"Sometimes life goes on in peaceful cycles like the seasons, a gradual blending of time and events that we scarcely notice." "And just as we think we may have learned all there is to know about life, fate conspires to show us just how little we do know." "Such was the case one especially beautiful day in early fall." "Our parents had told us that Olivia Hill had lost her husband in an accident and that she was coming to spend a few weeks with us." "Never mind." "I got it." " Excuse me, Ben." " Excuse me." " What's the matter with you?" " Your feet are in my way." "No, no, we're not finished in here." "Mary Ellen, what am I supposed to do here?" "Stand and hold this?" "John-Boy, what's that word Mama said Olivia had?" " A bereavement, honey." " Bereavement." "What does that mean?" "Well, that's when somebody you love dies." "Is that the way I'd feel if Mama or Daddy died?" "Yeah, that's it." "It's like how Mama would feel if Daddy died." "Like when someone you're married to dies." " Yeah." "That's usually what it means." " Must be the worst hurt of all." "Well, we just gotta try to keep her cheered up, if we can, you know." " Should we talk about it?" " Well, maybe if we just act normal" " like nothing's happened." " Well, you gotta act normal." "You just have to be considerate of her." "You know, try to figure out what it is she wants." "I mean, she may wanna talk about it, but she may not wanna talk about it." "And there's times when she's gonna wanna be alone and she's not gonna wanna be with us and you just have to be sensitive about it, you know, just..." "You'll know what to do." "Just think before you talk is all." "I think we should bake her a chocolate cake." " I think that's a good idea." " Yeah." " Hey, wait a minute." "I..." " I'm coming through, Mary Ellen," " you're not gonna stop me." " Come on, Mary Ellen." " Make way here." " All right." "Grandma, have you ever had bereavement?" "Yeah, long time ago." "But I've been spared other losses." "This family has been most fortunate." "Many aches of the heart, but only once that most terrible of all pains." "You know, you all talk as though death were the end of everything." "Well it's not." "It just might very well be the beginning." "How long do you reckon it takes to get over a bereavement?" "Depends on the person, sometimes it takes years." "Poor Olivia." "You all better get up to John-Boy's room and get it ready for her." " I'll help you all." " Good idea, let's go, come on." " Good supper, Mama." " Yeah, it was." "Mama, does it stop hurting Olivia when she sleeps?" "Yes, honey, it does." "If you ask me, it's too much to expect children to understand a thing like this." "It's not right for them to have to bear that young girl's grief." "Grief is a natural part of life, Grandma." "The children will be all right." "It's Olivia we have to worry about." "It was just about this same time last year when I picked him up at the bus depot." "I'll never forget that shivaree, I'll tell you that." "It's hard to believe he's gone." "He was hardly much older than you." "I'm gonna start thinking like Grandpa." "Aim for 100." "Aunt Olivia, it's so good to be here." " John-Boy, it's good to see you." " Same here." "I'd forgotten how beautiful it is here." "It even smells beautiful." "Grandma." "Hey, Olivia." " Jason." " Welcome." "Hi." "Jason, you get taller by the hour." "What's your mama feeding you anyway?" " Welcome home, Olivia." " Hello, Grandpa." "Grandma." "Thank you." "Thank you all for having me." "Aunt Olivia!" "Elizabeth." "How big you've grown!" "And what a beautiful cat." " Her name's Calico and she's mine." " Hello, Calico!" "All of you, it just feels so good to be here." "Come on, we'd better get you inside so you can rest up till supper." "We'll talk later." "We've got an order of benches to fill." " Let's go." "Come on, folks." " John-Boy." " Yes, honey?" " She doesn't seem to hurt too much to me." "Well, I know." "What will we say at supper?" "I just know one of the children will say the wrong thing." "It's hard to know what's the right thing." "You know, she seems a lot perkier than I thought she'd be." "She's trying to be brave." "I just hope the children watch what they say." "You know, that's the problem with a big brood like this." "Maybe being with a big brood is just what Olivia needs right now." "I thought she looked awfully pale." "But beautiful." "She's just a few years older than I am." "Mary Ellen, being widowed so young is rare." "And it's not in the least romantic." "These potatoes need mashing." "Did your mother really get married in that dress?" "In 1914." "Mother would be so happy if she knew I was going to wear it." "The only thing that makes me sad is that she'll never meet Bob." " Do you remember her?" " I remember being on a train with her, coming here to Walton's Mountain." "I must've been about four." "And your mother met us at the Rockfish station." "Oh, I'm so glad I could be here with her." "With all of you for my wedding." " Well, I sure hope Bob likes us." " Well, of course he will." "And you're gonna be just crazy about him." "Did I show you his picture?" " About a million times." " I'm sorry to be so boring about him." "But he's just so wonderful, I can't talk about anyone, or anything else." "Mary Ellen, the potatoes." " It tastes like..." " Yeah." "We'd be pleased if you'd say grace, Olivia." "Thank you, Lord, for the comfort of a loving family and the strength they give me to bear my loss." " Amen." " Amen." " Potatoes?" " You go first." " After you, Olivia." " After you, it'll be all gone." " What do you mean?" "I don't eat that much." " Peas, please." " I made a rhyme!" " Very good, Elizabeth." "Pass the potatoes, pass the meat, everybody pitch in and eat." " Everybody's in high spirits tonight." " I forgot how much fun a big family can be." "Fun!" "It's more like feeding the monkeys at a zoo!" "You think you're gonna be able to stand us for three whole weeks?" "Oh, you may never get rid of me." "Bob wanted a big family." "All boys." "He talked about making special kites for them and taking them all down to the park to fly them." " Well, girls can fly kites, too." " That's how Bob and I met." " Did I ever tell you that story?" " No, no." "Well, every Saturday I'd see him in the park with all his kites." "He had a regular collection of them." "Anyway, he was so good-looking, and I was just dying to meet him." "So I figured, I just had to go get myself a kite and get out there in the park and fly it." "Well, I got it up in the air somehow, but then the wind switched and it went right into his kite, his favorite." "Well, he was so mad!" "And he came storming up to me and he said," ""You've just ruined my Japanese Dragon."" "He was so special." "There'll never be anybody like him." "If only I'd gone with him on his walk that night." "It was so dark." "That's why he didn't see the car." "I keep thinking that maybe if I'd been with him," "I would have seen it." "What about all those kites?" "I mean, all those good ones?" "Maybe tomorrow we could go out in the woods and pick some violets, like the way we did for your wedding." "I'm sorry." "I shouldn't be burdening all of you with my troubles." "Please excuse me." " Did we do something wrong?" " Don't take it to heart, honey." "I was trying to make her smile." "Well, your heart was in the right place, Elizabeth, so don't take on about it." "Well, in a way it's good that she's letting out the grief." "Come on, eat up before everything gets cold." "Come on." "Grief is something like the seasons of the year, only, all jumbled together in a heap." "Right now, she's going through her wintry spell." "There isn't much we can do to help." "She's got to go back in the memories of her mind about him until she's at peace." "Until then, we've got to brace ourselves for these stormy spells." "Why, she won't know herself when she's likely to have one of them." "Yeah, Zeb's right." "There's not much we can do to ease her pain except just give her all the loving and understanding that we can." "I think we ought to put her to work." "Get her mind of her troubles." "Maybe I should let Calico sleep with her." "I think that's a great idea, Elizabeth." "Why don't you talk to her about it tomorrow?" "Mary Ellen, when you finish, will you get dessert?" "I'm gonna fix a tray for Olivia." "Okay, Mama." "I don't know what happens." "I don't mean to lose control of myself like that." "I just don't seem to be able to stop it." "I know it's hard to believe just now, but the pain will pass." "Time does ease the ache and the emptiness." "Out there, the world goes on." "It's fall." "Everything's dead or dying." "Everything's going to sleep for a while." "The only difference is, they'll all wake up when the spring comes." "Olivia, I don't know what I'd do if I lost John, but I know I'd look for some help in the Bible." "Can I lend you mine to read if you want to?" "Thank you." "Yes." "The moonlight's lovely tonight." "Would you like to take a walk?" "I know all the wonderful things that are still there." "The sunsets, the dawns..." "But don't you see?" "Those things don't make me feel better, they make me feel worse." "Every time I see a lovely day," "I think that Bob isn't here to share it with me." "Every time I see a sunset," "I think of all the ones we shared together." "Oh, please." "I really think I'd like to be alone for a while." "This ought to be able to handle any Tackle-Buster fish in the pond." "I just wish there was something we could really do for her." "We are doing everything we can, Livie." "Well, I'm still worried about the children." "Especially the little ones." "Such a heavy load to put on them." "They're stronger than you give them credit for, Grandma." "They'll grow from this and learn." " I sure hope you're right." " I just feel so useless around her." "She's up there all alone crying her eyes out." "Well, I told you ladies the problem." "Not gonna do any good up there, wallowing in her grief." "We work from dawn to dark around here." "The thing is to put her to work." "Get her mind off herself." "Like that time, Pa, I busted my wrist seven, eight years old?" "Remember you took me up to chop lumber up in the woods?" "That pine splintered and broke this wrist?" "Oh, yes, I always did worry and fear I got you up in the tall timber too early." "I was crying and carrying on." "I wouldn't let him touch me." "It'd really hurt." "He made me look at a sparrow hawk up there soaring." "Kept my mind off myself, before I knew it, he had the wrist fixed." "I recall." "I recall." "You stopped crying." "You always were a brave one, all right." "That's what you got to do with Olivia." "Get her mind off herself." "Put her to work." "A good cry is exactly what she needs." " You never told me about your wrist." " Oh, yeah, I was just a little tyke." "Look, you can still see the mark, right there." "Oh, poor little boy." "Listen, I can't untangle this." "Would you mind?" " One of your children did it." " Yeah, try your eyes on that." "Happily, I have not suffered the loss of a loved one at first hand." "Seth Turner's death deeply affected me, but at least Seth lived to the fullest those days he had remaining, and he left a recorder to Jason as a memento of his life." "Bob Hill seems to have bequeathed little except the memory of kites flying and a widow who cannot come to terms with what must be a bewildering number of emotions struggling for order in her mind." " Olivia, morning!" " Good morning." "Can I see you for a minute?" "How about giving me a hand?" "I need to get these benches over to Rockfish depot." "And I have to have someone hold this glue tight while I screw it in." " You think you can handle that?" " I can handle it." "Real tight now, it's important." "There you go." " You all right?" " Yeah." "Maybe you should handle the screwdriver and I'd hold it." " No, no, no, I can hold it." " Okay." "I got a real good way of keeping hair out of your eyes." "Some of this glue." " We'll help you with that, Daddy." " Olivia, let me hold that for you." "Jason, why don't you take this glue and start working on the other end?" "You said we were gonna do these tomorrow, Daddy." "I wanna get them done today, and Olivia here has volunteered to help." "Well, I'll do that, Olivia." "You don't have to work when you're..." "Ben, now, we're doing just fine." "You're supposed to be here to rest." "Excuse me." "Ben, what did you have to open your mouth for?" "Now you've got her in her bad mood again." "Ben didn't mean any harm." "Anything you say or do around with her around is wrong." "No, no, Ben, someone's got..." "Well, he tried." "I'm gonna take a break." "Olivia's presence has caused me to make a monstrous discovery about myself." "There is a part of me that stands aside from any experience and coldly and dispassionately observes." "I suppose it is the writer in me." "Somehow, this discovery is both delightful and terrifying." "Hey!" "Look what you just did." "You got that close with cutting off my toe." "Well, I didn't see you." " I've got the glooms." " I'm just plain mad." "Cousin Olivia got you down, too?" "I think she's a pill." "All she does is cry all the time." "It's like she's got a faucet right behind her eyeballs." "Reckon she'll ever let up?" " She might." " She might not." " Hi." " Hey." " Here." " Thanks." " I feel funny." "Sad, kind of." " It's Olivia." "You know, I've been trying to think of something to say to her at the suppertime." "Bet you there isn't anything." "Well, Mama says it's our job to cheer her up." "Beats me what to say." "You know, I think we should make her something." " Like what?" " Well, something to remind her of Bob." " What are you bandits doing?" " Thinking." "Don't let your Mama catch you thinking, she'll find something for you to do." "Hey, I think I just thought a thought." "Come on." "Sounds like the young ones are having themselves a good time." "Music to my ear, Pa, a little laughter coming from their way." "Yeah." " See?" " Put in on." " Hi, John-Boy." " Hey." " Don't look." " I wouldn't dream of looking unless it happened to be something for me." " Well, it's not for you." " Well, in that case, you better hurry up and finish because you got lots of chores to do." " Bye." " Out." " Okay, are you sure you..." " Almost blew it for us that time." "It wasn't my fault, she wasn't looking." "Well, I'm glad to see that the children are feeling better." " They'll find their way." " Sooner or later, the young ones got to learn that losing a loved one is just a natural part of living." "This experience with young Olivia will make us all appreciate having one another around while we are here." "You know, I was talking to your grandma last night." "You know, due to our ages, it's only natural to expect that one..." " It's not natural to expect anything, Pa." " It's natural to expect that one or another of us will go before the other." "And that way, the ones left behind will have a pretty rough time." "Whatever happened to your grand plan to live to 100?" "I'm still counting on it, John-Boy." "But you got to look facts in the face." "You know, dying is just a part of living." "And what a wondrous thing life is." "Here's that young Livie, scarcely as old as one of my own granddaughters suffering this loss years before her time, while your grandma and I have had all our long life together." " That cat is so fat, she can't hardly walk." " Elizabeth's been feeding her too much." "Yeah." "That's why we got so many mice in the barn." "You know, cats shouldn't be fed." "In my day, we used to let them fend for themselves right out in the barn." "We never had any mice around." "Or rats, either, for that matter." "Pa, you gonna help with this load or what?" "Here we go." " Could be she's overweight, Daddy." " Could be she's full of kittens." " But she's old." " She's not that old." " She's only 14 or 15." " She'll be 13 next month." " How did you figure that?" " Grandpa looked at her teeth." " That's for horses." " It's hard to say, honey." "She was full-grown when she come to us." "It's only guesswork." " Mama, why is she breathing like that?" " I don't know." "I'll tell you what, Dr. Culler's coming out to check Chance's hoof in a day or two." "We'll have him look at Calico, too." "Mama, if she has kittens, can we keep them?" "Elizabeth, we've got enough mouths to feed already." "What if she has a baby rabbit?" "All they eat is grass." "Cats have kittens, and rabbits have rabbits." "Is he telling the truth or is he pulling my leg?" "I think all you can expect from Calico are kittens, Elizabeth." "Besides, we don't even know if she's having any." "Calico, kittens are all right, but just try for one baby rabbit, too." "I thought you might like a chance to get away from the family for a little while." "They can certainly be a handful when you're not used to them." "I mean, I'm used to them, but sometimes they're too much for me." "Oh, I don't mind them, really." "I suppose it's good for me to be around a lot of people right now." "Yeah." "This is a favorite place of mine." "This is where Bob and I first went off together when he arrived for the wedding." "It's as pretty now as it was then." "It hasn't changed." "Ponds are like that." "You know, spring-fed, the new water's always coming in." "I don't know how to say this, but sometimes when I'm alone," "I get to feeling mad." " Mad at what?" " Oh, I don't know." "Mad at fate." "Mad at the world." "But mostly..." "Mostly mad at Bob." "Sometimes I could just scream at him." "I take his picture out of the dresser drawer and I look at him, and I want to yell at him." "I wanna tell him that he shouldn't have left me alone like this, that he shouldn't have gone off and died." "I know I loved him, but at those times, I..." "I really think I hate him." "Well, I don't really know what you mean." "I..." "I mean, he couldn't really help it, could he?" "I guess it doesn't help you knowing that." "Well, maybe you should talk about it." "Maybe you should try to remember the good things about him." "What do you remember about him?" "Well, I remember the scent of his hair, kind of like wind through a pine tree." "And the way he would brush it off his face whenever he got nervous." "And he was always so neat." "Yeah, I'll never forget that first day when I picked him up at the bus depot." "He could hardly wait to get here to see you." "I remember the minute we got home, the two of you just disappeared." "This is just about the most beautiful place in the world." "Come sit down." "I feel as if I haven't seen you in years." "You could kiss me now and nobody would ever know." "He sure was nervous the day of the wedding." "Well, I guess most bridegrooms are." "I reckon maybe my favorite picture of you two together was up on the mountain." "Remember?" "That night you all had just gotten married, and he'd been through the shivaree and then the family and a bunch of neighbors came up to sing to you?" "Bob was a mighty surprised man." "Well, I guess at first he didn't realize exactly why we were there." "Thought maybe we was gonna shivaree him all over again." "Olivia!" "Are you all right?" "I'm sorry." "Look, I'm sorry." "What did I say?" "I'm really sorry." "No, I'm really..." "Are you all..." " What are we gonna say to your family?" " I don't know." "You could tell them we decided to take a swim." " Mad?" " Yeah." "I guess I'd be mad if your father died." "It's hard to believe I'd be mad at him." "So until you live through it, I guess you never know what you'd really do." "Do you think she'll ever get married again?" "Of course she will." "It'll take time." "Yeah." " Hi." " Hi yourself." "Is it okay if I take a little wood here?" " Appears that's what you're doing." " Well, they're just scraps." "Okay?" " All right." " Thanks." " Jim-Bob, what are you up to?" " Well, we're making something for Olivia." " Jason, what are they up to?" " They're making some kind of surprise." "I asked them if they wanted any help, but they wanna do it all themselves." "Looks like they've taken Olivia's problems right in stride, the children." "It seems like." "Jason, you wanna eat now?" "Just a minute, Mama, I wanna finish this one piece." " She's not favoring it much anymore, Doc." " Yeah, this ought to take care of it." "Hoof's gonna heal just fine, John." "You stay away from the barbed wire now." "I wonder if you'd take a minute and take a look at an old cat we got here, Doc." "I think she's a little bit pregnant." "No such thing as being a little pregnant." "She either is or she isn't." "Well, I'll tell you, I think she's out here in her favorite spot taking the sun." "Here you are, Doc." "Let me see." "Yeah, she's pregnant, all right." "Could deliver any day now." "Think she'll be all right, Doc?" "Well, I haven't had much experience with a cat this age having kittens." "She could have a rough time of it." "I think you ought to make her a bed in the house." "There's a good chance she'll use it when the time comes," " it ought to be warm and quiet." " Yeah, we'll do that for you, Doc." "You know, I think this is one of the prettiest fall days I ever saw." "It's a little hard to be working with the fish all jumping down at Drucilla's Pond." "Now, don't tempt me, Zeb." "I got to get over to the Johnson's." "Anybody ever tell you you're too old for this sort of thing?" "I want John to see how beautiful these cookies are, Olivia." "Once the children get to them, there won't be anything left to see." "Aren't they beautiful, Grandma?" "They won't even notice." "They'll just gobble them down." "That will be the pleasure, seeing them eaten." "I won't be making them just for myself." "When I think of all the favorite things I used to fix for Bob." "Olivia, I worry about you going back to that apartment." "Have you thought about moving in with another girl for a while, a nice roommate?" "Aunt Olivia, I'm too old for a roommate." "I've grown past that." "I have to get used to being alone." "Maybe you could get a job in Charlottesville or some town nearby." "That way, you could come home for the weekends." "I'd feel better knowing you were near." " I could get spoiled." " Spoiled?" "Wore out is more like it." "Big families are just a lot of hard work." "And loud." "Boy, look at them cookies." "I sure hope you made a whole bunch, Olivia, 'cause I could eat them in one gulp." " He probably could." " Honestly, Jason, I wish you'd grow up." "Mama, if he gets to them first, there won't be any left for anyone else." "You children stop your squabbling, go wash up for dinner." "Jason." "You can't say that this family isn't blessed with a good appetite." " Yeah." " That's for sure." "Well, I don't know that I'd call that a blessing." "Well, you ought to be grateful, Esther, that someone here" " appreciates your fine cooking." " That's right." "I'm gonna have another helping of these string beans right here, Ma." " Last crop of the season." " They sure are good and tender." "Oh, wait till you see them cookies Olivia made." " I'm glad I saved some room, Livie." " What room?" "You're getting fat!" "I'm still a fine figure of a man, Esther." "It's due to your cooking, however, that my chest has slipped." "All right, no whispering at the table." "Finish your supper." "Mama, Ike Godsey got in that new shipment of cloth." "And I was thinking we could go down tomorrow maybe and pick out the material for my new dress." "I was planning on putting up some green tomato relish tomorrow." "Well, I'll go with you, Mary Ellen." "That is, if you don't need me for the canning." " No, Olivia, I think that's a great idea." " Thanks, Olivia." " Mama, may I be excused?" " Yes, Elizabeth." "She only half-finished her meal." " May I be excused, Mama?" " Excuse me." " Now, wait." "Hold it, hold it." " Thank you." "Children of this day and age, they just have it too easy." "When I was little, I wouldn't have dared get up from the table without permission." " They did ask for permission, Grandma." " They sure didn't wait to get it." "I guess you're right, Ma." "Surprise!" " Is it for me?" " Yeah." " Well, it's not my birthday." " Please open it." " Come on, hurry." " Come on." "We remembered about you and Bob's kite." "We thought it'd help remind you of that day." "Oh, you've all been so kind and thoughtful." "I wish there was some way that I could thank you for me and for Bob." "Elizabeth." "It's all right, sweetheart." "It's all right." " We thought she'd like it." " It was a nice kite." "We thought we can go up to John-Boy's meadow and fly it with her." "Your thoughts were kind and loving, and that's all that matters." "It's just that sometimes being reminded of something out of the past still hurts a little." "Come on, smile." "Elizabeth, you can do better than that." "That's better." "Oh, Mary Ellen," "I feel terrible about the children." " It just caught me off my guard." " Well, they were just trying to help." "They just didn't realize it wasn't the right way." "It hurts here." "It feels like something's tearing away at me." "I think I'm free of it, and then it just comes right back again." "Well, maybe you'll just have to wait for a whole lot of time to go by." " What's happening downstairs, Mama?" " Elizabeth's cat is having her kittens, and I'm afraid the poor thing is not doing too well." "Mary Ellen, you go on downstairs and see if you can help." "I'll stay with Olivia." "Thank you, child." "All right." "She's real quiet." "Oh, Grandma, do something." "Honey, it's up to Calico." "It's in her nature to know what to do." "Just wait." "Looks real weak." " Come on." " John." "Look, why don't you children sort of come over around to here?" "You know, it's not easy for her." "She's having a hard time." " Make it easier..." " Come on, Jason." "...standing around looking at her." "Come on, good girl." "You can do it." "Come on, give me the towel." "Sorry, Grandma." "Daddy, she'll be all right, won't she?" " She's trying, honey." " Wet those, please." "Here, come here, dear." "Sit up here." "Yeah." "All right." "Here you go, Grandma." "Good girl." "Good girl." "Come on." "Here we go." "Here comes the first one." "You can do it." "Here she goes." "There it is." "Is it a boy or a girl?" "I can't tell you." "I'll tell you later, Jason." "Now you can see the miracle of newborn life." "Yuck." " She'll be all right." " She's doing okay." "She's in..." "Look, Daddy." " I think she's gonna do it again." " Yeah, they've been known to do that." "Here, Grandma, you better take the first one." "You're doing just fine." "Keep trying, old girl." "Come on, sweetheart." "Come on." " Here it is again." " She did!" "Oh, so cute." "Oh, yeah." "You're doing fine, old girl." "Oh, I wish I was as sure as you, Zeb." "She's having trouble." "I'm afraid this one isn't going to be too easy." "Better get the scissors." "She doesn't look good." "She's finished the cleanings." "Oh, Lord." "Okay, come on." " You better take the next one, Grandma." " Yeah." "You'll be all right, Calico." "You'll be all right." "We'd better save the kitten, Grandma." " Calico!" " Come on, get the scissors." " Erin!" " Daddy, what's the matter?" " Come on, hurry up." " Just too old, honey." " Calico!" " Too old." "Don't die, Calico." "Calico!" " Try to clean the kitten off." "Thank you." " Calico!" "Try to clean the kitten..." "Wait a minute, I've got it, I've got it." "Oh, Calico, please don't die, Calico!" "Clean it off." "Is she all right?" "Erin." "Calico." "It won't do any good to cry about it, Elizabeth." " They're so cute." " And so helpless." "Oh, Calico, please don't die, Calico." "Grandma marched me right across that bridge, and talked to me..." "That's Elizabeth." "Something's wrong." "Go on, Olivia, I'll be all right." "I'll be back." "You try to rest a while." "It's gonna be touch and go without their mama." " It's gonna be a long night." " There's gonna be a lot of long nights." "Come here, sweetheart." "Oh, baby." "There, there." "Mama, why did Calico have to die?" "Oh, I don't know, sweetheart." "I guess it was just her time." "Well, they won't live long without food." "What are we gonna do?" "Hey, Daddy, don't you think we ought to try to save..." "Do you have an eyedropper?" " We were gonna..." " Grandma." "Eyedropper?" "Oh, there's one upstairs in the medicine cabinet." "I'll go get it." "Would you heat me up some milk?" "Just lukewarm, and hurry, please." "I'll take care of it." " Can we do anything, Olivia?" " You think they'll live?" "I don't know." "They've got a chance." "But it means constant care, around the clock." " But we can all help, can't we?" " Just tell us what to do." "Well, you can get me a hot water bottle and some flannel wrapping." "Sure, I'll get it." "Their gonna need the heat they get from their mother's body." "Olivia, thank you." " Thank me if it works." " Here's the eye dropper." "Just lukewarm." "Here, you hold this." "See, they're born with a sucking instinct." "If I put it in its mouth, it would choke." "But when I put it on its upper lip, it knows to suck it in." "Come on." "There." "Okay." "Now I start with the first one again." "Newborn kittens nurse almost constantly for the first 24 hours, so it means getting milk into them over and over again." "Honey, where would you learn cat doctoring?" "Oh, I've raised a lot of cats." "Are they going to live?" "I'm pretty sure they will, Elizabeth, if they get the care they need these first hours." "All right, everybody, let's go to bed." "If you're gonna help feed these kittens, you gotta get some sleep." "Yeah, let's go upstairs and make a schedule." "Okay." "Poor Calico." "Is it the way you hurt?" "Yes." "Does it stop hurting sometime?" "Yes, Elizabeth, it will." "Oh, Zeb, you're gonna give yourself a hernia." "They're too heavy." "Oh, when will you stop treating me like an old man?" "Cousin Olivia!" "What's this?" "Is this for me?" "She's the only girl in the bunch." "I figure you could call her Calico II." "Oh, thank you, Elizabeth." "Thank you." "Thank you." "I'll write to you and I'll tell you how Calico II is getting along." "Olivia." "Come on, we're gonna miss that bus if we don't leave right now." "We're late." "Come on, we've gotta go." "Bye-bye." "Goodbye." " Goodbye." " Come on, children, we gotta go." " She's gonna be late." " Bye-bye, Olivia." "Let's go." "Let her go." "Don't forget to write." "Our family learned a lot that fall." "About life, about loss, but mostly about loving, thanks to Olivia, and to Calico." " Daddy?" " Yes, Elizabeth?" "When I get married, do I have to leave here?" " You'll probably want to, honey." " No, I won't." "I'd be too lonely." "Can't I stay here?" "If you still want to when you're married, maybe we can work something out." "Good night, Mama." "Good night, Daddy." " Good night, Elizabeth." " Good night, Elizabeth." "English"