Summary

In Chapter 5, Genie and Ernie arrive back at the top of the hill. Grandma is cooking dinner. Grandpop enters the kitchen through a door Ernie had not noticed until that moment. Grandpop locks the door and says it is “nunya bidness” (85) what is inside that room. Genie catches a whiff of liquor in Grandpop's cup. Over dinner, Grandpop tells stories, including how Wood stood up for Ernest when a local boy named Gary picked on Ernest. Wood fought Gary, though Gary was bigger than he and left Wood with a busted lip, a black eye, and a limp. Genie notices that Grandpop grabs the edge of the table when thunder booms out again, then Grandpop goes on with the story, saying that Wood fought Gary again after Wood joined the military, and Wood won that fight.

Lightning strikes, and the electricity goes off...