Violet Ink Read Online Free PDF

sorry for myself and thinking about Grandpa and his forgotten voice, that I haven’t noticed Finn and Alex walking towards the kitchen door. They’re standing there, looking as if they’re waiting for me.
    ‘Hurry up, sleepyhead!’ says Alex. ‘We’re ready to start.’
    A warm feeling spreads through me, starting at my toes and moving up to my tummy and then down to the ends of my fingers. It might be freezing outside, but in our house it’s warm and snug. I follow them through to the living room and then we sit, squashed on to the sofa, with the bowl of popcorn resting on Alex’s knees because she’s in the middle.
    ‘Watch her, Izzy,’ warns Finn. ‘She’ll take more than her fair share if we’re not careful!’
    ‘Cheek!’ says Alex, elbowing Finn in the ribs and then grabbing a fistful of popcorn and cramming it into her mouth. ‘Ummm – yum, yum, yum, delicious popcorn and it’s all for me.’
    ‘You are such a kid,’ sighs Finn, sounding like Mum for a moment, which makes Alex screech with laughter.
    ‘And you’re SO mature, naturally?’ she asks him and then turns to me. ‘Don’t let him fool you, Izzy. He’s the most juvenile person I know. Here – watch this!’
    She picks up a piece of popcorn and turns back to Finn.
    ‘Open wide,’ she says and he grins before tipping his head back and opening his mouth. Alex throws the popcorn in the air and Finn leans forward and catches it, right in his mouth.
    ‘One of these days you’re going to choke doing that,’ says Mum, coming into the room and settling into the armchair with a cup of tea. ‘Izzy, ignore everything that these two do – they’re terrible role models and you should probably do the exact opposite of anything you see them getting up to.’
    ‘Charming!’ says Alex. ‘I’ll have you know that I have many admirable qualities.’
    ‘Yes, you do, my darling,’ says Mum. ‘Now, are we watching this film or not?’
    But before we can begin there’s a knock at the door.
    ‘You can start without me,’ says Mum, getting up and going out into the hallway. Alex presses
play and, as the opening credits roll, Mum comes back into the room with Granny and Grandpa.
    ‘Is there room for a little one?’ asks Granny, and Finn leaps up and helps Mum settle Grandpa into the armchair. Granny sits down on the other sofa and Mum sends Alex out to the kitchen to make two more cups of tea. I pause the film and go over to give Granny a hug.
    ‘Mum says you’re watching
West Side Story
,’ says Granny. ‘Grandpa was in a production of this once.’
    ‘Seriously!’ I breathe, looking over at Grandpa and trying to imagine him doing something so cool. ‘Where was that?’
    ‘Oh, just in the town hall!’ laughs Granny. ‘But it’s hard to imagine a more dashing Tony. I fell in love with him all over again watching him up there onstage.’
    ‘When did he do that?’ I ask her.
    ‘Oh, years and years ago. Before your mum was born. But he used to sing all the songs for a long time after. He’d sing them to your mum to get her to go to sleep at night!’
    ‘I remember him doing that!’ says Mum, coming over to the sofa. Alex has come back in
with the tea so I pass one to Granny and then sit back with Finn and Alex while Mum settles down next to Granny. ‘He sang me those songs for years – how could I have forgotten that?’
    I hand the remote to Alex and she presses play. We’re all quiet, engrossed in the storyline, until the first song where the character of Tony sings. Suddenly, as the actor in the film starts singing, Grandpa opens his mouth and joins in. His voice is croaky, like it’s out of practice, but none of us are looking at the screen any more. We’re all watching Grandpa, who can’t remember where he lives or what he had for breakfast, but, as it turns out, knows the words to
West Side Story
perfectly.
    We spend the next few hours watching Grandpa and the film. His voice gets louder and more powerful with each