By ending the story in the present, the reader can infer that Select one:

Ms. Gonzales has made a lifelong impact on Samantha

Samantha still spends time with Ms. Gonzales

Samantha uses the quilt all the time.

Samantha did not complete the community service assignment

Read the passage and answer the following question(s)

The Patchwork Quilt

Samantha paused in her spring cleaning to press her cheek against the soothing plumpness of the patchwork quilt. Its still–rich colors transported her mind back to the day she'd been given the quilt. In her mind's eye she could see herself going into Mrs. Gonzales's house that first, cloudy October afternoon. Putting down her broom, Samantha sat down at her bedroom desk and allowed herself the luxury of a little nostalgic dreaming...

Mrs. Gonzales, I'm here! fourteen–year–old Samantha called out softly in the dusty gloom of Mrs. Gonzales's front hallway.

Who is it? a thin, quivering voice replied from the direction of the bedroom.

Samantha! Samantha Parsons to read to you, Samantha answered, making her way down the dim hallway toward the old woman's bedroom. Standing in the doorway she took in the tidy, restful scene of the elderly woman sitting up in her bed wearing a frilly, purple nightgown, and slowly sorting square patches of bright fabric. Her fingers were bent and gnarled, but her nails were beautifully manicured in pink polish.

Ah, Samantha. I remember now. You gave me a fright just now, but come on in and sit down, she said cozily, pointing at a rocking chair beside her bed.

I'm sorry I scared you. Your daughter said I could let myself in. She left the door unlocked for me, as long as I locked it behind me when I came and when I left, Samantha explained, sitting down in the cushioned, but creaking, rocking chair.

Tell me, Niña, why do you want to read aloud to me? Rosa, my daughter, you know, said something about your school's community service program.

Yes, my English teacher has asked all of her classes to do something for the community for six hours each week. We get credit for English class because at the end of the semester I have to write a paper about my community service and what I learned from it. So, I thought... if I could... , Samantha faltered in her explanation, nervously biting her lower lip.

I see, I see, Mrs. Gonzales cackled merrily, then began to cough harshly, painfully. Her faded brown eyes filled with tears, and her lined face looked pained as her body shook with coughs. When she'd recovered from her coughing spell, she added, "You thought you could read aloud to an old invalid woman like me, eh? What shall we read, Niña?"

So, Samantha had read through many afternoons after school, while October, November and December rainstorms rumbled outside and Mrs. Gonzales painstakingly stitched her quilts and coughed. Samantha read To Kill a Mockingbird, Great Expectations, and a thick volume of Ernest Hemingway's short stories. It wasn't exactly entertaining, especially when she missed going to the movies or the mall after school with her friends, but gradually Samantha began to see the value of what she was doing for Mrs. Gonzales... and for herself. She began to fall in love with the characters in the books, especially Atticus Finch and his intrepid little daughter, Scout.

The second week in December, Mrs. Gonzales's lung disease took a turn for the worse, and she had to be hospitalized for immediate surgery. The evening after Mrs. Gonzales's surgery, her daughter Rosa came to the Parsons home with the good news that Mrs. Gonzales was recuperating well and would be home for New Year's Eve celebrations. She brought something else, too—a beautifully wrapped package which she presented to Samantha.

I know you read to my mother for a school assignment, but to her your time was like a special gift, so she wanted you to have this, and she asked me to tell you to please come and see her sometime. When you come, she wants you to please bring the paper you write about your community service experience.

Samantha opened the package with trembling fingers, and smiled when she saw what lay inside. It was the patchwork quilt Mrs. Gonzales had been piecing together on that first day Samantha had begun reading to her. Samantha thanked Rosa quietly as she opened the richly colored folds of the quilt, and said, "It's beautiful! Please tell your mother I'll always treasure it!"

...Samantha reluctantly brought her mind back from the memory of all of those afternoons she'd spent reading to the ailing Mrs. Gonzales. She'd never forget those novels and stories she'd read because the characters were as much a part of the experience as Mrs. Gonzales's friendship had been. Watching the woman's good–natured attitude toward her own suffering had taught Samantha an invaluable lesson about human endurance and courage. Gently folding the patchwork quilt, she put it back into the trunk at the foot of her bed, and picked up her broom again.