Part Two, Church, People, Steeple Summary and Analysis

On Ash Wednesday, Anne talks to Sam about the significance of the day and tells him they are going to skip cartoons before school as a sign of their respect for the dead. A short time later, she hears cartoons. She grabs Sam by the arm and sends him to his room crying. She then says there is no feeling worse than having attacked a child. She compares it to having "bitch-slapped E.T." She drops Sam at school and he goes to a friend's house that afternoon. He is then picked up by Brian, his "Big Brother," and Anne goes off to church alone. By the time she's home, Sam is in bed. She has prayed Sam will forgive her and that she will come to trust herself again. Then she goes...