Summary

Patricia visited Charlene. She met Rainey’s twin Ransom for the first time. Seeing the family together, Patricia felt envious (75). She had gotten her period that morning and her plans “to start a family” were delayed again (76).

Patricia and Charlene set out for the hospital for charity work. Patricia marveled at Charlene’s confidence on the road. Throughout her life, Patricia had depended on others to keep her safe. In the passenger or back seat, she pretended the chaos on the road was irrelevant to her (77).

The hospital conditions and the patients’ pain upset Patricia. She particularly feared attending to a wailing little girl. However, when she reached the girl’s crib, Patricia held her. She felt pain and “insistent life” in her body (86). She guessed the girl’s sickness was related to America’s use of napalm in the region...