Summary

Chapter Eight is titled “His Comeuppance,” and is narrated in the first-person voice of Polly Elizabeth, who at first describes the beauty and playfulness of John James Mauser II, the child of Fleur and Mauser. She also references his anger when he is refused his mother’s breast, how everyone in the household seems to dote on him, and how playful Fleur becomes when she is with him. There are references to Polly Elizabeth becoming aware that Fleur also has a daughter, and that Fleur wants to bring that daughter to live with her, but never does. Polly Elizabeth gets the sense that the daughter is refusing to leave her own life, and acknowledges the value of that perspective.

Over time, Mauser II develops what Polly Elizabeth sees as abnormalities. He is slow to speak and slow to learn to read, he has interludes...