Summary

At the beginning of Chapter 16, the family sleeps all together in one big bed to keep warm, since they cannot afford to use propane at night. The children return to school.

The home has become even less hospitable than it was before. The family does not use the lights because they are afraid someone will see them inside the house, which they are technically not allowed to occupy due to the foreclosure. The mother uses the house’s woodstove to both cook and heat the house.

One day, Ada and Collin invite Natty and Gavin to eat dinner with them at the Dolan household. Throughout the dinner, Gavin is uncomfortable interrupting the seeming joy and wealth of the Dolan household. He is hesitant to eat more than his share, and feels unable to ask to use the bathroom. In the end, Gavin asks to...