Contents
Forty
Overview
On their way to celebrate Gwen’s acceptance, Arthur and Gwen encounter Tana, who announces Jayne died in a car fire on Easter. Gwen comforts Tana and promises to stay with her, while Arthur feels shock without grief. Jayne’s death appears to fulfill King Sorrow’s demanded Easter sacrifice, shifting the group’s stakes.
Summary
The friends decide to reconvene at The Briars to celebrate Gwen’s acceptance with Scotch, believing Professor Llewellyn would approve. Colin drives the others in his grandfather’s Cadillac, while Arthur leaves with Gwen in her Civic from the staff lot.
In a buoyant moment, Gwen and Arthur kiss and laugh, but they immediately spot Tana Nighswander arriving with pizza deliveries, her belly heavily pregnant. The mood turns when Tana, dazed and pink from the cold, tells them her sister is dead.
Tana explains that Jayne was found burned in her Ranchero on Easter, with identification pending dental records, and adds Jayne had called days earlier, saying she wouldn’t make it. Arthur registers the news with a clinical detachment, noting his lack of immediate emotional shock.
Gwen takes the pizzas, embraces Tana, and consoles her as Tana weeps. Tana asks Gwen to stay with her after work because she is afraid to be alone in the dark; Gwen readily agrees.
Tana admits her conflict—Jayne was a bad person but still “her person.” She insists on working to afford diapers, underscoring her precarious position. When Arthur offers condolences, Tana says she isn’t sorry, and that is why she feels so bad, crystallizing the moral and emotional complexity of Jayne’s death and hinting that King Sorrow’s Easter demand has been fulfilled.
Who Appears
- GwenNewly accepted to Rackham; comforts Tana after Jayne’s death and promises to stay with her.
- Tana NighswanderPregnant and grieving; reveals Jayne died in a car fire on Easter; conflicted about her lack of sorrow.
- ArthurCelebrates with Gwen, then learns of Jayne’s death; feels numb and offers restrained condolences.