Chapter 13 Summary

It is October 12, and it is Christine's seventeenth birthday. "Thank you," she teases her mother, "for releasing me from your loins." A short conversation about childbirth follows. That same morning, Natalie suddenly thanks her for not naming her Ophelia. Another mother-daughter follows, this time concerning friends and invitations for dinner. Reta believes that Natalie and Christine are trying hard to compensate for Norah's absence. She comments on how these poignant attempts pierce her heart with sadness. The two girls have given up playing volleyball on Saturday mornings at the Orangetown High School. Tom drives them into town each Saturday and then they catch the bus for Toronto. When they reach the city, they travel by subway and spend the day with Norah on the sidewalk.

They take mats to sit on, food and water, magazines and books, toilet paper and other sundries to...