Chapter Sixty-Eight
A creaking floorboard awoke him from his nap. He knew precisely which board it was and could tell who was walking in the house. He didn't want to get up; his inner ear hurt again. It had been raining this morning, and water had got inside. That always happened and that’s why he hated the rain. His head would hurt for a day or two, and there was nothing he could do. He wished that Mom understood what the water did to him.
He’d been extremely young but still vaguely remembered when the ear was damaged. He’d been attacked and shaken by the ear until it had ripped away. The pain had been terrible for a long time after that.
Slowly, he got his aging body off the bed and went looking for Mom. He could tell that she was getting ready to go out and that he should go with her
