While Nate’s mother attempts to talk with his father, Nate wonders what he can say to Bronwyn to explain why he never told her that his mother is alive. He did not want his mother dead, but letting people believe she had died was easier for him than explaining that she was a cocaine addict who ran away to a commune. Nobody seemed to care either way, until Officer Lopez and Bronwyn. He considered telling Bronwyn the truth during their late-night conversations, but did not know how.

Realizing Nate’s father is “not in any shape to talk,” Nate’s mother opens a conversation with him (218). She explains that she has been sober for three months, is on effective medication, and apologizes for what Nate has been through. Nate is guarded throughout the conversation. When his mother brings up Bronwyn, saying she hopes his relationship with her is a sign that she and Nate’s father have not “messed [Nate] up too badly,” Nate denies they are in a relationship and storms out (220). He rides his bike for a few hours near the Mojave Desert towards Joshua Tree, the one place he vacationed to with his parents. He spent that entire trip waiting for something to go wrong, but his mother had been on “good behavior,” perhaps because she “had a thing for those short, twisted trees that were everywhere” (221).