Nothing to See Here

The routine is unchanged at the guesthouse, and the following three weeks pass in a blur. There is no Jasper, Madison, or Timothy—all are in Washington DC—and there is no fire. Things are also going well for the senator; Lillian questions the kind of vetting that disregards spontaneously combusting children and the suicide of an ex-wife. She and the twins, dressed in their Nomex suits, take a tour of the empty mansion. Mary lets them in through a back door, promising dessert when they are finished. In Timothy’s room, Bessie and Roland each steal one of the stuffed animals as “a kind of tax” (127). They eventually find their old room, now an exercise space, and more memories of their life there return. By the end of the tour, they are exhausted.

On another day, Carl arrives in a nondescript vehicle to take the children to the family doctor in Nashville. Jasper wants to assess whether their condition has worsened or improved. With the promise of ice cream afterwards, the reluctant children embark on the long journey.