She seemed to be the girl's grandmother, which, he felt, is why she was able to pat the top of the hand of the boy her granddaughter apparently needed to marry, to then rub that hand and say to the boy, A woman can keep charge of her house if she keeps her man working, keeps him in working shape, and also manages her life as it then is.  Some women, she added, fall to the charms of a man and then they have to manage all that, too.  He saw the grandmother now pat the boy's hand a handful of times and then leave it there.  Not everyone, she added, is good at managing it all.  He saw from the table across how intently the boy stared at the old hand that she kept on his, and watched as a smile slowly formed on the boy's lips.  Your granddaughter won't be that woman, Grandma, but I will.  He felt sure that those were the boy's words.  In later years, he never could remember if he had ever turned to see the grandmother react, but he did often marvel at how the boy had overcome a difficulty by becoming the difference when he slid his hand out and put it on hers.