Home of the American Circus

Freya meets Eddie at the pond and they swim, then have sex. Jam is at the house the next morning, and at first Freya is irritated with him. He makes her coffee and she listens while he plays the piano, and Freya feels content.

Freya enjoys the summer with Aubrey. She sees nothing of Steena and is glad about that. Aubrey works part-time at The Aster, and she and Shray set up an art studio in the basement, where Freya occasionally joins them.

When they walk by the reservoir, Freya remembers walking with Step and finding occasional treasures. She thinks of the story about the town that was once there, and the people who had to move when the reservoir was built. Freya carves a picture of Aubrey by the water and thinks, “I am the happiest I have ever been” (283).

Freya believes she has saved enough money to fix the roof on the house, then panics when she receives the bill for house insurance, which is $12,000 dollars. Freya is upset and thinks, “I want to hurt this house. It’s failing me. I’m failing it. I will never catch up” (286). Aubrey gives Freya a gummi bear that relaxes her. The next morning, Freya talks with Aubrey about substance use, as she doesn’t want Aubry to end up like Jam. Aubrey is upset that Freya didn’t tell her about the tax bill. They discuss ways they can pay it.

Freya contacts the other real estate company in town, not Charlie’s, and Lee Skagway comes to look at the house. He tries to be encouraging but gives Freya a long list of things she would have to fix if she wanted to sell. He mentions that the house addition was made before the construction boom, so it’s less likely to have incorporated materials that have now been recalled, including a corrosive drywall.

Freya confronts her mother’s overgrown garden, which she sees as symbolic of her mother’s failures. Earlier, she discovered that her mother had kept Freya and Steena’s baby teeth, reflecting, “I’d always thought she could only see motherhood as the great burden of her life” (295). Freya reflects that she can only recall her mother in fragments, not as a whole person. She thinks, “She is an ache that exists in my heart on a cellular level. She is this untended garden” (296).

Eddie finds scrap shingles and helps Freya patch her roof. She and Eddie haven’t defined their relationship, but they’ve spent more time together. He invites Freya on a date, so she goes to his house to meet him. Eddie is taking care of his mother, who has dementia. She recognizes Freya, but calls Eddie by the wrong name.

Eddie’s father left when his mother was diagnosed and is now living in Florida. Freya thinks Step’s plan to hike the Appalachian Trail is a kind of abandonment, too. They picnic by the bridge and have sex. Eddie tells Freya he loves her. They spend the night there.

Gus, a regular at the bar, comes to help Freya with house repairs, and she shows him Vili’s woodworking tools and the carvings she’s made. Shorty brings over food, and Freya invites people over for an impromptu party. She enjoys the evening and the sense of belonging.

A section at the end of this chapter discusses the burial of Old Bet and the death of Hachaliah Bailey, who was kicked in the head by his horse.

Freya helps Aubrey get ready for her first day of school. Trying to give Aubrey a normal teenager’s life makes Freya realize how much she herself did not have one, and she reflects, “Taking care of [Aubrey] is an exquisitely beautiful, painful way to make sense of myself” (311).

Freya is at the library when Aubrey calls. Freya rushes to the school and learns someone threw red paint at Aubrey. Bee wants her to report the bullying, but Aubrey refuses. Freya takes Aubrey to the library, then to get ice cream. Aubrey wishes she didn’t have to deal with the people at school. They spot Charlie’s car and worry that he saw them.

Freya recalls her college boyfriend, Ted, who dumped her after she dropped out. Humiliated, Freya went to a bar in Somers and drank too much. Charlie approached her and started chatting. She saw him looking at her breasts.

Jam comes to The Aster and says he’s been writing music. Eddie comes by, and Jam references a time Eddie saved his life, but does so in a way that makes Eddie uncomfortable. Jam tells Freya to stop having sex with Eddie and have sex with him, Jam, instead. Jam kisses her, and Freya is taken back, thinking, “I was always so sure that if I found the guts to pull the trigger and tell Jam I wanted him, we would float away into happily ever after” (323). She calls a cab for Jam.

Tommy Tom reveals that he was at Eddie and Lexi’s place for a get-together. He has a sweatshirt of Lexi’s that he asks Freya to return.

Freya is upset to think Eddie has been cheating on Lexi. At the house, Aubrey is upset and packing her things. She found Lee’s list of how to make the house ready for sale and concludes that Freya never intended to stay in Somers. Aubrey wants to know why Freya left, and Freya still can’t tell her. Aubrey leaves to return to her parents’ house.

Freya recalls that night. Charlie said she was drunk and would drive Freya home. She didn’t want to go with him but she was incapacitated. Charlie took her to his office and said he’d make her coffee. Freya said no, but he didn’t listen.

Freya runs to Jam’s house, and they have sex. She feels a sense of awe, but also a moment of dread that she has ruined everything. When she walks home the next morning, Eddie drives by. Freya pretends she is talking to someone on her phone.

Aubrey doesn’t answer when Freya calls. Freya talks to Bee and worries she wasn’t a good guardian for Aubrey. Freya gives Eddie Lexi’s sweatshirt and tells him she doesn’t believe he and Lexi are divorcing. Carlos tries to comfort Freya.

Freya recalls small details of being in Charlie’s office and him raping her, but she doesn’t have a full or coherent memory of the night.

Jam is at the house, playing piano. He takes Freya to her old bed and curls up with her. Freya wonders when she’ll see Aubrey again.

Gus helps Freya sell the dresser she carved, and she learns she could ask for more money. Shray comes over the night they were supposed to celebrate Aubrey’s birthday and says they need to rescue her. Steena has thrown an enormous party for Aubrey’s sweet sixteen and invited all of her classmates. Freya drives them to Steena and Charlie’s house and avoids her Uncle Angelo.

Freya didn’t see Charlie after the night he raped her until she brought Aubrey home from watching Jam perform. Charlie cornered Freya in the laundry room and tried to kiss her. Steena caught them and didn’t believe Charlie was pursuing Freya. Freya knew she wouldn’t be able to see Aubrey again.

Freya sees that the party is Steena’s way of trying to show off. Steena is angry with Freya but pretends to be nice in front of other people. Freya tells Steena she guesses Steena hates her because Freya sees her, and has always seen her. Freya realizes that Steena also felt rejected and unwanted by their mother. Freya realizes, “the fundamental difference between us [is that] Steena wants everyone to hurt like she does. I don’t want anyone to ever feel the way I do” (350).

Freya finds Aubrey being harassed by Carter. Carter says she liked it when they had sex and Aubrey says no, she didn’t. Charlie tries to placate Carter, and Freya decides to stand up for Aubrey. She threatens Carter, telling him to stay away from Aubrey. Then she confronts Charlie and says she doesn’t forgive him.

Freya recalls a night at the Thirsty Clam when Buck intervened when he caught a man trying to drug the drink of a woman at the bar, and Buck had the man arrested. When Freya cried in reaction, Buck hugged her.

Freya drives Aubrey and Shray away from the party. They call, “Sorry, Bet!” (356) out the window to the statue of Old Bet. Shray stole the birthday cake, and Aubrey brought the gift box of her birthday money. Freya asks if Aubrey wants to hike the Appalachian Trail.

Freya and Aubrey start planning their hike. Bee suggests Aubrey could file for emancipation from her parents and is working out the details with Hans.

Bee warns Eddie to stay away from Freya. Lexi comes to the bar to explain to Freya why her marriage to Eddie didn’t work out. Lexi is worried what people will think about her divorcing a guy like Eddie, who is regarded as a hero.

At home, Aubrey and Shray are splatter-painting in the basement. Freya joins them.

Freya goes to Eddie’s house and helps him bring the dock in from the pond. Freya tells him she slept with Jam. Eddie kisses her and says he can help her practice camping. They build sandcastles together.

Bee and Hans visit the bar to tell Freya they’ve arranged the paperwork for Aubrey to gain emancipation, but Freya is certain Steena will never sign it. Freya realizes Bee and Hans are dating. Freya and Aubrey continue to plan their hike of the Appalachian Trail.

A concluding section on Old Bet captures Freya’s reflections on how narratives of history are crafted. She asks, “What would happen if we considered the elephant’s perspective? Then what would our history be?” (370).