Part 1, Chapter 2, Delayed Reaction Summary

Kate wakes up for school an hour late. She reveals herself to be an atheist as she scrambles about to get ready for school. This includes getting all of Toby's asthma medications arranged on the counter. As she does so, her father asks her to sit down and talk with him. He questions Kate about college. Kate explains to him that she is waiting on a letter from MIT before she makes any decisions, yet doesn't tell her father she has only applied to MIT. When she leaves, he says "God bless" to her.

Kate rushes to school in her car which she has nicknamed "Bert". She wonders why her father talks about God to her, because she doesn't force science on him. She also reflects on her mother, who contracted pneumonia and died from it. Kate...