A Spool of Blue Thread

The narrative switches back to the present. Red’s moving out soon, but the family hangs up Halloween decorations anyway, because Abby made the ghost decorations from cheesecloth and hung them up every year. Denny announces during Saturday evening dinner that he’s returning to New Jersey the next morning, and the shock is palpable. Jeannie asks why he’s leaving before Red and Stem are settled, and Denny says it’s because Hurricane Sandy will soon make landfall and he needs to prep things at “home.” Red panics, since Denny is supposed to connect his Internet. Nora calms him, however, though she makes a crack about Denny being the “prodigal son.” Jeannie upbraids Denny further, reminding him how he always runs off whenever he chooses.

Red drags his feet Sunday morning, requesting eggs for breakfast when everything is packed. Nora, always gracious, acquiesces. He then eats slowly as the two Hughs load up cars with belongings. While Jeannie waits listlessly for Red, Denny arrives, packed and ready. Red mentions he had a dream about the house burning down, while Denny asks for a ride. Though Jeannie flat out refuses, Nora agrees. Red then asks Denny if he paid someone to play the French horn years prior so that the family might miss him. This confuses everyone. Red says bye to Denny. and they all leave.

Denny and Nora make small talk while heading to the station. When she queries him about teaching full-time, he admits that he doesn’t like teaching. Instead, he might try making furniture. She thanks him for never telling Stem about his birth mother. Denny then admits that, when he searched for thread for Red’s dashiki, he opened one of Abby’s closets and a spool of blue thread the exact color he needed fell into his hands. Denny says, “It’s like she’s telling me she forgives me […] Or she’s telling me she knows I forgive her” (456).

The station is pure chaos inside. Even though Denny has a reserved seat, he’s afraid train cancellations will force him back to the Bouton Road house, “[stuck] in his family, trapped. Ingrown, like a toenail” (458). Luckily, he’s allowed to board, and he calls someone named Alison. Though she sounds annoyed at hearing from him, he promises to prepare the house for the hurricane. She hasn’t given him permission to return home, but he presses her until she agrees. She also agrees to bring his belongings back in, despite knowing she’s being a pushover. When he hangs up, he assesses his fellow passengers. Two girls giggle loudly behind him, while others read or work on laptops. To his horror, the teenage boy sitting next to him cries openly. Denny briefly panics. It reminds him of when Stem always cried himself to sleep each night as a child, or when he himself cried at night at boarding school. In the end, he ignores the crying teenager and looks out the window.