Chapter 4 Summary

The first week after Sylvie arrives brings three days of snow-melting sun followed by four days of rain, and the town floods to the point where people are traveling by boat in the lower-lying parts of town. Even with a house on the high ground, Ruth, Lucille, and Sylvie are marooned for days without electricity in the upstairs rooms. Four inches of water cover the first floor of the house and they must go downstairs wearing rain boots to bring up food and necessities. Lucille complains of boredom and Sylvie tells a story about a woman she met traveling on a bus who said she has four children. Sylvie suggests that the woman was alone on the bus because the court might have taken custody of the children. This is the first time Ruth and Lucille have heard of the state taking children...