Summary

In this chapter, the narrative returns to Pete Barton, the man that Tommy Guptill had stopped to check in on in the first chapter of the book. It is a year past that opening chapter, and the chapter covers the very short visit Pete's sister, Lucy Barton, makes back to her hometown. The chapter is narrated in the third-person, past tense, focused exclusively through Pete's own experience. Pete, himself, is either simple-minded or suffers from such extreme anxiety that he does not process events as completely as most people might, and the narrative reflects this through its use of simplified language and short sentences.

When the chapter opens, Pete learned of Lucy's book tour coming through Chicago, a two-hour drive from their hometown. He had a great deal of pride in Lucy's accomplishments, marveling that she was able to do so much, and he...