Summary

Jeff and Brooke stood in their grandmother’s kitchen after her funeral. Jeff noticed how his usually tidy grandmother’s house was in disarray. He had not known about her deteriorating health and was angry that Brooke and his mother had failed to check on her. Brooke was angered by his insinuation. He apologized but he did believe she was partly responsible, as she lived close to their grandmother while he lived across the country in New York. He believed, however, that he was unable to expect much from his sister or their mother as they were both hopeless. His mother had not come back for the funeral as she was in Europe. She told him she was sad but he knew that her not being there was her “last childish assertion of her independence” (Location 1501). He recalled how he had spent...