“Morning’, boy!” he said and other than when he had given me my allowance, those were the first words he had spoken to me in ages.

“Grandfather!? What are you wearing?” I asked, forgetting for the moment that I was still very much mad at him for having forbidden me from ever surfing again.

My pants, which I hadn’t yet fastened in place, fell to the floor. I quickly bent down and yanked them back up. Grandfather didn’t seem to react at all, to my bumbling.

Ignoring my comment about his apparel he said, “I came to see if you had seen your grandmother yet this morning. I cannot seem to find her anywhere. What-What!”