Raymie Nightingale

At the nursing home, Raymie leads the way. When Martha is out of sight, Raymie guides Louisiana and Beverly to Alice Nebbley’s room. They hear Alice screaming. Louisiana is scared and holds onto Raymie’s hand. Beverly, however, shows no fear and marches straight into Alice’s room, leaving Raymie and Louisiana watching from the doorway. In the dark room, Beverly tries to find the book under Alice’s bed but has no luck. Alice screams again, “I cannot stand the pain,” and, “Take my hand” (107). Alice’s arm creeps out from under the covers; Louisiana screams, Raymie whimpers, and Beverly gently takes hold of Alice’s hand. Alice stops screaming, and Beverly starts to hum as she continues to hold Alice’s hand, comforting her. Louisiana, who has run off to find help, returns with the news that Raymie’s library book is in the janitor’s office. Louisiana doesn’t have the book because she was distracted by a caged yellow bird she found in the janitor’s office. Louisiana forgot to grab the book, but she did release the bird from its cage.

The janitor, angry that his bird is free, runs down the hallway to find it. The three friends creep to the empty janitor’s office, retrieve Raymie’s library book, and run out of Golden Glen Nursing home. Outside, the three girls see Louisiana’s Granny pulling up in her station wagon. Granny is convinced Marsha Jean is right behind them, so all three girls hurriedly get in, not knowing where they are going. Louisiana’s Granny drives fast. She blazes through stop signs and ignores mechanical sounds coming from the old car. Beverly smiles, Louisiana laughs, and Raymie experiences a surge of happiness. Louisiana starts to sing. She has a beautiful voice, and although the song is happy, it makes Raymie think of her father. They arrive at Granny’s dilapidated house, outsmarting Marsha Jean once again.

Granny’s house has no furniture, and piles of empty tuna cans are stacked in the kitchen. Raymie gets her first good look at Louisiana’s granny and sees that she looks just like an older version of Louisiana, complete with bunny barrettes. Granny sends Louisiana out to find a can opener in the car, a ruse to get her out of the house so she can talk to Beverly and Raymie. Raymie asks whether the Martha Jean really exists, and Granny tells them, “Martha Jean is a ghost of what’s to come” (127). Granny implies that she has invented Martha Jean to keep Louisiana cautious and “wily.” Granny continues, explaining to Raymie and Beverly that Louisiana would not do well in the country home and she hopes that Raymie and Beverly will help protect Louisiana.