Just then the door opened and mom walked in with her arms full of packages she was wet from the rain. She smiled at us both. I see you’re up father. I went to her I could see from the shape of the bags that she hadn’t bought me my airplane just flat things like clothes grandpa went to kiss her she took off her coat and wanted to kiss me too.
“How’s Rakefet?”
“She didn’t sleep. You were wrong again. We had terrible problems with her, grandpa too, and it’s all your fault. Where did you disappear to? We had to give her a bath and grandpa cut himself.”
“It’s nothing.” Grandpa laughed. Mom was all confused.
“You gave her a bath?” She laughed. I left them I went to the kitchen I took a knife I put on my coat I opened the front door.
“Where are you going?”
“I have to pick mulberry leaves,” I said. “Do you want all my worms to die?”
“Now? In the dark? In the rain?” She tried stopping me but I slipped past her down the stairs to the street. It wasn’t raining I crossed to the other side I walked toward the bus stop I reached the mulberry tree and tried shinnying up it but it was too slippery a man with a hat on was standing at the bus stop he saw me and helped me grab a branch it was an old man who limped a little I took out my knife and quickly cut the fresh wet leaves.
I gathered a bunch of them and stuck them inside my coat.
“Do you raise silkworms?”
“That’s right.”
He approached me now in the light I could see he was a dirty miserable old man. I started home he turned around and came with me kind of limping.
“Do you have cocoons yet?”
“Yes, five.”
“Soon you’ll have butterflies.”
“I guess so.”
I couldn’t figure out what he wanted.
“Do you know how a cocoon turns into a butterfly?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
But I didn’t. So he began explaining to me what happens inside the sealed white cocoon. He wouldn’t leave me alone he limped along beside me he even offered me candy. Just then the lights of dad’s car shone on us he had driven up quickly. He flung open the door and stepped out with his briefcase.
“Gaddi, what are you doing here?”
The old man stepped to the side.
“Yes? Can I help you?” dad asked.
The man started to mumble something.
“What does he want from you?”
“Nothing.”
“Where do you live?” dad asked him harshly.
The old man didn’t answer he turned to go.
“Beat it! This isn’t the place for you… get a move on, mister!.. What did he want from you? How could you have let him accost you like that? Be more careful, Gaddi, don’t you realize whom you’re dealing with? What’s come over you lately?”
“He helped me pick mulberry leaves. He held the branch for me.”
“All right, come on home. Is grandpa up?”
“Yes.”
“It’s about time.”
I followed him up the stairs how could I have told grandpa all about them now he must be telling mom. I saw her face in the doorway looking at me seriously I went to my room.
It was dark the baby was sleeping you couldn’t even tell she was there I put the new leaves in the box and took out the old ones suddenly I remembered the worm that was lost I went to look for it dad was talking to grandpa by the door of grandpa’s room he gave him some papers the radio was on in the kitchen mom was setting the table in the dining nook. I went to look for the worm in the kitchen.
“What’s the matter, Gaddi?” Her voice was gentle. “Grandpa says you were a wonderful helper.”
I didn’t answer I was looking for that worm maybe it had spun a cocoon. Finally I said:
“You promised the baby would sleep. She cried all the time and even made in her crib.”
“I thought she would sleep. She was up all morning. How was I to know?”
“But you promised.”
“What do you mean, I promised? Don’t be idiotic. How can I promise what she’ll do?”
“Then don’t. But you did.”
She looked tired. Why did I say bad things about her to grandpa? I went to the toy basket I turned it over the worm wasn’t there. I took all my cars and went back to the kitchen and started to throw them in the garbage pail.
“What’s going on there?”
“I’m throwing out some old toys I don’t need.”
“Must you do it now?”
“Yes.”
Dad came to butt in to check up to take over.
“What are you throwing out there? Are you out of your mind?”
“I don’t need them anymore.”
He stood watching the garbage pail fill up.
“Now go empty it downstairs.”
I went down with the plastic bag. Cars sped along the wet street but the rain had stopped the sky was clear. I opened the garbage bin a cat jumped out I dumped the plastic bag in a can the cat stood meowing as soon as I moved away it jumped back into the can I covered it with the lid. Suddenly I didn’t want to go home. What made me tell grandpa everything he didn’t bring me anything he didn’t give me a thing. The old man saw me he came out from the doorway of another house he’d been poking around in the garbage there. I ran up the stairs I felt sorry now about some of those toys.
Dad was eating already grandpa was sitting beside him at the table with an empty plate. I sat down to eat but they made me wash my hands when I returned dad was making some joke about the government grandpa smiled then he talked about America. I didn’t listen I ate as fast as I could. Then I was sent to wash up. When I came back in my pajamas they were sitting in the living room. Dad was saying something nasty to grandpa they were talking about grandma grandpa was hunched in the armchair looking at the floor I wanted to hear but mom put her hand on me.
“Go to bed.”
“I want to watch TV.”
“Absolutely not tonight.”
I went to bed. Rakefet was sleeping like a log she’d sleep on and on like grandpa now like she’d come from America too. Mom took off the bedspread she took a pillow from the closet she pulled back the blanket I crawled quickly into bed before she could see the faint stains from the morning. She covered me all at once she put her lips on my forehead.