Breakfast with the Tucks is a simple affair of flapjacks, but no one minds. Winnie realizes she loves the Tucks, and part of her wishes she could stay with them, drink from the spring when she’s 17, and live forever with Jesse.

Partway through the meal, a knock comes at the door. The knock is “such an alien sound” that it takes everyone a moment to realize what it was (93). Mae answers the door. It’s the man in the yellow suit, who asks if he can come in.

The man enters and tells a story from his childhood. Years ago, a friend of his grandmother married a man from a family that never seemed to age. After 20 years, the woman took her children and stayed with the man with the yellow suit (still a child) and his family. They told many stories, one of which about the very memorable tune Mae’s music box plays. When he heard the tune coming from the Fosters’ wood the other night, he knew he found them. He followed them when they kidnapped Winnie and listened to their entire story.

The Tucks are pained and outraged.

Don't Miss Out!

Access Study Guide Now