Chapter 10 · Lily's Crossing

Copywork

She dug the cat out of the end of his shirt and kneaded the fur, holding her head down, until at last she coughed and sneezed. “She is alive,” Albert said.

When Albert was finished, she opened the door and, knowing he was watching, went to the back to wedge the key behind the rock. She started for home without saying goodbye.

In the second passage, Lily hides the key “knowing he was watching.” What is she telling Albert without saying a word?

For the educator Two passages, four sentences, in story order. The first comes on the dock, just after Lily climbs out of the water. It is one long sentence that follows her hands: two actions joined by “and” (“dug” and “kneaded”), then a phrase set off by commas, “holding her head down,” and then “until at last,” which makes the reader wait for the cough and the sneeze. Watch the pronouns: the sentence opens with “She,” who is Lily, but the last “she,” the one who coughs and sneezes, is the kitten. Then comes one short line of speech, with its comma inside the quotation marks. The second passage comes at the very end, after Albert asks to feed the cat himself. It opens with a “When” clause and a comma, and then “knowing he was watching” sits between two commas inside the main sentence, so the reader holds Albert’s eyes in mind while Lily hides the key. The short sentence after it ends the scene on what Lily does not say. Side by side, the passages hold the closest moment the two of them share and the silence that ends it.

Discussion

Narration Tell back the chapter in order. Start when Albert points down into the water, and stop when Lily starts for home without saying goodbye.

On the dock, Albert’s smile lasts only a moment. What takes it away? Character
When Lily says the people here are gone, Albert answers, “Like Budapest,” and she shakes her head a little. What is she saying no to? Inference
Lily tells the kitten that Albert likes cats, and then she says, “That’s something.” Is that a lot to say about him, or not much? Character
Albert licks the cream off the spoon while Lily gags. Why does he tell her about his sister, Ruth, just then? Inference

Make a Connection Think of a story, or a time in your own life, when someone kept a feeling to themselves. How could you tell what they felt?

Vocabulary

kneaded: She dug the cat out of the end of his shirt and kneaded the fur, holding her head down, until at last she coughed and sneezed. Pressed and rubbed again and again with the hands, the way Lily works the water out of the kitten.
trespass: but I have the key, and it really isn’t trespassing. Go onto someone else's property without the right to, which Lily says she is not doing in the Dillons' house.
peering: He was as careful as she would have been, opening the door less than an inch, peering out, then pushing it all the way. Looking closely and carefully, as Albert checks that no one will see him leave the house.
stifling: It was hot in the bedroom, stifling. So hot and airless that it is hard to breathe, like Eddie's shut-up bedroom.
skimmed: She opened a kitchen drawer, found a spoon, and skimmed off the cream, swallowing hard. Took off a thin layer from the top of a liquid, as Lily lifts the cream off the milk.
rummaged: Then Lily rummaged around for a small round bowl and poured in some of the milk. Searched by digging through things and moving them around, as Lily hunts through the kitchen for a bowl.
wedge: When Albert was finished, she opened the door and, knowing he was watching, went to the back to wedge the key behind the rock. Push something tightly into a narrow space so it stays put, as Lily hides the key.

Critical thinking

Lily wishes Albert had said “We can feed her together” instead. Why doesn’t she say it herself?
Albert asks to feed the cat by himself. Is Lily right that he doesn't want to be friends?