Summary

Jack looked at Annabel's notebook and saw she had drawn a stick figure, but with a blank space in the middle. Jack asked why the figure looked like that and Annabel said “He's just separated” (209). She drew another figure with Xs over its eyes but explained that he was not dead, only sleeping.

Annabel was picked up from school by a friend of the family's daughter, Charlene. They talked about Charlene's experience in college. Annabel wondered if Charlene heard the rumors people at school made up about her. Charlene took Annabel to the donut shop near her old daycare. Annabel spotted Elsie's parents outside of the daycare and ran out of the donut shop, into the daycare, and directly into Elsie herself, who yelled at her not to come any closer. Elsie's parents came over and consoled Elsie as she began to cry...