Table of Contents: Part II (Journeys, Chapters 3 – 44)
Chapter 3
(Drama between Samantha and Nicole in a
psychodrama)
(Letter from Nicole to Samantha about the
reunion)
(Samantha discusses Nicole’s pregnancy
and compares it to her own)
(Tyrone and Jackie)
(Letter to Mother, Litany of Daddies,
and getting run over by a truck)
(Samantha discusses her mother’s death)
(Fantasy suicide, Paulie Quest, and
Monique)
(Ruby and sibling separation)
(First meeting with the adult Ruby)
(Swearing contest with Danny and childhood
confession)
(Funerals and viewings)
(Synesthesia and grade school)
(Danny’s boyhood calling to the
Priesthood)
(Samantha and singing in the grade school
choir)
(Arriving in Sioux City and remembering
Nicole’s birth)
(Arrival in Sioux City)
(Scared five-year-old Samantha as she hunts
for Nana)
(Introducing Sal and Phil as they arrive
from the nursing home)
(Nana rationalizing why she and Pappa could
not adopt Ruby)
(Anticipating Ruby’s visit to Sioux
City for the reunion)
(First meeting with Ruby and her family
in Timber City)
(Awkward first Sioux City meeting with
Ruby and her family)
(Back in grade school, locked in the cloakroom
with a boy who teases Samantha. The Fantasy Blue Family as described by young
Samantha)
(Samantha sitting at Sal’s kitchen table
with Sal and Ruby)
(Samantha at Pappa’s 1974 funeral)
(At Sal’s poolside, discussing Sal’s last
wishes and obit)
(Samantha’s interaction and walk with her
deceased Pappa)
(Samantha and Sheldon preparing to pick
up Nana for the reunion and packing picnic Items)
(Nana, in her own voice, nags Samantha about
not attending her mother’s funeral)
(Samantha and Ruby in Sal’s backyard.
Ruby asks about Nicole, why she’s not coming to the reunion)
(A 1982 short story by Nicole: “Gargantua
Goes on a Diet”)
(Picking up Nana from the nursing home
for the reunion, arguing on the way)
(Taking the child Nicole to Disney
World)
(On the way to the reunion, Nana discusses
her fears about death and not being able to see Nicole again)
(Nana’s 1983 Diary entry about Samantha
and Nicole’s arrival to Sioux City. Nana reveals her own worries about her weight)
(As Sheldon, Samantha, and Nana arrive
at the reunion venue, Nana asks that her letters and papers be unread and burned)
(Nana laments the fact that her daughter
Rosie, Samantha’s mother, has been cremated. She still nags Samantha about her non-attendance
at Rosie’s funeral)
(Now at the reunion, Nana questions why
Nicole isn’t present at the reunion. The family members find their places at
the picnic tables)
(“2035: Psychedelic Bingo,” a short story.
Nicole and Kaitlyn’s voices are heard. Kaitlyn is Nicole’s daughter and
Samantha’s granddaughter)
(At the reunion, Nana meets Ruby for
the first time in 33 Years)
(Samantha shares, with Nana, a shocking
letter from Ruby)
(Children playing “Ring Around the Rosie,” closing out Part II)