Summary

Chapter 26: Lily returns to Froid, Montana in August of 1986 as Lily sees a picture of Odile and her family and Odile mentions that she was a thief. Eleanor refuses to rely on anyone but Lily with the babies as Grandma Pearl tells Eleanor to stop comparing herself to a ghost. Lily continues French lessons with Odile, grateful that someone asks how she is doing rather than focusing on her brothers. Lily struggles at school due to her heavy babysitting hours at home. Eventually, Odile tells Lily that she and Buck did not have much in common, but she loved him. This tells Lily that love means accepting all parts of someone.

Soon, Lily realizes that she is failing classes and investing all of her time into helping Eleanor. With Odile's encouragement, Lily confronts her father, saying that her mother would not be happy...