Though not condemning Matt’s action, Steve was shocked. If Matt had tossed a couple of churros under her skirt, it would have been an impulsive adolescent prank, but he had brought the pennant from home. “What did you do that for?” he asked when Matt came back. “No reason,” Matt said matter-of-factly. “Just wanted to give Gramma something.” “But why one of your pennants? You won it in a contest; it’s a keepsake for later on.” Matt shrugged. “This is the one from preliminaries, when I had just come back from that injury, remember? Nuala wasn’t broken in yet and I came in fourteenth. Then it was summer vacation, and after that I went to junior high, and things got a lot better.” He hesitated, then added, “Besides, if you sacrifice something that isn’t important to you, what’s the point?” Steve looked at him in amazement. He wondered what had driven Matt to this sudden, foolish expression of superstition. Apparently the pennant symbolized the low Matt had hit a year and a half ago; by burning it he would gain closure and ward off similar bad luck for the future.
