The Summer Book

While sitting in a pasture full of wildflowers, Sophia asks about Heaven and God. Grandmother suggests Heaven might look like the pasture and says God has help keeping track of people and that nothing bad can happen between the time one prays and the time God hears their prayer. Grandmother asks if angels wear dresses to hide their sex, but Sophia thinks the question is “dumb” because someone could check by looking up their dresses.

Then, Sophia asks if angels can visit Hell, and Grandmother says yes because they might have friends there. Upset, Sophia cries out that Grandmother had said there was no Hell, and Grandmother says they are playing a game and Hell is not real. They bicker about the existence of Hell, and Grandmother stands too quickly and has a bout of dizziness. Steadying herself, she explains life is hard enough without the threat of Hell, but Sophia disagrees, saying life is easy and the Devil lives in Hell. Not wanting to be mean, Grandmother does not respond and turns to leave, but steps in a cow pie, which she then struggles to scrape off her shoe with her walking stick.

In an attempt to drop the subject, Grandmother tells Sophia she can have an orange from the store, but Sophia is still preoccupied with the conversation.