The Summer Book

On a warm July morning, Grandmother drops her dentures in a peony bush, and Sophia fetches them for her because Grandmother has trouble walking. Although Grandmother feels putting in her dentures is a private act, she allows Sophia to watch after the child expresses interest in wanting to see. Sophia asks when Grandmother will die, and Grandmother answers, “Soon. But that is not the least concern of yours” (4).

Arguing that Father will not find out, Grandmother decides to walk along the ravine, where neither she nor Sophia are allowed to go, and Sophia follows and asks if people will dig a hole when Grandmother dies. Grandmother says the hole will be large enough to fit the family but does not answer why. They walk out farther than either of them has been before, and Grandmother gives Sophia permission to swim.

The water is too deep for her, so Sophia climbs back onto the edge of the ravine and asks if Grandmother knows what it feels like to dive. Grandmother describes the brown water and the feelings of seaweed and floating, and she says she believes Sophia can dive without Sophia proving it.