she said. smiling. "If you throw away or hide
everything that belonged to the people you loved, you
make their sp
irits feel unwanted. Oh. I know. Emma
would say that's silly," she added, gazing at Felix. He
forced a smile.
I wasn't sure if I would or not. It sounded
sensible and Grandmother Emma did tell us our
ancestors were always watching and listening. "I'm sure you're getting hungry for lunch and
your little stomach is growling angrily. I'll make some
lunch for you, too, Felix."
"No, Miss Wilkens. I'm not staying for lunch. I
have to start back as soon as I see to Jordan's being
settled. I have things to do back in Bethlehem for Mrs.
March."
"Oh." She shook her head and scrunched her
nose, making ripples in her forehead. "My sister
always worked her help too much." she told me and
turned to Felix. "Let's show Jordan to her room right
away then," she declared, clapping her hands together
as if she had just thought of the idea. "Follow me up
the stairway,"
She kept her palms pressed together and
waddled toward the stairs. A hailstorm of questions
peppered my mind. When had she stopped being the
beautiful, trim-figured woman in the March family
albums? How long had she been living here? Was she
always by herself? Why hadn't she ever married? Why
didn't she have children of her own?
Felix waited for me to follow her first. I gazed