child if she had not deserted her." she added, nodding
at Echo, who fortunately wasn't paying any attention
to what was being discussed. "She'd have dragged her
through the muck."
"I'm sorry about all your trouble. Mrs.
Westington."
"Yeah, well, grin and bear it, my grandmother
would say." She sighed. "I'm suddenly very tired
myself."
She started to rise and I could see she had
suffered an emotional shock that added age to her old
bones instantly. I got up quickly to help her. "Thank you. dear. You two go on to bed. I'll
just clean up a bit," she said. "It's not good to lay
down your head when it's so full of agitation. You'll
spin around like a top for hours. Of course, she said,
smiling at me. "you already know all that."
I watched her amble off and then I turned to
Echo, who was staring up at me, concerned. She
quickly signed, asking if her grandmother was sick. "Just tired," I signed back. The words and the gestures came like a true second language. I smiled at how quickly I had drawn them out of the well of knowledge I had just acquired over the past few days. Echo smiled as well. She could see how happy I was
about it.
I reached out for her. She took my hand and we
went upstairs together, she to surely dream about
Tyler. I wouldn't be all that surprised to find him
wandering about in my night musings as well I
thought.
He returned right on time the following day.
Worried about my test results. I held my breath when
I saw him drive up. I was finishing up the grape
harvest with Trevor. Tyler looked my way and waved
emphatically, beckoning me to meet him.