Summary

The story begins in August 1942 in the apartment above Kurnitz’s Kandy Store where Bella and Grandma live. Jay and Arty Kurnitz are in the living room while their father is in their Grandma’s bedroom. Jay is almost sixteen years old, and Arty is thirteen. The two are dressed up in their best clothes. They are discussing how much they dislike Grandma. According to their mother, who died recently, the Kurnitz children all have issues which developed after two of Grandma’s children, Rose and Aaron, died a few years before. The issues stem from their mother’s treatment of her surviving children after the two deaths. The boys discuss how Grandma apparently beat Bella with her cane, which is why she is so flighty and childish. As a result, Bella’s mental capacity was greatly diminished.

They see their Aunt Bella coming down...