Chapters 19-21 Summary

The day after Vernon notices Miss Murphy leaving Maxine, Jerry calls to say that Miss Murphy called his father to discuss Maxine. Vernon, fearing that the officials may be trying to take Robert away from his mother, writes a letter in her defense to Miss Murphy. He carefully uses all of the writing lessons he has learned from Miss Murphy to make his case for Maxine being a responsible and loving mother. Then, he gives a baseball card collection to Jerry, as both a thanks and a peace offering, though the level of the conflict between the boys seems largely hidden by Vernon's worries about Maxine.

Finally, after several days, Vernon's father talks to him about his fight with his brother, Tony, after the carnival. Though his dad validates the reason for the disagreement between the brothers, he insists that there...