Part 3, Chapter 22 Summary

Flash back again in this final chapter of Part 3 to Miles' sophomore year at Empire Falls High. This is the year that Empire Textile closed and his mother lost her job. Several years before the mill had been sold to foreign investors who negotiated away many of the benefits the employees had enjoyed under Whiting rule. The inevitable bankruptcy was probably planned so the machinery could be repossessed and moved offshore. Some people left Empire Falls to take their chances elsewhere but many stayed simply because it was less scary to stay than to go. While considering her future-whether to stay in Empire Falls or seek employment elsewhere-Grace received a call from a man named William Vandermark, offering her a position as a care giver, gardener, and housekeeper for an older woman who'd just gotten out of surgery. The older woman...