Part 2, Chapters 26 and 27 Summary

One morning, toward the end of the summer, Mrs. Patton invites Arun to accompany her and Melanie to spend the day at the swimming hole. Although Arun does not want to go, he cannot think of an appropriate excuse. He resigns himself to getting the day started so it will end. Mrs. Patton shocks Arun by removing her bathing suit, an act which plunges the usually water shy Arun into a painful belly flop in order to escape Mrs. Patton and her strange behavior.

Eventually Arun tires in the water and he returns to the shore to find Mrs. Patton asleep on her beach towel with another towel partially covering her formerly nude body. Deciding that he does not want to be around when Mrs. Patton wakes, Arun takes a walk in the woods where he finds Melanie lying...