Quote 1
She could look at me again now, though her eyes were pink and glistening. "You take the kitten. I'll keep the cat," she said. "You go on home to your folks. It'll be all right. I don't lock my doors." (7.106)
Despite the fact that Grandma Dowdel likes having Mary Alice around (after all, she's in that big old house all by herself), she still sends her granddaughter home to her parents and brother. That's where she really belongs. Sometimes—okay, lots of times—family involves sacrifice.
Quote 2
When he asked who gave the bride away in marriage, Grandma said, "That'd be me."
She handed me over. Then she looked aside, out the bay window, blinking at the brightness of the day. I know because I looked back for one more glimpse of her. Then I married Royce McNabb. (8.7-8)
Mary Alice's father may not be there to give her away, but that doesn't mean she's entirely without family for her wedding. Her grandmother steps in to take on the very symbolic task of giving her away. Do you think Mary Alice would have made a different choice if her father had been there?
Quote 3
"I rubbed butter on all four of her paws. That's what you do with a cat in a new place. By the time they've licked off all that butter, they're right at home. Works every time." (1.137)
Grandma Dowdel has a foolproof method for ensuring that a cat feels right at home when it moves to a new place. Rubbing butter on Bootsie's paws may seem like a silly thing to do, but Mary Alice can't argue with the results. Makes us wonder what the human equivalent of "buttered paws" is…