Summary

In sections i through iii, the social workers, Enrique and a Korean lady, take Theo to a diner and break the news to him that his mother is dead. Instead of going to a foster home, Theo gives the social workers an elementary school friend’s name – Andy Barbour – who he would like to stay with. At the Barbour’s home on Park Avenue, Theo and the Barbours get through an uncomfortable first meeting, and Theo grieves as the Barbours cater to him. Mrs. Barbour, who Theo describes as a masterpiece of composure, protects Theo from his social worker’s badgering interrogations over the whereabouts of his father. Theo remembers his mother; he grieves; he continues to wish he had done something differently so she would still be alive.

In sections iv through vii, Mrs. Barbour sends Theo back to...