Chapter 21 Summary

Laura is brushing her teeth in preparation for bed. She knows her husband will be waiting, expectantly, for her to join him. She knows the look of happy surprise he will give her when she enters the bedroom - as if he can't believe his luck that she's there with him. She compares him sexually to the novelty cans from which paper snakes pop out when you open the lid; she thinks ruefully that there will be no more reading tonight. She toys with the full bottle of prescription sleeping pills in the medicine cabinet, thinking how easy it would be to check into a hotel room and end her life. Once again, her pregnancy stops her from committing suicide. She thinks back to that moment of perfection at dinner and wonders if perhaps that's enough. Maybe she's done her job enough and...