I went home and tried to shake it off（摆脱[烦恼]）,but I kept wondering. Should I have gone up the tree with her? Would it have done any good?
I thought about calling Juli to tell her I was sorry they'd cut it down,but I didn't. It would've been too,I don't know,weird（不可思议的）.
She didn't show at the bus stop the next morning and didn't ride the bus home that afternoon,either.
Then that night, right before dinner,my gradefather summoned（召唤，呼唤） me into the front room. He didn't call to me as I was walking by---that would have bordered on frindeliness.What he did was talk to my monther,who talked to me."I don't know what it's about,honey" she said. "Maybe he's just ready to get to know you a litter better."
Great.The man's had a year and a half to get acquainted（使熟练）, and he chooses now to get to know me. But I couldn't exactly blow him off（把...甩掉）.
My grandfater's a big man with a meaty nose（厚鼻梁） and greased-back salt-and-pepper hair. He lives in house slippers（拖鞋） and a sports coat（外套，上衣）, and I've never seen a whisker on him. They grow,but he shaves them off like three times a day. It's a real recreational（娱乐的，消遣的） activity for him.
Besides his meaty nose, he's alse got big meaty hands. I suppose you'd notice his hands regardless（不管怎样，无论如何）,but what makes you realize（注意，了解） just how beefy（结实，牛肉似的） they are is his wedding ring（婚戒）. That thing's never going to come off（举行; 表现;）, and even though my mother says that's how it should be, I think he ought to（理应） get it cut off.Another few pounds（重击声） and that ring's going to amputate（割断，切断） his finger.
When I went in to see him, those big hands of his were woven（包扎起来） together,resting on the newspaper in his lap（膝盖）. I said,"Granddaa?You wanted to see me?"
"Have a seat,som."
Son?Half the time he didn't seem to know who I was, and now suddenly I was "son"? I sat in the chair opposite him and waited.
"Tell me about your friend Juli Baker."
"Juli?She's not exactly my friend...!"
"Why is that?" he asked. Calmly.Like he had prior（优先的; 占先的; 在…之前;） knowledge.
I started to justify it , then stopped myself and asked,"Why do you want to know?"
He opened the paper and pressed down the crease（折痕; 皱褶）,and that's when I realized that Juli Baker had made the front page of the Mayfield Times. There was a huge picture of her on the tree,surrounded（被…环绕着的） by a fire brigade（旅，把…编成队） and policemen,and then some smaller photos I couldn't make out very well."Can I see that?"
He folded it up（（把…） 折叠起来） but didn't hand it over（交给）."Why isn't she your friend,Bryce?"
"Because she's..." I shook my head and said,"You'd have to know Juli."
"I'd like to."
"What?Why?"
"Because the girl's got an iron backbone（有骨气，坚毅的）.Why don't you invite her over sometime?"
"And iron backbone?Granddad,you don't understand! That girl is a royal pain. She's a show-off（炫耀; 卖弄）, she's a know-it-all（假装或自称无所不知的人）, and she is pushy beyond belief!"
"Is that so."
"Yes! That's absolutely so! And she's been stalking me since the second grade!"
简意：
回到家，我试着摆脱这种情绪，但我做不到，脑海一直在想，我是不是该爬到树上和她在一起？我做得对吗？
我想要跟朱莉说声抱歉，可是我没行动，太不可思议了。
第二天，她没有出现在公交站，放学也没有乘车回家。
那天晚上，我外公找我谈话。他搬进来的一年半时间里，从来没有主动的了解过我，却在这个时候找我，我真的不想去。
我的外公，有一个厚厚的鼻子，厚实的手掌，经常穿着一双拖鞋和运动外套。我从来没看见过他的胡须，应该是刮得很频繁，也许这也是他乐意消遣的事情之一。
其实他最惹人注意的是手指上的婚戒，紧紧的嵌在手指上，感觉快要切断他的手指。果然有一天，他的手指真的被切到了。
我去医院看望他时，他问起了朱莉的事情，他对朱莉貌似很感兴趣。我跟他说了一下大概的情况，他对于我的回答很不满意。在他眼里，朱莉是个有骨气的女孩，不过我却觉得是他不了解朱莉。
