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Maybe, I thought, she was right.

It was on my mind for the remainder of the day and even during my ride home. Jake kept talking and asking me questions. He could see I was terribly annoyed about something. As we approached the house, I recalled Grandmother Hudson's promise to reach Mama. At least I had something to look forward to, I thought, and hurried out of the car and up the stairs. I burst into the house and looked for

Grandmother Hudson in the living room. She wasn't there. I charged through the dining room into the kitchen where Sissy was working on the evening's dinner.

"Do you know where Mrs. Hudson is, Sissy?"

"Last I saw she was sitting in the office at her desk," she told me and I hurried to her.

Grandmother Hudson had just put down the telephone receiver when I appeared.

"Hi. Did you locate Mama?" I asked, too anxious to spend time on small talk.

"I did, Rain. Sit down," she said finally and nodded at the leather sofa.

Grandmother Hudson's face was more often than not an open book. Her thoughts were usually under glass, easy to read. She had too much selfconfidence to be subtle or indirect. She looked terribly serious at the moment and that put a coat of ice around my heart. It thumped like a small hammer trying to break out. "What's wrong?" I asked after sitting.

"I was hoping to have a longer period of time before having this conversation with you, Rain. Why it was left to me to be the one to have it is just another example of my daughter's lack of responsibility. I can't tell you how many times over the years I have been put in a similar position, but ... what's done is done. Her father kept me from building her

backbone."

"What's wrong?" I demanded more firmly, now the impatient one.

She leaned forward, clasping her hands and resting her forearms on the desk.

"When Megan came to me to ask if you could live here and go to Dogwood, I was naturally reluctant. Even after you first arrived, I thought this was possibly a big mistake. Then, about two weeks afterward, Megan called to tell me she had spoken with your mama and learned more about the situation."

"What situation?"

"Your mama's health. It seems," Grandmother Hudson said leaning back with a deep sigh, "that beyond her good intentions to get you out of that environment and all the danger, she was looking ahead to what she would be able to do and not do for you. She knew how sick she was."

"Sick? What's the matter with her?" I cried.

"She's...suffering from a cancer that has spread rapidly through her body and she's is presently in the hospital. The prognosis is not good. In fact," she said, "the doctor told me she goes in and out of a coma. Your Aunt Sylvia has been staying with a friend near the hospital. That's why you haven't been able to reach anyone on the phone."

My heart shrank and closed like a tiny fist in my chest. Suddenly, the room felt like an oven.

"Does my brother Roy know about all this?"

"Yes. I believe he is on his way to the hospital on special leave," she said.

"I've got to go, too," I said.

"I know you do. I've made all the arrangements for you," she said. "Jake will be taking you to the airport in two hours. When you arrive, there will be a car waiting for you. The driver will hold up a card with your name on it. I have made arrangements for you to stay at a nearby hotel. Here," she said, opening a drawer and taking out an envelope, "is some money for your expenses."

It was all happening so fast, I was too stunned to accept it. I shook my head.

"It can't be true. I can't believe Mama kept all this secret."

"She probably knew you wouldn't have agreed to come here if she told you the truth. She was a brave woman," Grandmother Hudson said.

Was? I thought. Mama...Mama ...

"I've spoken to Mrs. Whitney at the school. You're not to worry about your exams. They'll provide makeups for you if need be."

I gazed at her, truly in awe. She was a woman of action, always in control.

"Take the envelope," she ordered and I did so.