Chap­ter 3: Joe fol­lows the jour­ney of Joe, a fifty-six-year-old man deal­ing with the bur­dens of ill­ness, as he is accom­pa­nied by his aging moth­er, Mae, to a doctor’s appoint­ment. The road they trav­el on sym­bol­izes more than just a phys­i­cal jour­ney; it becomes a metaphor for Joe’s inter­nal strug­gles. Each bump in the road, each pot­hole, mir­rors the pain Joe expe­ri­ences, both from his fail­ing health and the emo­tion­al scars that per­sist in his fam­i­ly life. Despite his deep desire to remain at home, Joe com­plies with Mae’s insis­tence that he join her for the day. The day cul­mi­nates in a sim­ple yet poignant moment as they enjoy an all-day break­fast, offer­ing Joe a brief respite from the ongo­ing tur­moil in his life. This small com­fort, though fleet­ing, serves as a tem­po­rary escape from the emo­tion­al weight that con­tin­ues to press on Joe’s shoul­ders.

The chap­ter delves into the lin­ger­ing mys­tery of Joe’s miss­ing sis­ter, Ruthie, a loss that con­tin­ues to haunt both him and Mae. Ruthie’s absence is a shad­ow that col­ors their dai­ly lives, and both Joe and Mae strug­gle with the final­i­ty of her dis­ap­pear­ance. Their con­ver­sa­tions are filled with dis­be­lief as they con­tin­ue to grap­ple with the idea of death, some­thing they can­not ful­ly accept. The mem­o­ries of past sea­sons, spent har­vest­ing fruit and work­ing along­side apple pick­ers, evoke a stark con­trast to the empti­ness Ruthie left behind. The live­ly pres­ence of the work­ers stands in sharp con­trast to the qui­et, hol­low spaces Ruthie’s absence has left with­in the fam­i­ly. As the sea­sons change, the emo­tion­al dynam­ics with­in the house­hold begin to shift as Mae, once vibrant, becomes qui­eter, retreat­ing into her own thoughts, leav­ing behind a sense of deep, unhealed pain that remains ever-present.

In their house­hold, roles shift, and Mae steps into a more nur­tur­ing role, becom­ing the pri­ma­ry care­giv­er for both Joe and their aging moth­er. This shift in respon­si­bil­i­ty high­lights the com­plex­i­ties of fam­i­ly life, where sur­vival becomes a day-to-day focus amidst the back­drop of greater loss. The chapter’s vivid imagery of dai­ly inter­ac­tions brings the weight of grief to the fore­front, remind­ing the read­er of the family’s ongo­ing strug­gle with the absence of Ruthie. In the midst of these every­day real­i­ties, the bur­den of ill­ness becomes an added lay­er to the already dif­fi­cult lives they lead. Joe, bur­dened by his own health, feels the weight of both his and his fam­i­ly’s emo­tion­al scars. These sub­tle details under­score the real­i­ty of liv­ing with loss and how it affects every facet of life, from fam­i­ly roles to per­son­al strug­gles, as each fam­i­ly mem­ber copes in their own way.

The nar­ra­tive also touch­es on the fierce­ly pro­tec­tive nature of Joe’s father, par­tic­u­lar­ly regard­ing his children’s rela­tion­ships with out­siders. Joe’s father, unwill­ing to let any­one from the out­side intrude on his family’s life, stands res­olute­ly against any poten­tial suit­ors who might threat­en the family’s auton­o­my. This pro­tec­tive instinct comes to the fore­front when Joe’s father con­fronts a man named Mr. Hugh­es, fierce­ly defend­ing his children’s right to remain untouched by out­side forces. This scene serves as a pow­er­ful reminder of the lengths a par­ent will go to pro­tect their own, even in a world that seems full of loss and uncer­tain­ty. Joe’s rec­ol­lec­tions of his child­hood, par­tic­u­lar­ly the mem­o­ries of hid­ing in the woods with his fam­i­ly to avoid those who rep­re­sent con­trol and author­i­ty, fur­ther illus­trate the family’s deep-seat­ed need for pro­tec­tion and sur­vival.

As Joe reflects on these mem­o­ries, a mix­ture of child­hood inno­cence and harsh fam­i­ly real­i­ties come to the sur­face. The jux­ta­po­si­tion of warmth and humor in these moments con­trasts sharply with the under­ly­ing grief and loss that con­tin­ues to haunt them. Joe, in par­tic­u­lar, yearns for recog­ni­tion and belong­ing, feel­ing over­shad­owed by the his­to­ry and actions of his par­ents. The chap­ter cap­tures the del­i­cate bal­ance between sur­vival, mem­o­ry, and hope, reveal­ing how fam­i­ly ties shape one’s iden­ti­ty amidst a back­drop of ongo­ing strug­gles. The com­plex­i­ty of these themes, as Joe seeks solace in both the past and present, serves as a poignant explo­ration of the deeply inter­twined nature of famil­ial love, loss, and the human need for con­nec­tion. Through these lay­ered expe­ri­ences, the chap­ter reflects on the resilience of the human spir­it and the long­ing for heal­ing, even in the face of pro­found sor­row.