The missing signature

Source: an original fiction extract.

The petition lay on the counter beside the bread basket. By lunchtime, thirty-seven people had signed it to keep the small cinema open. Rosa had designed the heading and spent the morning explaining the campaign to café customers. When her grandfather arrived, she pushed the paper towards him before asking what he wanted to eat. He read it slowly, one finger beneath the lines. Then he moved it aside and asked for soup. Rosa left the pen where his hand would find it. He did not pick it up.

She told him about the cinema's old ceiling, the cheap tickets and the films that never reached the larger multiplex. He said he knew the building. He had helped replace its heating pipes years before she was born. Rosa took that as encouragement and began describing the memories people had written online. He listened, then asked whether she had read the council's proposal for the site. She had read enough to know that the cinema would close. The rest, she said, was not the point.

Her grandfather folded his napkin. He said the proposal included a day centre and accessible flats. His friend Pavel had been waiting for suitable housing for eighteen months. Rosa said that did not mean the cinema had to go. 'Perhaps not,' he replied. 'But it does mean there is something else to discuss.' A customer approached with an empty cup, and Rosa went to refill it. She was grateful for the interruption. From the coffee machine she could see the unsigned space beside her grandfather's plate, as conspicuous as a gap in a row of teeth.

After his meal he paid and told her he hoped the campaign found a good solution. She asked whether he would sign if they changed the wording to request a public meeting rather than simply reject the development. He said he would read it. That was less than she wanted. For the next hour she collected more signatures on the original sheet, repeating her explanation with the same confidence. Then a woman asked where the proposed day centre would go instead. Rosa began to answer and realised that she did not know.

At closing time she took the proposal home. It was longer than the campaign leaflet and less satisfying to read. Some questions remained unanswered even after she reached the end. She wrote them on a separate page and sent them to the campaign organiser. She also sent her grandfather a message saying she still wanted the cinema kept open. He replied that he had understood that all along. The next morning the petition stayed beside the bread basket, but Rosa placed a copy of the proposal next to it and made space for a second pen.

Consider the whole source. A reader said: “Rosa’s grandfather undermines her campaign, but his refusal to sign also makes her a more thoughtful campaigner.” Evaluate how far you agree. Support your judgement with detailed references to the text and the writer’s methods.