Chapter Eight Summary

Peekay arrives at Barberton station, where he is surprised to find out that it is his mother who is waiting to pick him up. She is a tiny woman, a stark contrast to the other women in Peekay's life who he has had in the roles that a mother would traditionally play. Pastor Mulvery of the Barberton Apostolic Faith Church accompanies her. It appears as though his mother has converted to that faith, and both she and the Pastor are much given to loud exhortations about the Lord. Peekay is unimpressed with the church as he has seen it through its members thus far.

Peekay immediately asks about his Nanny, and his mother replies that boys of six no longer need nannies. Peekay is shocked, both by the fact that he is six and that his Nanny will no longer be...