Summary

On account of a new law, Elizabeth buys Six-Thirty a leash in Chapter 10. One morning, she leaves early for work. Calvin decides to run to work to avoid driving back in two cars. Secretly, he has a fear of Elizabeth dying in car crash. The narrator reveals, “[Calvin] was dead thirty-seven minutes later” (91).

In Chapter 11, a police car backfires. The leash gets caught on the car, dragging Calvin down and killing him. Someone tells Elizabeth the news in Chapter 12. She feels Calvin’s death is her fault since she bought the leash. She does not register he is gone until she sees his shirts hanging in the closet.

Elizabeth cannot cry. The funeral is “packed” (97). After a journalist pesters her with questions about how she knew Calvin, Elizabeth heads to the front row. She leaves once people start to throw dirt on Calvin...