Belly explains that whenever Mr. Fisher makes occasional appearances at Cousins Beach, everyone stands up “a little straighter” (46). Despite Mr. Fisher’s aloof nature, Belly knows that Conrad idolizes his father, and Belly thinks about how she does not feel the same way about her father.

Belly admits that she blames her mother’s lack of emotional availability for the divorce and that she was the one who instigated the divorce in the first place. While her father showed genuine emotion and sadness, Laurel remained “so calm, so placid” (48), which bothers Belly and makes her feel increasingly distant from her mother the older Belly gets.

Belly admits that she loves summers so much because she can avoid going to her father’s new dingy apartment on the weekends. Despite her father’s attempts to make the space inviting, Belly resents her father’s attempts to help Belly acclimate to her new reality. Belly explains that her life is so different from how it used to be that the Cousins Beach house is the only constant in her life now.

Later on, Laurel confronts Belly to have one of their “dreaded” (52) mother-daughter talks. Laurel asks Belly if Conrad is doing drugs, which shocks Belly despite having seen him smoking a cigarette and drinking a beer the night before.