HILLVILLE, 1991 "I tell you what, Grandma," muttered Kelly, using her teeth to pull a cigarette out of the pack. "It bites that Didi wouldn't invite you to her shower. If you ask me, she's the one bein' a baby." "It's all right, dear," replied Miss Strong with a sigh. Turning her back on Kelly, she squinted at the setting sun. "It takes some people quite a while to let go of the past. But life is long, and I am patient. Perhaps in the next fifteen years or so, her sense of mortality will remind her that the love of her family is more important than an old grudge." She flicked open the lighter and contemplated the dancing flame. Kelly checked her outfit, which seemed to lack pockets. "Hey," she frowned, "Where the deuce did my lighter go?" "If that doesn't work," continued Miss Strong with a slight grin, "I could always find an exchange student to entice her child with." "Aha!" bellowed Venya, leaping from her hiding place. "So you admit it!" "I admit nothing," replied Miss Strong flatly. "Yo," beckoned Kelly, "Spark me up, will ya?" "I would," Venya shrugged, "but I can't seem to find my lighter."