Summary

In Chapter 53, Henry describes how he confronted his mother about Lucy's pregnancy and how it mother thought they should all be happy. This made Henry feel totally alone. David even disconnected the doorbell after her brother Karl kept coming to check on them. Martina says Karl was not let in because he "is too frivolous and lives a life without meaning" (270). Even the man who delivered the groceries assumed that Martina was a nun living in a closed convent. With Phin still angry at him and his parents keeping their distance, Henry had no one left.

One day, Henry asked Clemency if she knew David was having sex with Lucy, and she said she thought they were exercising. He confided in Clemency that he had gotten into David and Birdie's bedroom and what he had found inside. He thought that telling her this...