Emma Vaughn said, her voice solemn. "I'm not sure I've done the right thing bringing all these plants out here, but it seemed such a pity to keep them in the back room, and like you said, they are a comfort."
    "Of course they are," Clare said, glancing around again at the flowers. "And you've filled this room with life. That's important. A room needs that; a house needs it. Don't you think?"
    "Yes, yes I do."
    "And it's important that you do the things that give your life meaning, and I can see, Miz Caswell, that gardening does that for you."
    Again a pink flush of delight spread across Emma Vaughn's cheeks. "Well gracious me, child, aren't you a surprise? Except for the kitchen herbs and these plants here, I haven't done much gardening in a long