Summary

Afterwards, Tommy becomes preoccupied with thoughts of the girl and his missed opportunity to talk to her. He worries that he won't be able to find the right words to warn her if she returns. He begins to anticipate her next visit, hoping to speak to her and prevent her from making the same mistakes he did. But when the girl returns the following Monday and begins to steal again, Tommy freezes. Though he had planned to confront her, his mind goes blank, and he lets her take the candy without saying a word. He later tries to rationalize his inaction, telling himself that he didn’t want to scare her too much while she still had the stolen candy. Nonetheless, his frustration with himself lingers.

Tommy decides to address the situation indirectly rather than confronting the girl. He plans to leave a...