Summary

Although this chapter comes after Constance picked up Dan from the airport, the chapter opens before that point, taking the reader back in time to the day before, with Constance shopping for a Christmas present for her mother, Rosaleen. Constance made a special trip up to Galway to select an overly expensive scarf so she could pretend that it was not a bother or expense to purchase it, but the entire chapter becomes a revelation of Constance's frustration with the failure of this goal.

After purchasing the scarf and picking up Dan, Constance shopped for Christmas dinner at the local market. The narrative has still not caught up to the previous chapter's setting, Christmas eve. During the shopping trip, Constance bought a lavish amount of food, spending $400 on the shopping bill, but as she loaded the bags into her car, she realized...