Chapter Four Summary

Jack is in the garden, looking at a gutted and abandoned "prefab." It is decaying and Jack imagines that one day his house will be in the same state. Jack picks up the sledgehammer and is happy to have found it. He begins to smash a concrete path he considers useless and opens up a crack, much to his satisfaction. However, Julie catches him and tells him to stop because his mother tells him to; the noise is giving her a headache. Out of anger he slams the hammer against the wall.

His mother rarely leaves bed these days. Julie, Sue and Jack maintain the house and do the chores. Since Jack's birthday, two weeks ago, she has not left the bed. Mother has many magazines and books but apparently never reads. She is also tired of doctors. As time progresses...