- Back in her suburban Los Angeles home, Laura Brown is starting the cake for her husband's birthday.
- After sifting flour into a bowl, Laura lets Richie measure out the cups they'll need for the batter.
- Laura is imagining a beautiful cake—one that "will speak of bounty and delight the way a good house speaks of comfort and safety" (6.9). She imagines it being perfect and glossy, like a photograph.
- Three-year-old Richie measures cautiously, terrified of doing something wrong and disappointing his mother.
- The two work together slowly, with Richie doing his best to please his mother, and Laura doing her best to convince herself that she's happy with the life she has.