Big Little Lies

Jane and Ziggy head to school. Before exiting the car, Ziggy explains that on orientation day,. Max told that if Amabella told on him, he would hurt her again. Trapped, Amabella pointed to Ziggy and apologized to him later. Proud, Jane sees that “[Ziggy has] been anxious because he’d been bravely and foolishly carrying a secret” (368). He was trying to be a good friend to Amabella. Jane’s fears about Ziggy’s heritage and personality wane.

Jane debates about the best way to go about telling other parents and teachers about Max. She wonders, too, how Celeste will react to the news, as she’s always known Celeste to be a calm and cool person.

Almost at the school, Jane and Ziggy run into Mrs. Ponder, the woman from the beginning of the novel that lives across the street. Mrs. Ponder notices Ziggy relentlessly scratching his head. She examines his scalp and concludes that Ziggy has lice. 

Madeline picks up Abigail from school. They sit in the car together and wait for the pick-up and drop-off lane to move. Madeline confronts her daughter about the website, and the two have a heated argument. Madeline says that what Abigail is doing is drawing attention to herself and not the issue of sex trafficking. She offers to help Abigail raise awareness in other ways, but Abigail retorts “You’ll say all this but then you won’t really do anything. You’ll get busy and then you’ll forget all about it” (374), showing that Abigail has become distrustful of her mom. Madeline remains unrelenting. She informs Abigail that, whether she likes it or not, the website will be taken down.

Their exchange takes up so much of Madeline’s attention that she hits the car in front of her; Renata's car. In a testimonial at the end of the chapter, Harper claims that Madeline hit Renata on purpose. 

Jane takes Ziggy to the hair salon owned by Mrs. Ponder’s daughter, the popular Hairway to Heaven. Mrs. Ponder’s daughter, Lucy, offers to help get rid of Ziggy’s lice. To be on the safe side, the helpful Lucy also offers to check Jane’s hair for lice. Lucy also wants to give Jane a haircut, thinking a makeover would do her good. Jane resists, but Lucy insists.

A testimonial ends the chapter. Samantha, who had attended Madeline’s book club, confirms that Jane looked great when she showed up to the trivia night with her new haircut: “Oh dear. Poor little Jane. She looked so happy at the start of the night” (378). 

Madeline picks up Josh and Max along with her children, as Celeste is unable to drive with her injury. On the way to drop the twins off, Madeline notices Fred snatching his head and quickly intuits that he has lice.

Madeline drops off Celeste’s boys, and the two moms talk briefly. Madeline tells Celeste about Abigail’s ridiculous plan. Celeste understands Madeline's perspective, but likewise sees how Abigail is “making one of those grand symbolic gestures” (380); Madeline should be happy that Abigail’s heart is in the right place.

Madeline asks Celeste if she is okay, noting how unwell she appears. Celeste assures Madeline that she will feel better in time for trivia night the next evening. They part ways, but not until after Madeline recommends Celeste get Josh and Max checked for lice. 

Jane drops Ziggy off at her parents’ place so she can attend trivia night. She adores her new haircut. Looking at herself in the mirror, and “For the first time since before that night in the hotel, when those words had wormed their malevolent way into her head, she […] felt uncomplicated pleasure” (385). She heads to Blue Blues, wanting to show off her haircut to Tom. 

Celeste wakes up the day of the trivia night and feels sore, but better. Meanwhile, Perry and her sons cook breakfast in the other room. Celeste thinks of her future. After trivia night, Perry will be leaving for another business trip in Hawaii. While he’s gone, Celeste will move herself and the boys to her new apartment. She knows the divorce will be difficult, but she also knows she will get through it. Confidently, Celeste thinks “Yesterday was the last time he would hurt her. It was over” (388). Then, the boys and Perry come running into the room with breakfast. 

At Madeline’s house, Madeline and Nathan try to convince Abigail to take down her website. Abigail remains steadfast in keeping it up. She is undecided whether to go through with her plan but feels that “leaving the website up [raises] awareness of [sex trafficking]” (390). Nathan even cries in front of his daughter in frustration. Abigail, like her mother, refuses to give up, and Nathan leaves without making progress.

Later, Ed and Madeline discuss other ways they can get the site taken down. Before they enact any plans, in a stroke of luck, Abigail approaches them and tells them she is taking down the site. An elderly man in South Dakota has offered to pay Amnesty International $100,000 dollars. In return, he doesn’t want Abigail to do anything except take the site down. Madeline becomes suspicious, finding the turn of events very convenient. 

In the heavy rain, Jane approaches Blue Blues, only to find it closed. Soaking wet, she turns to leave, but Tom opens the door and invites her in. He shows her his small apartment in the back of the coffee shop and offers her some dry clothes. After Jane changes, the two have soup and do a jigsaw puzzle. While discussing Jane’s haircut, Tom informs Jane that he isn’t gay. Jane reflects on her friendship with Tom, feeling “She’d always been so free with him” (399). She becomes nervous and giddy. They resume the puzzle, but now with a clearer attractive tension between them.

Testimonials at the end of the chapter mention Jane at trivia night standing closely and intimately with Tom. 

Celeste dresses for trivia night. As she gets ready, Josh tells her Max has been hurting girls at school. Not just Amabella, but Skye too, Nathan and Bonnie’s daughter. The idea of Max hurting anyone horrifies Celeste. Then, as if on cue, Max comes running into the room, wanting to show his mom his loose tooth. Max has always been so sweet and kind around his mom. 

Before Celeste can decide what to do, Perry walks. Perry tells Celeste he has a message for Celeste, from a woman named Mindy, “Your property manager” (402). Celeste’s heart drops. Perry knows about her apartment, but he acts normal around the boys. The doorbell rings.