我又一次陷于两头都够不上的中间境遇，作为六个孩子中的老四，很多事情对我来说不是因为年龄太小，就是太大而不合适。那天夜里就是这样。我的两个小兄弟在屋里睡觉，我的另外三个长兄和姐姐在拐角与小伙伴们玩，而我甚至不被允许独自过马路。

“跑到街对面的加油站去给你自己买瓶可乐怎么样？”祖父突然对我说，我简直不敢相信自己的耳朵。我们一起看了看大街的前后左右。他放开我的手，我跑了起来。我从没有跑得这么快过。街道似乎很宽，我怀疑自己是否能跑到对面。

冰凉的棕色泡沫溅在我的手上。我紧紧地抱着可乐瓶，生怕他让我把可乐倒在杯子里，毁掉我的梦想。我咕噜噜长长地吞下一口冰凉的可乐，冒汗的身体顿觉清爽无比。我认为自己再也没有过当时那样的自豪。

I know now that the man who sat with me on the old wooden stairs that hot summer night over thirty-five years ago was not a tall man. But to a five-year-old, he was a giant. We sat side by side, watching the sun go down behind the old Texaco service station across the busy street. A street that I was never allowed to cross unless accompanied by an adult, or at the very least, an older sibling.

Cherry-scented smoke from Grampy's pipe kept the hungry mosquitoes at bay while gray, wispy swirls danced around our heads. Now and again, he blew a smoke ring and laughed as I tried to target the hole with my finger. I, clad in a cool summer nightie, and Grampy, his sleeveless T-shirt, sat watching the traffic. We counted cars and tried to guess the color of the next one to turn the corner.

Once again, I was caught in the middle of circumstances. The fourth born of six children, it was not uncommon that I was either too young or too old for something. This night I was both. While my two baby brothers slept inside the house, my three older siblings played with friends around the corner, where I was not allowed to go. I stayed with Grampy, and that was okay with me. I was where I wanted to be. My grandfather was baby-sitting while my mother, father and grandmother went out.

Thirsty?" Grampy asked, never removing the pipe from his mouth.

" Yes," was my reply." How would you like to run over to the gas station there and get yourself a bottle of coke?"

I couldn't believe my ears. Had I heard right? Was he talking to me? On my family's modest income, coke was not a part of our budget or diet. A few tantalizing sips was all I had ever had, and certainly never my own bottle.