Chapter 13 Summary

Within a few weeks of Turtle's trauma in the park, she was back to talking and acting as if nothing had happened. Turtle talks about a bad man that Ma Poppy hit with her cane, so Taylor knows that something did happen. Taylor and Turtle visit the social worker, Cynthia, twice a week. The rains have begun in earnest and Taylor cannot believe she used to rue the dryness of the earlier months. Cynthia, Taylor, and Turtle discuss Turtle's earlier experiences of abuse from before Taylor had Turtle. Unfortunately, Cynthia informs her that she has no legal claim on Turtle and that unless she can produce legal adoption papers, Turtle will be taken into state custody and placed in a foster home. Cynthia fills out the paperwork informing the bureaucracy of Turtle's status and tells Taylor it will be about three weeks before...