The Guncle

Back at home, Patrick puts Grant to bed, and he and Maisie clean up the mess. Maisie asks Patrick if he ever gets lonely in his giant house and vows to never be lonely herself. She cries to see that Patrick’s Golden Globe Award has been dented, but Patrick reassures her that “Things can be replaced” (222).

In the aftermath of the earthquake, Patrick begins to declutter. In his nightstand, he discovers a letter he wrote to Joe after his death (alongside the bottle of pills he saved in case the grief became too much). Patrick recalls the sounds of the crash, the isolation when Joe’s family refused to allow Patrick into the hospital room, and the fact that, in his final moments, Joe was surrounded by people who knew him the least. Patrick thinks about the anger he felt after Joe’s death over what might have been—he and Joe could have been a family.

Patrick remembers how a week after Joe’s death, Sara brought over tequila, and they shared memories of Joe.

Unable to sleep, Patrick visits the Coachella Sober Living Facility to visit his brother. Patrick tells Greg he’s surrendering the kids to Clara for the last three weeks. The earthquake, Grant’s injury, and memories of Joe have become too overwhelming. Patrick fears “messing everything up” (234). Greg is adamantly opposed. He wanted the kids with Patrick because he thought it would be therapeutic for all of them. Greg knows the real reason Patrick suddenly wants to let the kids go: Maisie and Grant have breached the emotional barrier Patrick erected around himself, and that intimacy frightens him. The argument—and the smell of the rehab facility—makes Patrick feel remorse that he never visited Sara before she died. Sara understood, Greg tells him. Both brothers have navigated grief, so Greg urges Patrick to share his story with the kids and to model what the process of grieving looks like. Full of self-doubt, Patrick nevertheless agrees.

Fear of earthquakes has prompted the kids to wear bicycle helmets all day, so Patrick posts a video of them banging heads together to his YouTube channel. The positive online responses “connect him to the outside world” (241) once again.

When Patrick and the kids go for their usual morning bike ride, Patrick wants to tell the kids about Joe, but he can’t bring himself to do it. Later, as the kids swim in the pool, his neighbor John marvels at Patrick’s proficiency with applying sunscreen, giving Patrick a self-assurance boost. Patrick decides to broach the subject of Joe, although finding the right word to express their relationship is difficult; he opts for “boyfriend.” He tells the kids that Joe was killed by a drunk driver over 10 years ago. Maisie, who struggles with the reality of death more than Grant, asks: “When does it get easy?” (246). Patrick answers honestly: The struggle never ends, although it does get easier. Patrick suggests that they all write letters to Sara.

The next morning, Patrick calls Cassie and asks her about opportunities for him in New York.

As Greg’s release date approaches, Maisie grows more withdrawn and sullen, her moodiness finally erupting into anger. Her irritation continues for several days, and she responds to Patrick’s attempts at humor with fury: “I’m tired of living here! It’s a million degrees and your rules aren’t funny and I want to go home” (253). When Patrick counters that the summer hasn’t been all great for him either, Maisie retorts: “I hate you” (255) loud enough for the whole restaurant to hear. Patrick wants to react like an adult, but can’t help engaging, yelling back at Maisie. Just then, however, he remembers the verbal abuse he heaped upon his own mother for failing to understand the depths of his adolescent pain, and apologizes to Maisie, who silently acknowledges it. An elderly couple next to them hand Patrick a folded napkin. Inside is a note: “Every parent has these days. You’re very good with them. Your breakfast is on us” (260).