Section 2: Second Picture and Chapter 2 Summary

Second Picture, Steven, is not one picture but ten because Hollis could never draw him right, though she can see him in her mind when she closes her eyes. On the first day, she took the bus to Branches to spend the summer with the Regan family because the stucco woman wanted "two months to do what I please and not have to worry about that kid getting into everything" (p. 131). As the bus lumbers up the main street of Hancock and stops in front of the diner, the driver tells Hollis they are there, so she gathers her belongings and exits the bus. A tall man leans against the diner wall while his son plays handball against the wall. Grinning, Steven introduces himself and asks how she got such a strange name, claiming he...