Agnes tapped her wrist twice, her lips pursed tightly. This was beginning to get ridiculous.

'Two syllables, begins with . . . ?' This time the girl mimed the forward motion of a train.

'T? Begins with 'T?''

The girl shook her head and changed her tactics, putting her hands under her armpits and flapped her elbows, walking with slow, jerking steps and bobbing her head.

'Chicken! Begins with 'C-H!''

It was so embarrassing how the adults were getting so into this little 'game' as they liked to think it, but as long as they were in great-grandma's house, this was how the world would work. So Agnes nodded dutifully, then pointed to herself.

'Next letter is 'A?' Cha . . . Cha . . . Change?! Is the word'' Agnes shook her head quickly and walked over to where her baby cousin was sitting, and pointed to him, and then to herself. 'Cha . . . cha . . . Children! First word is 'Children!''

Agnes nodded. At last, some headway. She tapped her wrist once, then put her finger to her lips in a gesture of quiet. 'Begins with 'Sh!'' Counterproductive, but it got the point across. Next, she pointed to her shoe, and mimed chasing something away. 'Shoed? Children shoed . . . Children should!'

Agnes literally jumped for joy. Next she tapped her wrist once and ran around the room, rubbing her face in all the dusty, old fake flowers her grandma kept around. Oh, she was going to ' she pinched the bridge of her nose, but it was too late ' 'Achoo!'

'That's cheating, Angie.' The little girl pouted, crossing her arms, but her dad smiled. It was all good sport for them. 'Is it 'Bee?'' Agnes nodded. Lord, what she had to suffer through because great-granny was such a spoiled sport. Why couldn't she have a cool grandma like everyone else? 'Children should be. . . . Children should be seen and not heard!'