Chapter 17 Summary

Laura Brown returns home at a later hour than she intended. Still, it's not even six o'clock, so Mrs. Latch, the neighbor watching over her son, will not require an explanation. With her mind on the Virginia Woolf novel she's been reading, she attempts to wear her life again through paying attention to symbols, such as her car, her wedding ring. She has to force herself to move forward, having spent the past hours longing for death. She nearly stumbles at the door of Mrs. Latch's house, but gathers her courage and rings the bell. At the sight of her, Richie starts crying and runs to his mother. She thinks he's a momma's boy. He stares at her with suspicion.

Alone in the car with Richie, she tells him they're in big trouble because she's running late with Dan's birthday dinner. She looks...