"Where's Grandma?" "I should think it'd be fairly obvious that she's still in the hospital." "What happened?" "Well, they told him they didn't want him hollering around the hospital anymore." "Not to come back." "Don't do this to me." "It's not fair." "You call it fair, keeping me and your grandma apart?" "Not so loud." "Well, you haven't heard anything yet, Granddaughter." "If you don't let me go see your grandma," "I'm gonna make an explosion that can be heard till Washington, DC." "It has always seemed to me that 1938 was the springtime of my life." "I was engrossed in completing my novel, and as the words poured out," "I felt as if the whole world was unfolding." "It was a time of rising hope, not only for me, but for my grandfather." "Now, you young ladies have got to help me get this place spotless." "Your grandma can spot a speck of dust quicker than a bird dog can spot a covey of quail." "While she's here, can't she?" "Grandma's going to like sleeping on sun-dried sheets again." "At the hospital, they dry them in some kind of a machine." "That's the best remedy your grandma could possibly have." "Be right back here in her own bed." "With her very own special window." "Well, it's all ready and waiting for her." "Grandpa?" "I'll pick some flowers and put 'em by Grandma's bed." "Oh, that's a great idea." "You do that." "I found some violets by the old pump." "Violets." "That's her very favorite flower." "And besides, it'll match that bed jacket that I ordered from the wish catalogue." "Okay." "Now, don't you mess up this room." "You know better than that, honey." "This room is gonna stay exactly like it is until I bring her home across the threshold." "Home." "Esther..." "Esther..." "When I get you back," "I'm never gonna let you go again." "Sounds like you're going to need a valve job, Daddy." "You think it'll get us to Charlottesville and back?" "I mean, like in the next six months or so." "I could do it for you." "With these hospital bills we got, you might have to." "Well, according to Grandpa, it's all gonna come to an end today." "Is Grandma really coming home?" "That's up to the doctors." "She might be there longer than he thinks." "Elizabeth, you tell your mother" "I'm bringing Grandma home in time for supper." "But she'll probably want it in a tray in her room." "Okay, I'll put a doily on the tray." "Now, you boys get busy cleaning up this here yard." "Looks like a cyclone had struck it." "You don't wanna have it like this just because your grandma isn't here to boss you." " Let's get going, Son." " Okay, Grandpa." " Hi, Elizabeth." " Oh, hi, Aimee." "What are you doing?" "What does it look like?" "I'm cleaning up the chicken coop." "Wanna come in?" "I'll teach you how." "I can't get my clothes dirty." "Why don't you go home and change then?" "I already did." "Don't you do any chores?" "Not chicken coops." "Only feminine and domestic endeavors." "That's what Mama calls them." "That does sound like Corabeth." "Well, I already polished the mirrors and folded the linen." "I was wondering if you wanted to play paper dolls." "Well, maybe tomorrow." "Sure you don't want to come in and gather some eggs?" "I better not." "Thanks anyway." "Mama, I turned on the light next to Grandma's bed." "I hope you're not going to be too disappointed if Grandpa can't bring her home." "Oh, he'll bring her home." "He promised." "Mama, look." "Jim-Bob put the knives where the forks ought to be." "Good help is hard to find these days." "Mama, do you know that Aimee isn't allowed to help with any outside chores?" "Corabeth says it isn't ladylike." "That's up to Corabeth." "Yeah, but she can't even play kick-the-can at recess." "She's always worried about scuffing her shoes." "I wish you'd worry about it a little bit more." "The kids are calling her Princess Margaret Rose." " Oh, I think Grandma'll like that." " Yeah, it's gonna be great." "It was Erin's idea, too." "She made it." "It's Grandma's favorite." "Thought I'd better practice a little before she gets here." "Guess Grandpa's got everyone convinced he's bringing her home." "It's the best place for her." " They're here." " Yeah." "Jim-Bob..." "Ben, get rid of that ladder." "Wait till Grandma sees that!" "Where's Grandma?" "I should think it'd be fairly obvious that she's still in the hospital." "Take it easy, Pa." "Anyone who wants to say, "I told you so,"" "can do it now and get it over with." "Grandpa, you can't blame yourself for getting your hopes up." "I told Esther I'd get her out of that white-wall prison today, but a couple of stiff-necked doctors insist on keeping her there against her will." "Never before have I failed Esther when I made her a promise." "Now, we'll just see if they can keep us apart or not." "We'll just see." "What happened?" "Just like we figured." "The only one who thought Ma was coming home was Pa." "I have to admit, he almost had me convinced." "It wasn't bad enough he couldn't bring her home." "He decided to move her bed over by the window so she could look out." "With Grandma in it?" "Right under the nose of the head doctor." "Mary Ellen and me tried to calm him down." "And Curt and another intern had to come in and drag him off down the hallway." "He was hollering all the way." "Poor Grandpa." "It must have been hard on Grandma." "Well, they told him they didn't want him hollering around the hospital anymore." "Not to come back." "Ever." ""Lord hear thee in the day of trouble."" "Morning, Son." "Wondering where you were." "Breakfast is ready." "Well, I can't sit around all morning waiting for the ladies to get breakfast." "Not when there's work to be done." "This order of fence posts must go out today." "You're at it kind of early, aren't you, Pa?" "Well, I read somewhere that work preserves us from three great evils." "Boredom, poverty and vice." "And so that's why I intend to keep busy." "Work is also something you do when you can't sleep." "Liv tells me your bed wasn't slept in last night." "That bed is waiting there for when Grandma comes home." "Besides, the rocker was good enough for all the sleep I got." "Pa, you can't get any sleep in that rocker." "Not if you want to go on working the way you do." "You underestimate me, Son." "I can do just as much work as you can, and then some." "I believe you can." "The hotcakes are ready." "Do you want them or don't you?" "Well, I'll be with you there in a jiffy." "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey." " Grandpa?" " Hello there, grand girl." " What are you up to?" " Well, I'm transplanting some azaleas." "Just thinning them out for your grandma." "She prefers azaleas to all other flowers." "The pink ones." "Curt and I feel real bad about what happened yesterday." "When Curt told you Grandma was doing fine, he didn't mean she was ready to come home." "I must have made a mistake." "I shouldn't have took him at his word." "Well, Grandma needs the kind of rest and quiet she can only get at the hospital." "That's why everybody was so upset with you." "All that fuss." "Well, don't worry about it." "They're just doing their jobs." "Well, I'm glad you're not mad at me." "Mad at you?" "How could I be mad at you, Mary Ellen?" "You putting in all those long hours, just to be with your grandma." "Well, I want to be with her." "I'm glad there's one honest-to-goodness Walton at least that's there to take care of her." "Are you going back to the hospital today?" "Yeah, I'm taking the late afternoon shift." "Well, it's a real comfort to know that you're gonna be there with her." "You ask her where she's hid my wool socks and give her my love, will you?" "I sure will, Grandpa." "See you later." "Yes, you certainly will." "Elizabeth, you're getting so tall, we had to skip two sizes this year." "It seems to me that Elizabeth is old enough to be wearing dresses instead of coveralls, Olivia." "Maybe so, but when you're milking Myrtle or feeding the chickens, coveralls are better." "We'll take them." "Well, the book I have on raising young ladies very firmly suggests that little girls should wear dresses at all times." "Can I go see Aimee now?" "Better ask Corabeth." "Well, Aimee is having her music appreciation hour now, Elizabeth, but I'm sure she would be glad to have you join her." "Okie-dokie." "I'll see you at home, Mama." "Such a charming child." "It always surprises me to hear those slang expressions come out of that sweet little mouth." "Most children talk that way these days." "Oh, all the more reason why a child's leisure hours should be supervised." "My book says that little ladies should spend their time doing such things as fine stitchery and elocution." "I don't think your book was written for the Waltons." "Oh, no criticism intended." "It's just that when you adopt a child, you can't afford to make mistakes." "Corabeth, if you have a book that tells you how to raise children without making mistakes, it's something every mother should know about." "Oh, I'd be happy to loan it to you." "Thank you." "You hang onto it." "But just remember, you're Aimee's mother, not the book." "That was Frédéric François Chopin." "Mama has purchased albums of the world's finest music, and I listen to a different selection each day as I embroider." "Do you have any by Benny Goodman?" "Jason says he can really swing." "Well, I don't think Mama approves of Mr. Goodman." "Oh." "What does she approve of?" "The finer things in life." "She's trying to teach me what they are." "Is playing down by the creek a finer thing in life?" "Probably not." "Oh, that's too bad." "I was hoping maybe we could pick wildflowers tomorrow." "And maybe press them in a book?" "Mama has a scrapbook of wildflowers she collected when she was young." "I think she'd approve of that." "That's good." "You come over to my house after school." "Well, I'm going to turn Mr. Chopin over." "Would you like to listen with me?" "No, thanks." "I've got to help Jim-Bob fix his car." "Maybe if you get some records by Benny Goodman, then I'll appreciate music with you." "Bye-bye." "Okay." "Pa, you sure you and Ben can handle this by yourselves?" "Never you mind." "I'd go with you, but I have to wait for this lumber man from Roanoke." "First things first." "You seem awful cheerful, Pa." "Any law against that?" "No, I just hope you haven't got anything up your sleeve." "You're not planning to go anywhere but the fence company, are you?" "Are you gonna keep an everlasting eye on me the way you with your boys?" "I just don't want a repeat of what happened at the hospital yesterday." "Seems to me you have enough to do to take care of your own family." "I'm not so far over the hill, but what I can, I take care mine." "You ready to go, Grandpa?" "Come on, Ben." "Hurry up." "Let's get going." "You are slower than molasses these days." "Sorry." "See you later, Daddy." "Hi, Mort." "Hey, Ben, you go ahead and deliver the lumber in there." "I've got other business to attend to." "Now, Grandpa, you're not going to the hospital, are you?" "Never you mind." "You just pick me up there later." "Sir, may I ask where you're going?" "Second floor." "Mother Nature Plant Nursery making a delivery." "Our staff is responsible for taking flowers to the patients." "Just leave them with me." "An orderly will be by soon." "I'm sorry, madam, but the outfit I work for insists on making personal delivery." "My instructions are to take this plant to..." "To Mrs. Walton's of the second floor." "Just put it down." "We haven't lost a potted plant yet." "Oh, I'll just save your staff the trouble." "I am sorry, sir." "A rule's a rule." "Now if you persist in trying to break this one," "I shall have to call the hospital administrator." "Well, I wouldn't want you to go to all that bother, but if must call somebody, why don't you call a nurse on the second floor in Mrs. Walton's room so that this lovely plant can be delivered personally?" "Very well, sir." "Just wait over there." "This plant'll just die out here in this drafty hall." "Grandpa, you're not supposed to be here." "I have been trying to convince that Salem witch to let me take this plant up to your grandma." " Oh, I'll take it." " No, no, no, no." "That's a little too heavy for you." "You just go ahead." "Lead the way." "Grandpa." "Don't do this to me." "It's not fair." "You call it fair, keeping me and your grandma apart?" "Not so loud." "Well, you haven't heard anything yet, Granddaughter." "If you don't let me go see your grandma," "I'm gonna make an explosion that can be heard till Washington, DC." "All right, all right." "But promise me you won't stay long." "All I want is just to look at her." "Okay, stay behind me, and I'll try and smuggle you up." "Oh, Mary Ellen, I'll never forget you for this." "Hold it." "Hold it, Mary Ellen." "You can come out from behind that foliage, Zeb." "I'd know you anywhere." "Come on, both of you." "Out." "He promised to behave himself, Curt." "I don't care what he promised." "He's not allowed in here." "Esther and I've been together for over 50 years through good times and bad times." "And you're trying to keep us apart just when we need one another most." "I don't have any choice." "Grandma's got to have quiet if she's going to get well." "Oh, yeah, whatever happened to families that took care of one another?" "Time was, you was born at home, got sick at home, and was taken care of at home by people that loved one another." "They died at home, too." "Because they didn't have doctors on duty 24 hours a day and nurses and modern medical equipment." "Zeb, you got to give up Esther long enough to let us make her well." "Oh, all right." "If you and this hospital are gonna take over for me, you better do a first-class job." "First class." "Grandpa." "Figured I'd find you here." "I got your fishing pole." "I just come down here for some peace and quiet." "All I can think about is Esther." "You know, it never occurred to me before." "All the living creatures in this world seem to come in pairs." "It's not easy, is it, Pa?" "Yeah." "Man has got to be needed the way I needed Esther." "The way Esther needed me." "That's what kept us going all these long years." "We'd wake up in the morning with our knees all out of joint." "And I'd yell down to you to turn the radio up louder." "We'd be yelling at one another." "All that time," "Esther just seemed to be a young girl to me." "Every time she looked at me it always made me feel somewhat younger." "She still needs you, Pa." "She'd have something to say about the way you're carrying on." "Same thing happened to my pa." "And I didn't understand him any more than you understand me." "Did you hear that?" "Is that Erin coming back from the telephone office?" "No." "Her step is lighter." "Maybe it's John-Boy finishing the work on his novel for the night." "No, he usually comes straight up the stairs." "You know what everybody sounds like, don't you?" "I ought to, by now." "Must be Grandpa." "He sure has been acting like a caged animal lately." "Think you ought to go to him?" "I tried talking to him." "He's gonna have to work this out for himself." "Would you miss me that much?" "I miss you that much now." "How long you gonna read that book?" "Now who's that?" "Jason home from the Dew Drop." " Hi, Grandpa." " Oh, hi, Jason." "What're you doing out here?" "Well, I can't seem to sleep in the bedroom with Esther gone, so I come out here." "It's kind of nice to find somebody awake when I get home." "Yes, it is." "Many folks down at the Dew Drop this evening?" "Oh, just the regular crowd." "I guess they've got no place else to go and nothing to keep them at home." "You know, I seem to be able to understand that a little better than I used to." "Night owls." "Music seems to bring them together." "Helps them forget their troubles." "That's one good thing about what I'm doing." " Got any requests?" " Oh, no." "You must be tired." "It's a little late, you know." " I'm as wide awake as you are, Grandpa." " Yeah." "Well, then how about..." "You know Lorena?" "Esther used to love that song." "Famous War Between the States." "You'll have to help me with the words." "Lorena." "I remember." "Yes, that's a sweet song." "Is he going to sit there all day?" "Daddy says he's gonna take some time off." " He's earned it, but he sure looks unhappy." " Well, he misses Grandma." "It gives me a weird feeling to see him like that." "And first position and second position and third position." "Fourth position and fifth position." "Very good, Aimee." "Now, turn and watch me and flow, Aimee, flow and point your toe and first position and second position and third..." "Oh, Elizabeth, Aimee is very busy." "She will not be allowed to play today." "Oh, well, we weren't thinking of playing." "We were going to pick wild flowers and press them in a book." "Oh, well, that sounds like a worthwhile pastime, but Aimee is busy practicing her ballet." "N'est-ce pas, Aimee?" "She asked if she would be allowed to go later." "But first she must finish her practicing." "Would you care to join us, Elizabeth?" "Come on, Elizabeth." "Stand right here." "Girls, and first position and second position and third position and fourth position and fifth position." "And turn and again and watch me." "And think tall, girls, think tall." "And first position and second position." "And third position." "And no giggling, Elizabeth." "And fourth position and..." "Thanks for the ride, John-Boy." "We're gonna be down by the creek." "Well, don't fall in, all right?" "No signpost points the way." "One must tread the troubled hours and bravely cross each day..." "You listening to the Poetry Pantry?" "Oh, yes, John-Boy." "Esther and I like to listen to the poets." "You can turn it off though, now." "Upon the final page." "Grandpa, I'm worried about you." "I am sick at heart." "I understand that." "But lying around and doing nothing isn't gonna cure that kind of disease." "Since when did you get to be such an expert on matters of the heart?" "Well, I'm just saying what you'd be saying if it was me." "Been sitting around here all day watching everybody coming and going, off to school, off to work, going about their business of everyday living as though nothing had happened." "As if Esther wasn't even missed, except for her chores." "Wait a minute, Grandpa." "We miss her every minute of the day." "But we gotta keep on going." "I mean, there are things we have to do, everyday things that have to be done." "I declare." "Bad enough Grandma being in the hospital without you acting like you're giving up." "Oh, everybody'd get along very well without me, too." "Grandpa." "Nobody in this household can get along without you." "You ought to know that." "There's something else you ought to know, too." "You are Grandma's husband, and the way you take all of this can make it much easier or much tougher on the rest of us." "Grandpa, you're the head of the family." "You're our patriarch." "We're all looking for your support in this." "Besides, if Grandma saw you like you are now, she'd probably slap the fire out of you." "Look!" "I found a magic circle." "Now you can make a wish." "Okay." "What did you wish?" "I wished I could do this everyday." "It's much more fun than French lessons and ballet." "Yeah." "It's a lot more fun than cleaning out a chicken coop, too." "Why does Corabeth make you do those things?" "I guess she wants me to be refined." " Is Corabeth refined?" " I guess so." "You know, all the kids are noticing you're getting to be more and more like Corabeth." "Is that bad?" "Well, it's all right for Corabeth." "You know, her life's practically over." "But you're just a little girl." "We got enough flowers." "I'll beat you home." "Oh, no, you won't!" "Will, too!" "I won!" "Won what?" "What?" "We went out picking daisies." " What have we got here?" " All the wild flowers." "We were hoping you'd name them." "I suppose I know the names of most of the wild plants and flowers around this part of the country." "Their given names, anyway." "Here's the violets like you gave your grandma." "That there is an iris, a wild flag, they call 'em." "There seem to be some sweet rockets here." "And wild asters and daisies and such." "How about mine, Mr. Walton, sir?" "Well, you bring them a little closer here, and I'll have a good look at them." "They seem to be about the same, I think." "Oh, oh, oh, look here." "Along with the flags is the Virginia lungwort." "Mertensia virginica." "Grows in swampy places." "The Virginia bluebell." "Here, you hold it up to your ear now, and you can hear it ringing." "I don't hear anything." "Well, that means you're going to get a letter." "Aimee." "Aimee." "Well, this is a..." "Aimee!" "Aimee Godsey!" "What on earth has happened to you?" "Why just look at you, girl." "Your dress is dirty and torn, and your hair is all tangled." "And your new Mary Janes are covered in mud!" "I'm sorry, Mama." "As well you might be." "Is this any way for a proper young lady to look, Aimee?" "Haven't you learned anything?" "Now, Corabeth." "Come with me this moment, Aimee Godsey." "Corabeth, you just simmer down." "Now, these girls have been out trotting around the woods, collecting the bounties of nature, and it's only natural they get their feet a little dirty." "Aimee has been doing very nicely in her cultural pursuits, and I will not have her abandon them for less admirable activities." "Oh, Corabeth, you treat this sweet young girl like she's a grown-up woman already." "With all due respect to you, Zeb," "I will thank you to mind your own business." " Come, Aimee, let's go home." " I don't wanna go." "Now see?" "See what ideas you have put into her head?" "Aimee, vite!" "I do not think it would be wise at this juncture for Elizabeth and Aimee to play together anymore." "Good day, Zeb." "Juncture." "I just lost my best friend." "Oh, yeah." "Corabeth, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about." "I'm listening." "Well, it's about Aimee." "I haven't mentioned anything to her, but I think that a child should feel that her parents agree about things." "Well, about what, specifically, do we disagree?" "Well, Corabeth, I don't know how to say this to you, but I think you've been teaching Aimee to be a just a little too hoity-toity for Walton's Mountain." "Hoity-toity?" "Well, you've been so strong on that book." "The author of that publication happens to be one of the outstanding authorities on cultural pursuits and manners for young ladies." "Sweetie pie, that book was written 30 years ago." "True values are timeless." "I gonna spend the night on the sofa in the beauty parlor." "If that's what she's gonna do," "I'm gonna spend the night on the pool table." "Ike, it's Aimee." " She's not in her room." " What?" "She's gone." "Aimee Godsey!" "What on earth are you doing out this time of the night?" "I ran away, Mr. Walton." "Well, do tell." "Well, come on in." "Come in." "Set that down." "Well, it just so happens that we run a very nice hotel for runaways." "And I've been kind of lonesome this evening..." "This evening?" "Oh, dear me, it's almost morning." "Just leave that right here." "Come on over here." "Sure look silly, hey?" "Sit right down here now, Aimee Godsey, and you tell me all about this." "Why on earth did you run away?" "Well, it's no fun living at my house." "I mean, it just isn't fun." "I was wondering if I could stay with your family." "Well, that's pretty flattering." "But I hear tell that you do have a lot more pretty things at your house to play with than most other little girls." "Well, I get tired of listening to records all the time." "I'd really rather play hopscotch." "Well, that don't seem to me to be a good enough reason to run away." "Nobody wants to play with me, except Elizabeth, and now Mama's taken her away as a friend." "Oh, yes, that was terrible." "But I still don't think it's good enough reason for breaking Corabeth's heart." "It won't break her heart." "I don't think she likes me that much." "Why, Aimee Godsey, I am astonished at you!" "Ike and Corabeth love you very dearly." "Well, then why are they always trying to change me?" ""Aimee, don't muss your hair." "Aimee, stand up straight." ""Aimee, it's time for your piano lesson."" "Well, I suppose that's because you was living at the orphanage for such a long time that you don't realize that all parents talk that way. "No, no, no."" " They do?" " Oh, yes, they do." "Only, Corabeth is so new at it, she tries a little harder than most." "I wish I had a grandpa." "You do?" "Well, I suppose that could be arranged." "You could adopt one the same way you was adopted." "Would you be my grandpa, Mr. Walton?" "Well, now I consider that a real honor." "You know, grandpas do come in handy now and then." "When the young ones around here get out of sorts, don't see eye to eye with Livie and John, they come to me for some good advice." "Well, not necessarily good, but for advice." "And my advice to you would be for us to go back to Corabeth's and explain to her exactly how it is that you feel." "Do you think you can, Grandpa?" "Of course!" "That's what grandpas are for." "Oh, you sweet, young thing you." "Kidnapped." "That's what I thought when I came in here a few minutes ago and little Aimee wasn't in her bed." "Kidnapped." "I just knew it." "Corabeth, it's okay." "Now Aimee's back, and she's just fine." "Oh, but I don't understand." "Why would she want to run away?" "Now, Corabeth, you know, yesterday on the front porch I did talk to you a little out of line, but since then something has happened." "Now I have sort of a legal right." "Miss Aimee here has sort of made me her honorary grandpa." "Kind of adopted me, so that gives me a right now to speak out a little." "I don't think she could find a finer grandpa in all of Jefferson County." "Well, some folks around here might question that, but not me." "Corabeth, all of us around here really appreciate what you're trying to do, raising this little lady." "But there's one thing that you're neglecting somewhat, that is you aren't showing her how to be a young'un." "You know, all those French lessons and ballet and everything are fine for showing her what it's like to be when she's a grown-up lady, but sort of neglecting what she is now, a child." "But my book says..." "Oh, forget about that book, Corabeth." "Only thing a mother needs to know comes straight from out of her heart." "Just trust yourself." "Aimee, dear, what is it you want?" "I wanna be like all the other kids." "I want coveralls and climb trees, sometimes just do nothing." "Nothing?" "Nothing." "Like we all did when we were young, Corabeth." "Remember going out on a summer evening, lying on the grass, just looking up at the stars and you wonder?" "Going down, sitting along the banks of a creek, listening to the birds sing or the waters gurgle." "Or go running up on the top of the highest mountain, look out across the valley, just wished someone you loved was alongside of you to share it." "Then it comes across to you, the feeling," ""Oh, how good it is just to be alive!"" "That's doing nothing, Corabeth." "But in the long run, it is something." "Well..." "Maybe we could go on a picnic one of these days." "Just the three of us." "And I have that nice wicker hamper, and I'll make some sandwiches," "and we'll go looking for birds." "Would you like that?" "Yes, Mama." "I would like that very much." "Are you gonna sit there all day, John-Boy?" "Time's a-wasting." "The thing I like to do is go wild flower hunting." "Over there I think is another big patch of wild irises." "Right over there." "Pa just about wore me out today." "Just hope he doesn't overdo." "We don't want him ending up in the hospital, too." "You don't have to worry about that." "At least he'll get some sleep tonight." "Elizabeth, you asleep yet?" "No, Jim-Bob, are you?" "What do you think?" "I just wanted to say good night, that's all." "Good night, Jim-Bob." "Good night, Ben." "Good night, Elizabeth." "Good night, Mama, good night, Daddy." "Good night, everybody." "Let's get some sleep." "Mama, can I take ballet lessons like Aimee?" "We'll talk about it in the morning, Elizabeth." "Good night, Grandpa!" "Good, he's asleep." "Isn't that my truck starting up?" "Who'd be using it at this hour?" "I don't know." "I can't imagine anybody would bother to steal that thing." "Who took the truck?" "Grandpa?" "He's gone." " We'd better get to the hospital." " Okay, I'll drive." "John-Boy, if the time ever comes when you have to come chasing after me" " in the middle of the night..." " Yeah, what?" "Will you do it?" "Yeah, I'd be glad to." "Everything all right, Pa?" "Don't worry, Son, not planning to cause a commotion." "We thought maybe you'd run away like Aimee." "No." "It just suddenly occurred to me tonight, when the family was saying their goodnights, why I haven't been able to sleep lately." "I haven't said good night to Esther for a long time." "So I arranged with Mary Ellen to be as close to her as I possibly could." "The signal came from that window." "That's Esther's room up there." "Well, she knows you're here." "Maybe we better leave you two alone." "Oh, that would be nice." "Good night, Grandpa." "Good night, Pop." "Good night, Esther dear." "Good night." "Grandpa's quiet vigil so moved the hospital staff that he was eventually allowed to sit with her again in her room." "But until that time, he came every evening to the bench where he could see her lighted window." "English"