Summary

In the first part of the chapter, Peter describes some of the struggles he and his family face as they get used to having Tootsie around: Fudge starts wetting the bed and wetting his pants, Dad starts cooking dinner more often, and Mom is exhausted and crying. Peter speaks sharply at one point, saying that that is what she gets for having another baby. This, he says, makes her cry even harder. “I don’t like to see my mother cry,” he adds. “I feel sorry for her, but at the same time she makes me angry” (17). He stays at his friend Jimmy’s a lot, commenting in narration on how nobody seems to miss him at home.

After a few months pass, things are getting better; Tootsie is sleeping more, and more regularly, and Mom is starting to make...