When Wilona responds negatively to the idea of Mr. Robert living with Grandma Sands, the implication is that she has just discovered that her mother has taken a new lover—something that distresses her. Even though she’s a full-grown adult, then, she responds to this new development much like a child might respond, finding it disconcerting to think of her mother dating someone other than her father (who is dead). On another note, Byron’s unwillingness to misbehave in front of Grandma Sands suggests that he really is capable of respecting authority, despite his years of misbehavior in Flint. He has, it seems, come to terms with the fact that misbehaving has negative consequences.