Summary

In Chapter 11, Tom describes his mother’s funeral in which Victor sprinkles Rebecca's ashes over the lemon tree she planted. It was clear to him from everyone’s eulogies that they did not really know Rebecca. In the aftermath of the funeral, Tom slept with three ex-girlfriends and as well as a friend from high school. In each encounter with these women, he described sitting by his mother’s hospital bed, listening to the last words she repeated again and again: “He’s lost, my love, so you must help him be found,” which he interpreted to be about himself as he felt adrift in life (30).

In Chapter 12, we find out that Victor offered Tom a job at his lab as Penelope’s understudy. Penelope was the lab’s top “chrononaut” (time-traveler), and Tom worked closely with her to learn everything necessary in...