Jorge wants to look and feel forty when he gets to fifty, but fate is a joker. Jorge Castro isn’t even going to see forty-one.
-- Narrator (Chapter 1)

Importance: The narrator notes that Jorge goes out running every night, even the nights the weather is bad, as it is this particular night, in hopes of preserving his health and living a long life. It is foreshadowed, however, that whatever Emily and Roddy plan to do to him will end his life. It is a reminder also that no one lives forever regardless of how well they care for themselves.

On July 4th, Charlotte attended an anti-mask rally in the state capital, waving a sign reading MY BODY MY CHOICE (a sentiment that did not keep her from being adamantly anti-abortion).
-- Narrator (Chapter 2)

Importance: Holly thinks about her mother’s contradictory opinions on Covid vaccinations as opposed to abortions. While Charlotte believed it was an infringement on...