In the end of chapter 13 in Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings, Brady finds his dad's cordless drill lying in the grass by the DiAngelo's boathouse. It has red paint on it like the one on the kayak. He remembers the time that He, J.T., and Digger were out behind the boathouse the year before, a little while after Digger's grandfather sold the property. Brady had suggested that they drill holes in the bottom of the canoe, fill in the holes with water based glue from his dad's workshop, mixed with some of the residue from what they's drilled out, and then nobody would know. He had the inkling that it was J.T. and Digger that did it out of spite because of what the DiAngelos had taken from Digger. I think that Brady will confront his friends and ask them what happened in the next chapter. He'll probably feel bad if it was them because it was his idea.
Brady and Mrs. Parks recommended purple, blue, and yellow flowers for the garden, such as rhododendrons, wisteria vine, azaleas, spice bush, lavender, and butterfly bushes. Flat rocks are important to the butterfly garden so that the butterflies can warm up before they take off. The flowers and colors are symbolic of the death of Amanda, and now Ben, who both died as young children. The flowers are there in remembrance of them, and to give their families a sense of closure.
I think J.T. and Digger are avoiding Brady because they had something to do with the accident. The red kayak was underwater, and according to Brady, kayaks are hard to sink, so something was obviously wrong. J.T. and Digger both seemed oddly suspicious the day of the accident, exchanging looks, and Digger even said "we'd all be so lucky," when they were talking about how the cold water could kill Mr. DiAngelo. I think they also resent Brady's compassion for everyone, and the fact that he went out to save them.
I think that Brady's parents got rid of all of Amanda's belongings because they reminded them of her. It's hard to let go of something if there are always things there to remind you of it. Those reminders can be very painful to see, because they will prompt memories of things that you did with them, and things you'll never be able to do with them. My dad's friend's wife died of cancer, and although he held on to her belongings for about 6 months, he eventually gave them to her other family members. The memory of her was too painful for him to handle, and he couldn't let her go. After he got rid of her things, he was able to meet someone new, and now he's re-married.
I was angry, then sad about spraining my ankle last year. I was angry because I had no idea how long I'd be hurt, and i knew I wouldn't be playing basketball for a few weeks at least. Then, I was sad, because I had to watch all my friends playing basketball together, and all I wanted to do was join in, but it would hurt too much.
Brady's emotions are all over the place because he feels guilty, relieved, and thankful all at the same time. The guilt comes from not saying anything when he knew that the water was rough that day. The relief and thankfulness is from Ben having a pulse and being okay, and his father and Tilly being in the right places at the right time. Seeing the kayak under the water scared him, because kayaks are very hard to sink. I think he knows something is wrong. ..."she pointed me in the right direction." He also says, "I didn't worry abut being a 'hero' or anything, I just wanted Ben to be safe."
He had babysat Benjamin a short while before the incident, so he had developed a relationship with the boy already. After Ben was safely in the ambulance, Brady took his boat back home, and he, according to him, "Stopped my boat right in the middle of the Corsica River, in the pouring rain, to fold my hands. I just sat there with the engine in neutral, with my head against my tightly folded hands, because it had just hit me what happened." At the end of chapter 5, Brady stopped his boat in the middle of the Corsica River to pray. This is out of the ordinary because he hardly ever prays. He was thankful that his dad was working at the shop that Monday, otherwise he would have never heard and gotten Brady from school. There would be no one to check the little creeks and coves like he did. He was also thankful for Tilly, who told him to check that one area. He felt both exhausted and elated, because of all the stress, but also that Ben had a pulse.
On the morning of the accident, the three boys, Digger, J.T., and Brady, noticed Mr. DiAngelo taking his new red kayak out. They knew how rough the tides were that morning, and Brady said, "He shouldn't be going out there today. When he get's down by the point - he'll fly down the river," which clearly shows that he knew what would happen. The other two responded with "He's too far away. He won't hear you," and "why should we anyway?" I think part of the reason Brady didn't call out was because of peer pressure. Later on in the day he felt guilty, but those feelings quickly faded away. That is, until he got picked up early and heard that the red kayak had flipped over, and Mrs. DiAngelo and her son, Ben, were in it. Immediately, he felt guilty, and knew that if he'd just said something, this would not have happened. If Mrs. DiAngelo didn't take her son out on the kayak, they never would have been in the water and they wouldn't have sunk. If Mr. DiAngelo didn't take they kayak out for them, the boys wouldn't even have had the chance to say something, and Brady wouldn't feel guilty at all.
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