Chapter 2 Summary

With the birds gone, Violet cannot sleep at night. However, it is different for Joe. For three months now Dorcas has been the sweetness that made sleep possible, thinking of her as he lay next to his wife. He killed her when he felt that sweetness slipping away, to keep it forever. He remembers his first glimpse of her, buying peppermint candy that made her skin break out, her bitten nails, and afterwards, the way the bed pillows made a bird's nest of her hair. He replays the day they met repeatedly to himself, indelibly inscribing it on his memory.

Joe remembers when he and Violet were young and decided to leave Vesper County, Virginia. He recalls dates, purchases, events, even scenes. However, he cannot recall the feelings, and Violet is so silent he does not think she can, either. He chooses Dorcas...