Various Times Saturday Morning—Day Off
- Vera gets home and her room smells rank. She quickly figures out that a mouse has died in the walls; their house is old and this happens often (yuck).
- She goes to get some candles to light them in her room, which slightly masks the dead mouse smell. When she tells her father about it the next morning, he says that they can't do anything about it and that if it's so bad, she should sleep on the couch.
- Her dad is setting up an ugly Christmas tree, and she realizes in that moment how much they both miss Vera's mother—the living room is dark and empty without her even now.
- She goes to take a shower and thinks about how she doesn't have anyone to talk to about how her body is changing as a teenager.
- Then she remembers when she was sixteen and hiking with Charlie and had to duck behind a tree to change her tampon.
- Charlie told her that his dad won't let his mom use tampons, because it's like she's having sex with another person. Vera realized then just how messed up his dad was.
- She comes downstairs after her shower and watches her dad secretly as he puts together the tree. She thinks about how he's handsome, smart, fit, and has a good job. His only flaw is that he's cheap, which isn't that bad. Why did her mom leave him just because of that? It seems dumb.