Summary

This section of the novel focuses on Alice’s visit to Halcyon, a vacation retreat owned by the Blackwells and several other families. As they drove to the retreat Charlie told Alice about a trick someone had played on another adult involving a pair of pink plastic flamingoes as a way of describing his family’s love of practical jokes. They had even gone so far as to buy a real flamingo that wound up in the one bathtub belonging to the Blackwell family.

When they pulled up at the compound of houses, Charlie’s brother Arthur came out and the two began wrestling. After their greeting, Alice’s things were taken into the large house, called the Alamo, and Alice was shown around. She was surprised by the lack of fanciness in the house. Arthur seemed happy to...