Chapter 2 Summary

Dennis tells his daughter how Eva's sister, Mary, came to him one night and showed him a letter Eva wrote to her. It seems Eva married a childhood friend and used the money Billy sent her to come to America to buy a small gas station in their hometown. Dennis is devastated by this news, aware of how much Billy loves Eva. Mary jokes that perhaps Dennis should tell Billy Eva was dead. To her she was.

Dennis takes Mary home and goes to his stepfather to offer to check for storm damage at his Long Island home. His stepfather, Mr. Holtzman, hands Dennis the keys only after he promises to take Billy with him. Dennis collects Billy with the same cover story and drives out to Long Island, the whole time trying to figure out how best to tell Billy about Eva...