Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance

The section opens in 2013 as Hurricane Kathy approaches the coast of the Eastern United States. In New York City, 28-year-old Sally, now a freelance writer, discusses the strange coincidence of the hurricane’s name with her therapist. At the suggestion of her fiancé, Ray, Sally is secretly in therapy to decide if she wants to have children. During the session, her mother calls repeatedly. The therapist suggests that Sally has “no center,” prompting Sally to end the session early and return her mother’s call.

Susan frantically urges Sally to come home to Connecticut because her father, Richard, intends to cut down two large, dangerous maple trees before the storm hits. Susan explains that Richard refuses to hire the local tree service because it is now run by Billy, whom Richard still blames for Kathy’s death. Sally is shocked, believing Billy to have taken his final vows to become a friar years ago. Susan corrects her, revealing that Billy now runs his family’s business, Bill’s Tree and Garden, and has a neck tattoo. Sally initially declines to come home, telling her mother she has a work event with Ray. After the call, Sally recites a mantra to herself—a technique recommended by her therapist in which she repeats truths out loud to herself: “My sister, Kathy, is dead.