Free Winter's Tide by Lisa Williams Kline Page A

warily and gave another low warning growl. Then he wandered back to Grammy’s bedroom and stood in the doorway, looking at her bed, which had Norm and Mom’s suitcases on it, before turning to look at me. He waddled to the guest room and looked at Stephanie’s and my stuff on the beds and floor, then looked at me again.
    He wandered out into the hall, looked again at both doorways, and lay down.
    â€œHe can’t figure out where Grammy is,” Stephanie said. She used a high voice to talk to him. “Poor Jelly. Grammy’s in the hospital, Jelly. You have to be patient. We hope she’ll be back soon, Jelly-belly.”
    Jelly put his chin on his paws with a sigh, angling his brown eyes up at us in puzzlement.
    â€œI wonder what it would be like to be an animal,” Mom said. “He doesn’t know why Grammy is gone or if she will ever be back. All he knows is that he can’t find her now.”
    â€œI bet he understands more than we think,” I said. It made me feel depressed that Jelly didn’t like me. But I wasn’t going to give up on him. I would make him like me.
    â€œHey, can I take Jelly for a walk?” I asked Mom.
    â€œI walked him on my way home from the neighbor’s,” Norm said. “He’s fine for now. Maybe you can take him tomorrow.”
    â€œIt’s late. Let’s get ready for bed, girls,” Mom said.
    Stephanie quickly put on her pj’s, crawled into the bed, and turned toward the wall with the covers practically over her head.
    â€œWhat’s wrong with you?” I said as I got out the old Heineken T-shirt of Dad’s that I always slept in.
    Stephanie didn’t answer me. She just lay in bed.
    â€œFine,” I said. “Don’t say anything. I didn’t doanything to you.” Her silent treatment was really annoying me.
    Suddenly Stephanie sat up in bed, the covers bunched in her fists and tears streaking her cheeks. “What do you think is wrong? Grammy is sick, okay? And I love her! You act like you don’t even care!”
    I could feel the heat surging to my face. “What do you mean? What am I supposed to do?”
    â€œAct like a human being!” she shouted.
    Her words hung in the air. I felt a painful lump rise in my throat and the corners of my eyes burned.
    â€œGirls, girls!” Mom came to the doorway of our room. “The last couple of days have been really stressful.” Mom sat on Stephanie’s bed and rubbed her foot through the covers. “We’re so worried about Grammy and about Matt. We could say things that we regret. Let’s try to calm down.”
    â€œI didn’t do anything! She’s just mad at me because I’m not crying!” I said. Stephanie was the one who had yelled at me, and Mom was comforting her. Not to mention the fact that I’d been snapped at twice by that stupid dog. Sometimes I felt like the whole world was against me.
    â€œDiana, Stephanie has had a really tough couple of days. Have some compassion for her,” Mom said. “Are you all right, honey?” she asked Stephanie.
    Stephanie lay back down and pulled the covers over her shoulder, using the sheet to wipe her face. “I’ll be okay,” she said.
    Mom stroked her arm for a minute or two, and then kissed us both and went back into Grammy’s bedroom. Her voice and Norm’s hummed softly behind the closed door. I took my pill, turned out the light, and crawled into bed. On the other side of the room, Stephanie was silent. My mind raced from one thought to another. What did a human being do that I wasn’t doing? I hadn’t done anything wrong. I turned my pillow over and lay my cheek on the cool side.
    Outside our room in the hall, Jelly was snoring.

8
S TEPHANIE
    T he next day, the sea grasses outside the window to our bedroom bobbed in a brisk winter breeze, and the sand sparkled in the filtered sun. Grammy had told me she loved the