- Chaos erupts as everyone rushes to save stuff. Opal: sandwiches. Preacher: punch. Sweetie Pie: dog pictures.
- Amanda: Miss Franny on her tottery high heels.
- Opal tells Otis to come on inside, where everyone is already laughing about the sudden deluge. Then it hits her: Winn-Dixie is gone. She forgot to protect him from the thunder, and he bolted.
- She runs outside to check all the chairs, bushes, and trees, beating herself to a guilty pulp.
- Stevie and Dunlap show up at that moment (they would), and she wants to ignore them, but Gloria forces her to thank them for coming.
- Opal just wants to cry.
- Before she takes off to look for Winn-Dixie again, Gloria whispers wise advice in her ear: you can't force something to stay when it wants to leave—you've got to love it while you got it.
- Everyone wishes Opal good luck, and when she looks back, she sees Dunlap standing on the porch. The light is shining on his white pool-cue head. He waves to her, but she doesn't wave back.