Contents
Chapter 16
Overview
Elsie, exhausted after a shoe-shopping trip with Daphne, confronts her growing frailty. The next morning, Persephone barges in demanding food and nearly enters Elsie’s closed second bedroom, triggering Elsie’s sharp rebuke. Persephone flees in tears, underscoring Elsie’s guarded grief and rising tension with the neighbors.
Summary
Elsie and Daphne take the bus to buy shoes, with Daphne pushing her to choose burgundy. The short outing leaves Elsie drained, forcing her to confront how ordinary errands now exhaust her.
The next morning, Persephone knocks and pushes into Elsie’s house, declaring she is hungry. Persephone raids the kitchen, dismisses the apples, pockets arrowroot biscuits, and suggests Elsie bake banana bread for afternoon tea, while Roxanne remains absent and school start time looms.
As Elsie considers baking with overripe bananas, she realizes Persephone hasn’t left. Elsie finds Persephone peering into the second bedroom. Startled and upset, Elsie sharply orders Persephone out and slams the door, revealing how fiercely she guards whatever grief is stored there.
Shamed and near tears, Persephone apologizes and runs off with the biscuits. Elsie is left shaken, her privacy reasserted but at the cost of frightening a child and exposing the depth of her unresolved sorrow.
Who Appears
- ElsieElderly narrator; exhausted by a short shopping trip; fiercely protects a secret second bedroom; snaps at Persephone.
- PersephoneHungry, intrusive child; raids Elsie’s kitchen, asks for banana bread; nearly snoops into a forbidden room; flees in tears.
- DaphneFriend and shopping companion; nudges Elsie to buy burgundy shoes; also worn out by the outing.
- RoxannePersephone’s mother; absent and sleeping while Persephone intrudes on Elsie before school.