How does Hiram get along with Grampa? How have things changed?

During this time Granpa was raising Hiram, Hiram and Grampa develop a special relationship which is threatened when Harlan takes Hiram to live in Tempe, Arizona. Every year Grampa sends an invitation for Hiram to come back, but Harlan refuses to send his son saying that Grampa needs to come to Tempe if he wants to see Hiram. In 1955, Grampa has a stroke and sends the invitation again - and this time Harlan agrees. When Hiram arrives, he notices that Grampa looks considerably older and he is not able to move as well as he used to.

Grampa and Hiram settle back into their old routines for the most part, plus he is attending more White Citizen's council meetings. He is also loaning out his truck more frequently to others that need it. Grampa is firm in his beliefs that whites and African Americans should always be separate because African Americans are inferior. He feels that when R.C. tortured Emmett at the river, Emmett was the one in the wrong for interacting with Hiram. He admits that R.C. is a troublemaker and of a lower class due to the Rydell family's economic circumstances and demeanor. As the trial moves forward, Hiram begins to a see a darker side to his grandfather which strains their relationship.