chapter two

Belly flashes back to age twelve, a rare night when Steven and Jeremiah are away and she and Conrad are the only kids at the house. Conrad casually asks Belly to the boardwalk, and she eagerly prepares, reading the moment as a sign she is finally old enough for his attention.

Susannah drops them off and warmly encourages them. On the boardwalk, Conrad seems nervous. Belly imagines a romantic night, even a kiss, as she eats a caramel apple and follows Conrad’s plan to go to the ring-toss.

At the booth, Belly notices Conrad is fixated on the girl working there—Angie—whose confidence and short yellow shorts mirror a style Belly was teased for. Realizing Conrad came for Angie, Belly swallows her disappointment and pointedly helps by introducing him, even teasing him into conversation when he blushes.

Claiming she’ll ride the Ferris wheel, Belly leaves quickly so they won’t see her cry. Later, Conrad gives her the polar bear he won—on Angie’s advice—trying to be thoughtful. Belly brushes it off, says she preferred the giraffe, names the bear Junior Mint, and leaves it at the summer house, marking the memory of her first heartbreak.