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Runaway: Stories
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Stories 2-4Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death and death by suicide.
Story 2 Summary: “Chance”
“Chance,” “Soon,” and “Silence” are a triptych of stories based on the life of Juliet Henderson. “Chance” begins Juliet’s story, focusing on her younger years. The story is set in the 1960s and traces a formative episode in Juliet’s early adulthood, when she takes an impulsive journey that leads to a brief but intense romantic encounter with long-lasting consequences.
Juliet, a former classics student and teacher, boards a train from Toronto to Vancouver, British Columbia. She’s embarking on a “little detour” to see a man she barely knows. She explains to her friend Juanita that she refused to engage with this stranger, whom she met on a train, because his wife “was a total invalid” (48). Having recently received a letter from him, she decided to travel to Vancouver to seek him out. She focuses on a repeated line in his letter as she travels, in which he wrote that he often thinks about her. Juliet has no idea what she’ll do or say when she meets him.
The narrative flashes back to recount a similar train ride Juliet took at age 21. Having earned her BA and MA in classics, she was thinking of what to do with her life. She had been teaching Latin in a girls’ private school and wanted to pursue her PhD, but was concerned that the patriarchal world of academia would always see her as a “girl.” While she reflected on her life, a middle-aged man took the seat beside her and tried to strike up a conversation. Juliet, who just wanted to read, sensed that he wanted “a friend, not a girlfriend” (56), but she didn’t want to engage in an awkward conversation. Making an excuse, she went to a different train car.
She sat in the observation car; she was cold but didn’t want to return to her seat to get a sweater from her luggage and encounter the same man again. Spotting a wolf outside, Juliet noticed a man sitting across from her. Like Juliet, he was reading. Their eyes met as both overheard other passengers’ conversation. The train stopped for 10 minutes at a remote station. As Juliet studied her book about ancient Greece, the man took a stroll. The train started to leave, but then came to a sudden, ominous stop. The passengers chattered about what the delay might be. The conductor said the train “hit an obstacle” (60) but assured them they had nothing to worry about.
Juliet felt “a little dizzy and sick” (61) due to menstruation. She went to the train toilet to replace her pad, but worried about flushing the toilet while the train was stopped. Anxious, she eventually settled on closing the lid and returning to her seat. She overheard people talking about a “b-o-d-y” recovered from the tracks. Juliet saw the man from the observation car assisting train employees in carrying something (or someone) through the snow. Juliet had a mounting dread that the man who had tried to engage her in conversation had taken his own life, dying by suicide, by jumping in front of the train. Juliet overheard a passing woman mention that the train toilet was “full of blood” (63) and that it must have splashed into the toilet when the train hit the man; Juliet didn’t correct her.
Later, Juliet spoke to the man from the observation car. He wasn’t a doctor, he explained, but had some medical experience. Juliet quizzed him for information, but his answers were curt. Juliet desperately wanted to speak to someone about what happened. She wanted to reveal the truth about the blood and her interaction with the dead man, so she began to write a letter to her parents, but didn’t finish it. She tried to read but fell asleep. When she woke, the man from the observation car was sitting opposite her. Juliet made another brief trip to the toilet to get “washed and tidied and reinforced” (66). She spoke to the man, who apologized for his earlier curtness. She explained what happened with the dead man, sharing her fear that she had been “cruel” to someone seemingly in desperate need of companionship. The man reassured her, and they talked for a “considerable time.”
During the night, the man explained that his wife, Ann, had been severely injured after being hit by a car while walking home from a party that she had not wanted to attend but that he had insisted they go to. While talking, Juliet thought about her limited sexual experiences. She wasn’t a virgin; she remembered a night when she and the visiting nephew of her thesis advisor had sex in a park after an uninteresting date. She wondered about the man’s age and told him that she was currently working in a school. They dined together and then looked at the stars from the observation deck. He was a fisherman and could locate the constellations, while Juliet could explain their classical meaning. His name was Eric Porteus.
In the present timeline, Juliet arrives in Whale Bay, Vancouver, with no idea how to contact Eric. She says Eric’s name to a taxi driver, who reveals that Eric’s wife, Ann, recently died. The driver assumes that Juliet plans to attend the wake; the funeral took place recently, he says, as he drives her to Eric’s house. Juliet panics. She’s unsure what to do. She reaches Eric’s house and is told that Ailo is inside. Juliet enters and meets Ailo, a “tall, broad-shouldered woman with a thick but not flabby body” (75). Ailo is direct, which Juliet presumes comes from her Scandinavian background. Eric is away with Christa, Ailo says. She hints that Christa is one of two women with whom Eric has had affairs while his wife was bedridden. Ailo insists that Juliet sit and drink coffee, offering her leftover food from the wake. Ailo helps Eric around the house. Juliet is reluctant to reveal too much about her relationship with Eric, but Ailo seems to understand. Eric won’t return until the next day, Ailo explains. Juliet decides to stay the night, and Ailo departs.
On the night that Juliet met Eric, they stayed up late and drank brandy. As they returned to their sleeping carriages, Juliet became anxious that he’d want to have sex. She blurted out that she was “a virgin.” Eric laughed, kissed her neck, and then left. Juliet ruminated on why she lied to him, lying awake all night as the train rattled along. By the time she woke the next day, Eric had disembarked from the train in Regina.
In the present timeline, alone in Eric’s house, Juliet compares her situation to Greek myths. Sipping Tia Maria and coffee, she falls asleep in Eric’s chair. She wakes to hear a truck pull up outside. Eric enters, laughs when he sees Juliet, and they embrace. Ailo phoned him, he reveals, and he knows that he’ll soon need to finish his relationship with Christa. Juliet spends the next weeks and months with Eric, absorbing this information about his life.
Story 3 Summary: “Soon”
“Soon” continues Juliet’s story. Years have passed since her trip to Vancouver. She and Eric are still together; they aren’t married, but have a one-year-old daughter named Penelope. Juliet takes Penelope to Ontario to visit her grandparents, Sara and Sam.
The story begins with Juliet shopping for a gift for her parents with her friend, Christa, who once dated Eric. Juliet buys a painting titled I and the Village because it makes her “think of life” (88). Her parents live in “curious but not unhappy isolation” (89). Sam was a schoolteacher for many years but recently quit to become a greengrocer. Sara, also a former schoolteacher, has a heart condition.
In 1969, Sam and Sara pick up Juliet and Penelope from an unfamiliar train station. Juliet notices that her mother seems “frail,” due to her medical condition, and Penelope must get used to her grandmother. Sam also introduces Juliet to a young woman named Irene Avery, a quiet but assertive person who helps care for Sara. Sara calls Irene their “good fairy.” Juliet is surprised that Irene is so close to her age. As they drive to Juliet’s childhood home, Sam talks about his plans to be a greengrocer. He insists that he was “fed up” with teaching. Juliet is concerned but doesn’t want to think of herself as a “snob.” During the conversation, Juliet senses that her parents are still not thrilled that she and Eric didn’t marry. Juliet doesn’t want to speak much about Eric; she chooses not to tell her parents that he was once studying medicine but was forced to stop because he “performed an abortion” (94) for a friend. He’s now a fisherman.
As she feeds Penelope, Juliet feels Irene watching her. Irene has a three-year-old son and a two-year-old daughter. Juliet learns that the children’s father was killed last summer in an accident at the chicken barn where he worked. Juliet feels rude about prying into Irene’s life. She explores the house full of memories. She finds I and the Village hidden away with a baby carriage. After taking out the baby carriage, she asks her mother about the painting. Sara is dismissive; Juliet senses that the modern artwork might lead to neighbors judging her parents. Juliet knows how her father feels about being judged.
While walking through the town with Penelope, Juliet talks to Charlie Little. She knew Charlie from her childhood; he now works in the local drugstore, though he once seemed destined to be an engineer. He talks to her as a “fellow parent” but seems to look down on her marital status. Back at home, she quizzes her father about what really made him give up teaching. Sam confesses that he “got into an argument” (104) when something was said to him. Juliet suspects that someone commented on her; she realizes that her father collected her and Penelope from the station so that the neighbors wouldn’t see them. Sam walks away.
Juliet can’t wait to return to Eric. She now considers Vancouver “home.” Early the next morning, Juliet speaks to Irene and learns that Sara’s medical episodes are more serious and more frequent than she knew. Juliet speaks to her mother, complimenting Irene, but notices that her mother isn’t eating. Outside, Sam sings a song that mentions Irene, which makes Irene irate. He continues, even after she asks him to stop. Later, Sam tells Juliet that Irene’s husband was accidentally killed during a botched robbery, but the farmer who shot him was acquitted. Irene grew poor, he says, which is why she seems so “thick-skinned” now. Juliet wonders why she doesn’t feel more sympathy for Irene. Sam talks more, describing the difficulty of dealing with Sara’s illness. He compliments Irene but worries that she’ll be gone soon, as she plans to get married.
Juliet accompanies her father on his grocery deliveries. He chats amiably with everyone; many people fawn over Penelope. As they talk, Juliet implies that Sam is in love with Irene and doesn’t want her to leave. Sam denies any knowledge of what she’s insinuating. Later, Juliet bathes her mother. Penelope joins Sara in the bath. As they talk about Eric, Sara speaks frankly. She assures Juliet that she still loves Sam but recognizes that he’s “unhappy.”
After a night of strange dreams, Juliet is surprised to meet a new visitor to the house. She thinks the man is a salesman, but Sara is happy to introduce Juliet to her friend Don, a minister in a local church. Knowing that her parents never belonged to any church, Juliet wonders about religion. She’s an atheist and says as much to Don, who seems taken aback by her directness. Juliet is soon drawn into a theological argument with Don as Sara watches helplessly from her bed. Juliet criticizes Christianity quite forcefully; only after leaving the room for a moment does she return, determined to be more polite to her mother’s friend. As he leaves, Don compliments Penelope. Juliet notices that he’s struggling; remembering a schoolmate who had a medical condition, she offers Don a sugary drink. He gratefully accepts and, after drinking the grape soda, his condition immediately improves. After briefly looking at Juliet with “the raw look of an astounded animal” (123), he exits without another word.
Sara rouses from her sleep when Juliet enters the room. She defends Don, assuring Juliet that he isn’t a “simpleton” and adding that his diabetes is serious. She defends Don’s faith and struggles to describe the comfort she gets from him. Later, Juliet writes to Eric. Years later, she finds the letter even though it has “no particular importance in their lives” (124). Juliet returns to the family home only once more: for her mother’s funeral. Irene was no longer there. Sam had remarried and moved out of the house; eventually, he and his new wife bought a trailer to take long winter trips. He and Eric got along well. When she reads this letter, Juliet winces. She fears that she hasn’t protected her mother.
Story 4 Summary: “Silence”
As Juliet’s story continues, she takes a ferry from Buckley Bay to Denman Island on a summer day. A woman recognizes her as a television host and they talk. Juliet says her daughter, Penelope, has been away for six months at a retreat called “the Spiritual Balance Centre” (127), and this is her first chance to see her. Following a “rudimentary map” sent by Penelope, Juliet arrives at the center, a shabby property with an old church and a few buildings. She asks for Penelope but is instead taken to meet Joan, a heavy-set woman with white hair who runs the place. Joan greets her warmly, praises her television work, and tells Juliet that Penelope isn’t there. She doesn’t know where Penelope has gone but insists that Penelope’s decision is “the right thing” (130) for her spiritual growth. Juliet grows increasingly upset, but Joan maintains a tone of authority and kindness, suggesting that Penelope had felt lonely and spiritually deprived at home. Juliet leaves without seeing her daughter.
A couple of weeks later, on Penelope’s birthday, Juliet receives a card. It’s unsigned but is clearly addressed to Juliet in Penelope’s handwriting. The generic message unsettles Juliet, who had hoped for a real letter. She confides in her old friend Christa, who now resides in an assisted-living facility. Juliet recounts her failed visit to Denman Island, describing Joan with bitterness. Christa tries to reassure her, saying that the card at least confirms that Penelope is safe. Juliet recalls how she had pleaded with Joan, only to be met with a pitying smile.
Over the next year, Juliet says Penelope is traveling and taking a year off whenever people ask. Occasionally, she receives calls from her daughter’s acquaintances, but no close friends reach out. Juliet waits for messages on her answering machine and checks the mail constantly, but only a second anonymous card arrives the following June. She swings between grief, rage, and despair. Eventually, she removes Penelope’s belongings from sight, though she doesn’t throw them away. She also refuses to move, fearing that Penelope wouldn’t be able to find her if she did.
In a flashback, Juliet recalls an earlier summer when Penelope was 13 and went camping with a friend’s family in the Kootenay Mountains. Juliet encouraged the trip, happy that her daughter was forming strong friendships. Eric, Penelope’s father and Juliet’s partner, had been uneasy, wishing Penelope would stay home. Their relationship at the time was strained. Juliet had discovered through their neighbor Ailo that Eric slept with Christa years earlier, while Juliet was visiting her dying mother. Though the affair was long past, Juliet felt betrayed and humiliated, believing her love had been mocked. Their arguments turned bitter, though moments of passion briefly restored intimacy. Still, resentment lingered, and Juliet wanted the problem to be “resolved.”
One summer day, Eric went out fishing, as he often did, but a sudden storm struck. Several boats were lost. While some bodies were recovered quickly, Eric’s body was found only after three days. Juliet wasn’t allowed to view it. Friends and neighbors decided to cremate him on the beach in an impromptu ceremony. Juliet stayed, stunned, as Eric’s body burned. Penelope, still away camping, didn’t learn of her father’s death until her return. Juliet went to tell her at her friend Heather’s house, where Penelope received the news with embarrassment and restraint, quickly returning to Heather’s company.
Juliet soon left Whale Bay, sold Eric’s possessions, and moved to Vancouver with Penelope. She found work at a library and later on provincial television, where her ability to interview and discuss issues gained her recognition. She struggled with grief, breaking down one day at a bus stop, but Penelope comforted her, encouraging her to share her pain. Juliet told her everything, including Eric’s infidelity and the burning on the beach. Penelope reassured her that she could “forgive” her.
Juliet built a new life in Vancouver, working on television and raising Penelope, who returned to school. For a time, birthday cards from Penelope arrived each June after she vanished, unsigned and impersonal. After five years, the cards “stopped coming.” Juliet tried to rationalize her daughter’s absence, talking about it with Christa. She wondered if she had burdened Penelope with her own unhappiness. Christa dismissed her guilt, but Juliet remained uncertain. She eventually moved to a high-rise and later to a smaller flat, continuing her studies in classical literature. She withdrew from public life, reading and gardening, and lived quietly.
Years later, Juliet unexpectedly encounters Heather, Penelope’s childhood friend, on a Vancouver street. Heather reveals that she recently saw Penelope in Edmonton, shopping with two of her children. Penelope had recognized Heather first, and they spoke briefly. Heather reports that Penelope now has five children, lives “way up north” (154), and seems to be doing well. Juliet listens, outwardly calm. She realizes that Penelope must be settled in a prosperous life far from her. After Heather leaves, Juliet reflects that Penelope has detached herself completely. She considers what this means for her own life.
The story closes with Juliet’s acceptance. She continues her quiet existence, which includes a few friendships and ongoing academic studies. She still hopes faintly for a word from Penelope, but not with desperation. She lives with the knowledge that her daughter has chosen a life apart from her, and that silence is the only connection that remains.
Stories 2-4 Analysis
The trilogy of “Chance,” “Soon,” and “Silence” traces the trajectory of a single character across decades of her life, an approach that is unique in the Runaway collection. “Chance” introduces Juliet as a young woman full of intellectual enthusiasm and emotional naivete. She studies the classics and interprets her life through Greek ideas of fate and tragedy, so she’s prone to seeing her decisions as dramatic acts. Her encounter with Eric on the train demonstrates this tendency. After he writes to her, she embarks on a long journey to visit him, despite knowing that he’s married. The act of traveling to him is at once daring and naive. Juliet’s assertiveness further develops the theme of Fleeting Moments of Agency, as the story highlights her innocence by showing how unprepared she is, relying on faith in fate more than practical foresight. She doesn’t know Eric’s real address, for example, so she relies on a taxi driver to take her to the right home. Though Juliet fears that she may seem foolish for risking her reputation and security for a man she barely knows, the story captures how youth and yearning combine to produce bold, impractical choices. These choices are, in effect, an assertion of character and an important marker in Juliet’s development.
In “Soon,” Juliet’s role as a mother illustrates generational difference and the clash of social expectations. Juliet now has a daughter, Penelope, and lives with Eric without being married. For Juliet, this arrangement seems natural, but when she visits her parents, she’s reminded of how unconventional her life appears in their world, alluding to another thematic aspect of Gendered Expectations and Domestic Entrapment. Her parents’ traditional marriage sharply contrasts with her defiance of custom, and Juliet quickly recognizes their shame, accusing her father of arranging to collect her from a distant train station so that she wouldn’t be seen by the neighbors. This underscores the distance between Juliet’s chosen life and the values of her upbringing. Juliet responds by asserting her identity more forcefully, often through confrontation. Her quarrel with Don, the priest, over faith and belief is one such assertion. She challenges him about atheism, insisting on her own worldview in opposition not only to him but to her mother’s quiet religiosity. This defiance is both an act of agency and a symptom of insecurity. Juliet senses that her parents are disappointed in her, so she overcompensates by aggressively wielding her intellect. At the same time, she’s still learning to be a mother, managing Penelope’s needs even as she negotiates her own childhood home. The tension of “Soon” lies in Juliet’s simultaneous assertion of independence and her deep vulnerability. She wants to define herself against her parents’ expectations, but she’s haunted by the fear that she has failed them.
The trilogy concludes with “Silence,” a story that reveals the cyclical patterns of estrangement and pain that define Juliet’s life. Juliet is now a markedly different figure. She’s older, cautious, and reflective, bearing the marks of experience and disappointment. The woman who once gambled everything on a train journey has become a mother who faces the agony of her daughter’s disappearance. Juliet now embodies the pragmatism and cynicism that maturity has thrust on her. Her now-adult daughter, Penelope, has chosen to sever ties with her. Retreating into a spiritual community, she leaves Juliet with nothing but absence. This silence is something Juliet can’t penetrate, creating a painful irony. Juliet, once the daughter who defied her own mother’s values, now experiences the reversal of being the rejected parent. Penelope’s disappearance echoes Juliet’s earlier choices. Just as Juliet once impulsively pursued Eric, Penelope rejects her mother to construct her own identity. The story suggests that defiance spans generations, each daughter repeating a form of departure to assert independence. Structurally, the trilogy emphasizes repetition: Christa, Eric’s former lover, appears at intervals, offering glimpses of a parallel but inaccessible life, while Penelope’s narrative occurs in the margins, felt through absence rather than presence. These partial narratives heighten the sense of unknowability. Juliet can never fully understand Christa, nor can she ever access Penelope’s reasons for silence. Closure is withheld. The trilogy’s structure reveals how human lives intersect but never fully connect, leaving gaps of knowledge that no amount of reflection can fill. For Juliet, the lack of closure is devastating, and it introduces the theme of The Elusiveness of Closure and Moral Clarity. She longs for an explanation, but instead must endure uncertainty. The mother who once prided herself on her bold choices is left with the realization that the consequences of defiance extend beyond her control, shaping her daughter’s life in painful and irretrievable ways.
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