Chapter 8 · Lily's Crossing

Copywork

Gram touched her sleeve, making tiny pleats in the cotton with her fingers.

He raised his head, and immediately she looked past him, toward the lemon cake on the counter, and beyond to the window. Outside, pairs of socks were hanging on the porch railing. The water was flat and slick with the sun slanting over it.

Nobody talks in these sentences, but Gram’s fingers and Lily’s eyes both say something. What does each one say?

For the educator Two passages, four sentences, in story order. The first comes on the couch, just after Lily tells Gram “No, you don’t.” It is one sentence: a main clause, “Gram touched her sleeve,” then a comma and a phrase that starts with an -ing word and tells how she touched it: “making tiny pleats in the cotton with her fingers.” The second comes at the Orbans’ table, just after Albert has been eating fast and raises his head. Its first sentence follows Lily’s eyes in three steps, each set off by a comma: “past him, toward the lemon cake on the counter, and beyond to the window.” The next two sentences say what she sees out there instead of Albert, in short, plain words: socks on the railing, and water “flat and slick with the sun slanting over it.” Side by side, the passages hold a touch Lily lets stay and a look she keeps away.

Discussion

Narration Tell back the chapter in order. Start with Gram and Lily on the couch, listening to the radio, and stop when it is time to go home.

On the radio, Walter is a prisoner of war with a plan to “row out to freedom.” Why does Giff open this chapter with his story? Author's choice
Lily doesn’t believe Gram’s “I know.” So why does she look up when Gram tells her what Poppy said? Character
Mrs. Orban says, “You’ll have someone to fish with all summer, Lily.” How might those words sound to Lily? Inference
When Albert catches Lily watching him, he laughs and brings his hand up to his mouth. Is he laughing at her, or sharing a joke with her? Inference

Make a Connection Think of a story, or a time in your own life, when someone heard sad news about another person and did not know what to say. What did they do instead?

Vocabulary

pleats: Gram touched her sleeve, making tiny pleats in the cotton with her fingers. Small folds pressed into cloth, like the tiny ones Gram makes in Lily’s sleeve with her fingers.
slick: The water was flat and slick with the sun slanting over it. Smooth and shiny, like the calm water Lily looks at instead of Albert.
ridge: Gram’s wedding ring was a sliver of silver that had made a deep ridge in her finger. A long, narrow raised line, like the bump of skin pushed up around Gram’s wedding ring.
dreaded: She dreaded having to meet Albert, actually meet him at last. Felt worried and unhappy about something before it happened, as Lily feels on the walk to dinner.
glancing: He spoke to Gram, though, not even glancing at Lily. Taking a very quick look, the kind Albert does not give Lily when he answers Gram.

Critical thinking

Lily thinks Albert “must have been starving too.” How much alike are the two of them tonight?
Albert eats three pieces of lemon cake. He doesn't look at Lily again. After she hears about Ruth, why does Lily keep pretending she doesn't notice Albert?