Chapter 41

Meg narrates her mornings in Tom’s house, where slave dogs howl outside and Lucille sleeps late, drinks by noon, and lives in last night’s clothes. Meg keeps the house presentable, cooks, learns to light cigarettes and mix martinis to manage Lucille’s moods, and hides evidence of decline from Willy May.

Lucille gossips, blames Meg for the lost baby, and accidentally burns Meg with a cigarette. On a rare calmer night she dresses Meg like herself, then passes out early, giving Meg a brief respite to read and hope for normalcy.

Soon after, Lucille falls asleep smoking in Tom’s office, igniting the sofa. Meg douses the fire and rages at the danger and the damage to Tom’s manuscript. Fearing worse to come, Meg creates a “drunkenness color wheel” to track Lucille’s stages and risks.

Isabelle arrives with Willy May, visibly weakened by grief but resolute. Overhearing from the stairs, Meg listens as Isabelle confronts Lucille about truancy, hidden liquor, and the near fire, then demands Lucille leave and Meg stay behind. Isabelle places a check and cash; Lucille, eyeing the money, agrees to pack alone, abandoning Meg.

That night, with the dogs killing something outside, Meg feels trapped. She breaks her vow not to think of Ava, imagines her mother in their old kitchen, and finally whispers the truth she has stifled: she wants her mommy.