I know now that the man who sat with me on the old wooden stairs that hot summer night over thirty-five years ago was not a tall man. But to a five-year old, he was a giant.    Once again, I was caught in the middle of circumstances. The fourth born of six children, it was not uncommon that I was either too young or too old for something. This night I was both. While my two baby brothers slept inside the house, my three older siblings played with friends around the corner, where I was not allowed to go. I stayed with Grandpa, and that was okay with me. I was where I wanted to be.    "Thirsty?" Grandpa asked.  "Yes" was my reply.    "Would you like to run over to the gas station there and get yourself a bottle of Coke?" I couldn't believe my ears. On my family's modest income, Coke was not a part of our budge or diet. A few sips were all I had ever had, and certainly never my own bottle.    "Okay," I replied shyly.    Opening his fist, Grandpa instructed me to pick out a dime.    "Okay," he said, " I'm going to stay here and I'll tell you when It's safe to cross. You go over to the Coke machine, get your Coke and come back out. Wait for me to tell you when it's safe to cross back."    My heart pounded. Grandpa held my hand tightly. When he told me it was safe to cross, I ran faster than I had ever run before. Reaching the other side, I turned to find Grandpa. There he was, standing exactly where I had left him, smiling proudly. I waved. "Go on, hurry up," he yelled. Coke in hand, I proudly marched back out into the early evening dusk. Grandpa was waiting patiently. He smiled. "Come on, now," he said, "run." I did." "Don't ever do that alone, he warned. I held the Coke bottle tightly, fearful he would make me pour it into a cup, ruining my dream. He didn't. One lone swallow of the cold drink cooled my sweating body. I don't think I ever felt so proud. By saying " this night I was both.", the author probably felt that  _  .
he both wanted to sleep inside and play around the corner he was too young to sleep with his baby brothers and too old to play with his older siblings he was too young to play with his older siblings and too old to sleep with his baby brothers he was refused by both his baby brothers and his older siblings.