Little Talk
- Conor's day gets worse: that afternoon, Grandma wants to have a little talk.
- His mom's really sick, she's going into the hospital for a few days, and Conor's going to come stay with Grandma while she's there.
- She's got medicine for being sick, says Conor. But Grandma interrupts him and says the medicine's not working.
- Oh, and just to make things worse, his dad's on his way from America.
- But why, Conor wants to know? See, according to him, there's no need for his dad to make the trip (because—if you haven't noticed already—Conor's in serious denial about his mom's situation).
- Apparently, his dad hasn't been across the pond since two Christmases ago. He's got a new baby in America, and he's pretty much abandoned Conor altogether.
- His mom calls for him, but when Conor goes to her room, he finds that she's not there. Instead, she's in his room.
- She tells him that they'll make her better at the hospital and asks if he's excited about seeing his dad.
- Ah, but she can't fool Conor. He asks her if there's something else she wants to tell him.
- She tells him the treatment's not working, but that just means they have to try another treatment. She says she'll be back.
- He tells her she could tell him if that weren't true (progress?), but she doesn't.
- Instead, she looks out the window at the yew tree—which is just a tree for the time being—and tells him to keep an eye on it and make sure it's still there when she gets back.