Free Daphne's Book by Mary Downing Hahn Page B

Faintly I heard a voice calling Daphne. Looking toward the house, I saw Mrs. Woodleigh on the back porch. From this far away, she was no taller than my finger.
    "I guess I better go," Daphne said. "Grandmother worries about me if I'm gone too long." She climbed down from the tree, and I followed her.
    "Would you like to come inside and have a cup of tea?" Daphne asked.
    "Will your grandmother mind?"
    "It'll be all right. She's just old. Once she gets to know you, she'll be nicer."
    I was afraid I would hurt Daphne's feelings if I refused, so I smiled and walked across the yard with her. I hoped she couldn't hear my heart thumping. It seemed awfully loud to me.
    Mrs. Woodleigh frowned at me as I climbed the back steps. "I thought you went home."
    "Jessica's going to have a cup of tea before she goes, Grandmother," Daphne said. "It's a long, cold walk."
    The kitchen was large and sunny, high-ceilinged and warm, but like the rest of the house, it had been neglected for years. The walls were stained with grease and smoke, the corners were thick with cobwebs, and the paint was peeling. Like the hall, it stank of cats and garbage.
    "Would you like a cup, Grandmother?" Daphne asked as she filled the kettle.
    Mrs. Woodleigh lowered herself stiffly into a chair. "I suppose so, if you can make it the way I like it. Nice and hot and not too strong."
    "Can I have some, too?" Hope asked as Daphne got cups out of a cabinet over the sink.
    "Of course."
    While Daphne busied herself making tea, I gazed around the room, trying to avoid looking at Mrs. Woodleigh. As my eyes traveled up the walls to the ceiling, she leaned toward me and grabbed my arm.
    "You're worried about that, aren't you?" She pointed at a crack running up one wall and across the ceiling. "The house is going to collapse soon. It'll start right there and then the whole place will come down on our heads. Buried alive, buried alive, that's what we'll be."
    Hope, who had been leaning silently against her grandmother, pulled away, her face frightened.
    "You know that's not true, Grandmother." Daphne gave Hope a reassuring hug. "The whole house isn't going to fall down because of one little crack."
    Mrs. Woodleigh shook her head and pursed her mouth into a tight little frown. She knew better, she did. Taking the cup Daphne offered her, she blew on the tea and took a noisy sip. With a shaky hand she slammed the cup down. "There's too much sugar in it! Can't you ever learn to fix it the way I like it?"
    Daphne sighed. "I put one teaspoon in, Grandmother, just like you told me to."
    Mrs. Woodleigh glared at Daphne. "You may think I'm a foolish old lady, but I know what's going on."
    "Would you like me to fix you another cup? You could put the sugar in yourself this time." Daphne stared at her grandmother, her pale face expressionless.
    "No, I don't want any now." The old woman pushed the cup away and frowned at me as if it were all my fault. "This house is going to ruin. Just like the whole country. Nothing is any good anymore."
    I toyed with my teacup, turning it round and round on its saucer. I didn't know what to say.
    "If they would just let John come home, everything would be all right," Mrs. Woodleigh said. "He'd take care of us, he'd fix the crack, he'd keep the house from falling down on us, wouldn't he?" She looked at Daphne, her face filled with anxiety. "How long are they going to keep him in that place? Why won't they let him leave Vietnam?"
    Daphne touched her grandmother's shoulder gently, "Would you like to take your nap now?" she asked.
    "I just don't know how much longer I can wait. It's not right for them to keep him there, not when we need him so bad." Rubbing her hands together, Mrs. Woodleigh got up and allowed Daphne to lead her out of the room. At the doorway, she paused and looked at the crack. "It won't be long now, will it?"
    As Mrs. Woodleigh shuffled up the stairs, I turned to Hope. My heart was thumping hard again. "Was she talking about your father?" I