Summary

In Chapter 36, the next morning, Steven tells his mother he wants to skip school because he does not feel good. Jean makes him go anyway. She wants him to see Julia’s public shaming, which she knows would be shown at school.

The phone rings, a call from Jean’s father. Jean hears her father crying and hospital sounds in the background. A doctor takes the phone and tells Jean that her mother had an aneurysm burst in the Wernicke’s area of her brain.

In Chapter 37, Sonia is watching television when Julia’s shaming is aired. Julia is standing next to Reverend Carl wearing a long-sleeved grey smock that hangs to her ankles. Her head has been shaved.

In Chapter 38, Jean has arranged for Sharon to babysit Sonia. When Jean and Sonia arrive at Sharon’s house the first time, she directs...