- Now we're back to Valerian and Margaret. Chapter 8 opens with a description of Valerian's thoughts after he heard about his wife hurting baby Michael. Valerian reminisces about all the time he spent thinking that Margaret was just a drunk. He never would have thought that there was something actually psychologically wrong with her.
- It sounds like he and Margaret have had a conversation about the whole thing. All that Margaret could do to explain her behavior was to talk about how "delicious" it felt for her to stick pins into her baby's flesh. This is definitely not mother-of-the-year type stuff.
- While Margaret talks about her behavior, Valerian thinks of all the times he used to come home from work and find Michael hiding in a cupboard and singing to himself. He suddenly feels the urge to find his son and hug him.
- As Margaret continues, Valerian finally tells her that he can't listen anymore. It's too terrible to hear.
- After Margaret leaves, Valerian spends the rest of the night sitting at the dining room table and thinking about Michael. He realizes that his only two options to act are to go to Michael or to die.
- Valerian also realizes that sooner or later, he'll need to cry about what has happened to his son. But not normal tears. He wants to cry tears of blood.
- Eventually, Valerian's emotions shut down altogether. His pain is too overwhelming to bear, so he just goes numb, feeling like "This is not life. This is some other thing" (8.20).
- As the days go by, Margaret tells Valerian the truth about what she did little by little. Sometimes, she even tells him a bit while passing him on the stairs. Basically, she did it because she hated the demands that having a baby put on her. She hated the fact that she was responsible for her baby and had to cater to its every wish. That's why she hurt Michael, out of resentment.
- One day, Margaret tells Valerian that she has called Michael and found out that he had sent two messages saying he wouldn't be able to make it for Christmas. Rather than worrying about Michael's absence, Valerian asks Margaret how she could even dare to call or speak to Michael ever again.
- Margaret, though, insists that Michael was too young to be mentally damaged by what she did. Valerian wants to know how Margaret could possibly be sure of this. She says she knows because a mother can tell these things. Wow, she's really playing the mother-son bond card.
- At this point, Margaret asks Valerian to hit her so that she can feel less guilty. But he won't do it. All he says is, "Perhaps tomorrow" (8.65). And despite Margaret's begging over the next few days, all he'll say to her is, "Maybe tomorrow."
- On New Year's Day, Margaret goes into the kitchen and has a heart-to-heart with Ondine about how the two of them used to be friends. Margaret says that deep down, she always knew that Ondine knew about what she was doing to Michael.
- Margaret apologizes to Ondine for what she did, since she (Margaret) knows that Ondine always loved Michael as if he were her own.
- Margaret asks Ondine if it's too late for the two of them to be friends, to which Ondine answers, "Almost" (8.1000).
- Eventually, Valerian starts going back to his greenhouse and going through his daily routine, but not as energetically as he did before. He feels guilty for not understanding the messages that his two-year old son was trying to send him by hiding in the bathroom cabinet.