The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle

Lt. Baird leaves, and Mason is panicking. Uncle Drum and Grandma try to comfort him, but Mason can’t really hear: “He’s leaving. But he’s staying inside of me. Because I know what he thinks” (253). Mason runs outside to tell Lt. Baird he is missing a big piece of his puzzle. Lt. Baird tells Mason that he hasn’t been helpful, he hasn’t written in the notebook or typed much for the police to go on. Mason realizes that all those sad-to-see-you looks weren’t about grief. Those people in town believed Mason was evil: “It is not just the lieutenant who believes all this bad about me” (255). Mason goes to bed and holds his head in his hands. He is devastated.

Mason wakes up early and sits in front of the notebook. He can’t write in it, so he just stares. Grandma comes in and consoles him. She tells him they never believed a thing bad about him, and they let him talk to the lieutenant because they know he is honest. Grandma makes Mason feel like a child again. He remembers his mother. “I feel small. So small. Like my own mom—gone so long—will walk in the room behind me” (258). Later, Shayleen rouses Mason from drifting off at the table. She gives him bandanas to use as sweat rags to replace the paper towels. She also tells him he needs new pants and a razor for his chin hairs. He chooses a pink bandana to bring happiness and good luck. 

The Friday before Columbus Day weekend, the bus is quiet. Mason goes right to the SWOOF. He needs to print off information for Lt. Baird. Annalissetta Yang offers him her appointment slot, and Mason promises her a favor. Ms. Blinny helps Mason find the entry where he talked about Benny and the puff of pink smoke that came from his mouth. She tells Mason he has a rare trait called synesthesia, which allows him to experience color in unique ways. She encourages Mason to include the whole entry, even the pink smoke, and she prints it for him to give to Lt. Baird. 

Mason goes to the Drinker house to watch Moonie. Mrs. Drinker nervously tells Mason all the instructions he already knows and asks him to bring the dog food in and store it high and dry in the garage, so it doesn’t get wet. Mason wants to visit Calvin but waits until the delivery driver comes with the dog food. When the UPS truck finally arrives, Mason stores the food up high, and Mason walks with Moonie up to Calvin’s house, stopping on the way to retrieve Calvin’s one tan shoe from his room. 

When Mason arrives at the Chumsky house, Margie is gone, and the Chumsky parents are home. “There are no sad-to-see-you faces. They hug me. Both of them do… Sometimes the Universe gives you what you need” (271). Mason finds Calvin on the couch. He has a walker and a wheelchair. He admits he can’t remember much of what happened because of the concussion, but tells Mason he jumped into the shaft. He hoped it would be like the laundry chute in Mason’s house. And then, his toe got stuck, and his leg went up. He explains that his leg only really hurts when the nerves start to fire up. Mason promises he will help Calvin with whatever he needs. Calvin tells Mason he dreamed of Moonie while he was in the hole. 

At home, Grandma gives Mason a chicken dinner to bring to the Chumskys. Mason brings Moonie out first and feeds him, then goes back home to change his shirt before the delivery. As he is changing, he sees Moonie in the yard. He watches as Moonie runs in a big circle, then sails over the fence: “I make a guess: He has escaped like that about a hundred times before” (279). Moonie meets Mason at his porch, and Mason smiles. He can now tell the Drinkers he knows how Moonie escapes. 

Over chicken dinner, Mason says he wants to call Lt. Baird. He quiets everyone down until Mason starts talking about Calvin. He says his leg burns like fire from the nerve waking up, but otherwise he is in good spirits. The Chumskys want to see the root cellar and are not mad at the Buttles. Grandma replies, “It’s nice to know that someone chooses to think the best of you. When they could do just the opposite” (282). Grandma makes a point to say they need to take better care of the house. After dinner, Mason calls Lt. Baird to say he has a new page for him. Lt. Baird is on vacation but says he will see Mason first thing on Tuesday. He thanks Mason for the call. 

Over the weekend, Mason is busy. He cares for Moonie, visits the Chumskys, and starts to clean the house. He keeps up on the laundry and even vacuums the carpet. It turns out quite nicely. On Sunday evening, Mason is sad to leave Moonie behind. He lets Moonie out, feeds him dinner, and then they cuddle on the Drinkers living room floor: “I think, what else is like this? This good? What else in the whole wide world? Nothing!” (285). Mason puts on public radio quietly for Moonie to keep him company, and then he goes home.