Summary

In Part One, "Tent," Chapter 1, Elaine called her sister, Minnie, to take her daughter, Francie from her. She thought Francie had a bug in her. Though Elaine had not hurt Francie, she wanted Minnie to come. Minnie was eight-and-a-half months pregnant; she sent Uncle Stan instead. Minnie made Elaine promise to call her doctors. Minnie would call too, and arrange for Francie to stay with the babysitter until Stan arrived.

In Chapter 2, Elaine had tape recorders in every room of the house. She did not know Francie knew about them. Francie took the tapes when she left for Aunt Minn's. When she arrived in Burbank, Aunt Minn introduced her to her new baby cousin, Vicky. Francie listened to the recordings alone.

In Chapter 3, Francie did not know the specifics of her mother's mental illness, but "it turned out [she] was right about...