Summary

In Chapter 6, Vesta wakes up alone. Charlie once fixed her loneliness; now he is gone. She considers calling the cops, calling Shirley, but fears their criticism. Even Walter would judge her. She thinks of all the terrible fates Charlie might have suffered. She is afraid to leave home to find him, wondering if Ghod stole and killed him.

Listening to Pastor Jimmy, she wonders again about the poem, wanting someone to help her. She was similarly afraid after Walter died, not really wanting a sign from him. Marrying him was a mistake; he always needed "to analyze and prove a point about something" (194). Now he is silent and unhelpful. She resolves herself to find Charlie. However, her car will not start. She imagines calling a mechanic, the mechanic suggesting that she was the one who cut the car's wires, criticizing her isolation, telling...