Summary

In Chapter 4, Samson was now on the swim team. Sammie took him to practice “every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon” (51). The atmosphere troubled her, but she was glad Samson was active. She tried talking to him on their rides, but he “didn’t answer” (52). His behaviors and habits remained perplexing.

Witnessing the other mothers chatting at practices made Sammie miss “the queer people she’d hung around with when she was single” (52). One day she started sitting with a mother named Lenore. She had a daughter Samson’s age, “was divorced,” and brought alcohol to practice (53). Sammie thought about Lenore’s “teeth a lot” (53). Drinking with Lenore and making fun of the other moms felt “kind of sexy” to Sammie (53). One day after practice, Lenore invited Sammie and Samson over. Although Sammie had to clean and grocery shop before Monika returned from her...