Summary

In Chapter 1, narrated by Atlas, Atlas thinks of his mother when he sees the words “ass whole” (1) written by a vandal on the back door of his restaurant, Bib’s. She always pronounced the word as if it was two words. The vandal had also broken into the restaurant, but the only thing missing was croutons, so Atlas refused to report the crime. He feared it might have been done by someone who was just hungry.

Atlas is not as upset by the vandalism as he might have been because he saw Lily, the girl he loved as a teenager, earlier that morning. She promised to text him later, but he has not yet heard from her.

In Chapter 2, narrated by Lily, Lily tries to imagine what Atlas thought of her with baby food on her shirt and chipped nail polish. She feels...