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Humiliated, Leah gave no reply. Instead, she handed her mother the
twenty-dollar bill that was now crumpled and warm after spending just a
few minutes in Leah's nervous palm. Grandma looked at her but didn't
say a word. Leah, ashamed, turned away from them both.
There was an awkward silence among the three generations for
the next half hour. They went on to visit a few more stores, but Mrs.
Nells and Grandma were no longer in a very good mood, their spirits
depressed by Leah's failure to buy the book. Leah was still her quiet self
but now that the opportunity to buy a book the only reason Leah had
for joining her mother and grandmother on this day of shopping had
come and gone, she seemed even more quiet and distant. Before, she had
at least sometimes pretended to feign an interest in the stores they were
visiting and the items they were browsing, but now Leah didn't care; all
she wanted to do now was go home. She also stood apart from her
mother when before she had stayed by her side. Or, if the store they were
in wasn't very large, Leah would simply stand near the exit and wait for
her mother and grandmother to finish browsing.
At 3:30, Mrs. Nells and Leah were leaving a store when they
noticed Grandma was no longer with them. Mrs. Nells stopped and
looked around at the mass of people but could not find her mother
anywhere. "Did you see which way your grandmother went?" she asked
Leah.
Leah, who wasn't paying attention to anything, didn't know when
Grandma had disappeared or where she went. She shook her head and
tried to help her mother search, but she couldn't see very far through the
crowd.
"Oh well," Mrs. Nells said. "Maybe she went back to look at
something. She'll catch up with us in a minute." They started for the next
206 | Leah
store.
The next store sold handbags and accessories. Leah, who was
now looking around for any sign of Grandma noticed another familiar
face leaving the very store they were entering. When Leah saw the girl's
face, she recognized it immediately, but because she didn't expect to see
it here, in the mall, she couldn't immediately place a name to the face.
The girl was walking with another girl who Leah didn't recognize. As
they all passed each other, the first girl smiled and said, "Hi, Leah!" As
soon as the girl spoke, Leah at last remembered that this was Melanie,
from history class.
Had she seen Melanie a moment earlier, it might have been an
easy thing to duck into the crowd and hide where Melanie couldn't see
her, but now it was too late. Leah, feeling embarrassed and surprised,
didn't know what to say, so all she did was smile and offer a timid wave
of her hand. Luckily, Melanie and her friend didn't want to stop and chat,
and they walked past her and disappeared into the crowd. Leah decided
she should try to be more alert for any other classmates who might be
here at the mall. Surely Melanie wasn't the only one.
Mrs. Nells, of course, had witnessed the quick exchange between
the two girls. She was almost as surprised by the encounter as Leah was,
and for the moment, it made her forget Leah's failure at the bookstore a
little while ago. She asked her daughter, "Who was that?"
"Melanie, a girl from school," Leah replied in a hushed voice as if
Melanie were still near enough to hear them talk about her. Leah didn't
want to say anything more than that, but she knew her mother wouldn't
be satisfied with just a name. Of course, she would also want to know . . .
"Is she a friend of yours?"
Leah frowned, annoyed. She resented her mother for even asking
the question. If her mother had any idea what Leah had gone through
these last few weeks, then she would know better than to ask such a
thing. But Mrs. Nells didn't know what had happened, and Leah, still
upset about her humiliation at the bookstore, wasn't about to start
sharing now. Leah decided to just offer her mother the facts, and leave it
at that. "No, she's only a classmate," Leah replied. No, Melanie wasn't a
J.M. Reep | 207
friend, and neither was Heather, nor Alex, nor even David. Disappointed
in her daughter for the second time that day, Mrs. Nells didn't ask her
any further questions.
A few minutes later, as Mrs. Nells and Leah were browsing
through a rack of purses, Grandma reappeared. She carried a small paper
bag with her, indicating that after almost five hours of shopping she had
finally bought something. When Mrs. Nells saw her, she exclaimed, "Oh,
there you are, Mother! I thought we'd lost you! What did you buy?"
She handed the bag to Leah and with a wide grin said, "Here,
take a look!"
Leah took the bag cautiously, wondering what could possibly be
inside. She opened it, looked, and recognized the item immediately. With
a smile as large as her grandmother's, Leah pulled a book out of the bag.
It was The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century. Leah was
delighted; Mrs. Nells was furious.
"Mother . . ." Mrs. Nells growled, but she didn't say anything
more. For now, it was enough to just give her mother a very angry look.
Grandma noticed Mrs. Nells' disapproval, but she didn't let it
bother her. She said to Leah, "Consider it a Thanksgiving Day present."
Still glaring at Grandma, Mrs. Nells said in a low voice, "What do
you say, Leah?"
For once, Leah knew exactly what to say, and she said it
cheerfully: "Thank you, Grandma!" Her day was salvaged and she felt as
if she had the strength to carry on for the rest of the afternoon or
however much longer they would stay in the mall. All of the frustration
and humiliation and disappointment that she had felt was now swept
aside and forgotten.
Leah put the book back into the bag and held it close to her as
the three of them continued shopping. Leah also began to orbit her
grandmother just as she had stayed close to Mrs. Nells earlier in the day.
Leah looked at what Grandma looked at, went where Grandma went,
and the two of them were inseparable. They didn't have to say anything
to each other; an unspoken bond had formed. Meanwhile, Leah's mother
was the one who was isolated and left out. For the rest of the afternoon,
208 | Leah
Mrs. Nells kept her distance from both her mother and her daughter. She
did talk to Grandma sometimes, but only sparingly, and only to say
things like, "Are you ready to go on to the next store, Mother?"
It was just after five o'clock in the afternoon when the family
exited the mall and started their long journey across the parking lot that
was only now beginning to empty. Leah felt completely exhausted and
spent her last reserves of strength walking to the car. Once there, she sat
down in the back seat and let out a sigh. She had been walking and
standing for almost six straight hours. Her aching legs and feet weren't
accustomed to so much exercise in one day. She still held her book close
to her and was thankful that the day hadn't been a complete waste like
she had feared it might be. Mrs. Nells and Grandma also looked tired,
but that wasn't why the two women were silent during the trip home.
Leah tried to pretend not to notice the hostility that had sprung up
between the two women. She didn't want them to be angry, and it made
her feel guilty to think that she was the cause of their anger. Leah stared
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