Summary

In Chapter 26, Mr. Brodsky took all three of the kids to a circus museum. Pearl and Leo walked together. Pearl could not look at the pictures of people in the freak shows because she felt too much empathy for them. They all went home together, happy to have had a nice day out.

In Chapter 27, Mr. Brodsky, Leo, and Helen helped Pearl bury her mother’s ashes in the yard under the magnolia tree. Afterwards, Mr. Brodsky and Helen went inside to work on her math homework. Leo and Pearl went into the playhouse and fell asleep in each other’s arms. There was food and toothpaste in the playhouse, and Pearl thought it meant someone was staying there, but Leo assured her that it was just Helen, who played in there often.

In Chapter 28, Pearl went into Mr. Brodsky’s office. He...