Summary

The landlady beckoned Billy to the seat next to her. She poured him a cup of tea as he sat down. They sipped in silence, and Billy caught traces of a strange smell emanating from the landlady. After some small talk, Billy learned that Mulholland and Temple were still residing in the bed and breakfast, contrary to Billy’s belief that they had left recently. The landlady changed the subject by asking Billy’s age and complimenting his teeth.

The landlady then began reminiscing about Mulholland and Temple, complimenting things such as Temple’s “skin” (10). Meanwhile, Billy sipped his tea, which he disliked because it tasted like almonds. Billy then told the landlady that her taxidermy parrot was convincing. She told him that she did the taxidermy herself, as was the case for her dog. This surprised Billy, because until this point, he had...