Summary

In “The Pier’s Shadow,” Cameron meets Avery for their first date, and finds out she has a thirteen year old son. While paddle boarding on the sound, they share their life stories and end up underneath the pier where Avery tells him a story of how she talked a woman out of suicide at this exact place.

In “There Was a Girl,” Tova feels “she is losing her mind” ruminating over “the girl” and wondering if she might know something more (224). Her realtor calls to inform her she’s received an offer on the house.

In “An Unexpected Treasure,” Tova properly introduces Cameron and Marcellus, and the octopus “wraps the end of its arm around his wrist,” leaving “sucker marks along the underside of his arm” (227,228). Cameron tells Tova he “never had a mother” (230).

In “Day 1,349 of My Captivity,” Marcellus fears he...