Homecoming

Dicey reads an inscription on a grave that likens death to coming home. She thinks about this assertion, dislikes it, and believes home is for the living. Then again, if her mother is dead, she does wish her the peace of a home. Suddenly, James’s conversation the previous evening seems more intelligent than morbid. Dicey leads the children back on Route One, which grows in density with heavier traffic. The days are prolonged and cloudy, eventually rainy. The children’s money dwindles as they reach New Haven. Dicey wants to pass through the city quickly, but the children are hungry and run out of cash. James, Sammy, and Maybeth no longer argue with Dicey, which makes her worry about their weakened spirits. Maybeth refuses to speak for days, Sammy clings to Dicey, and James agrees with all of Dicey’s decisions.

Night approaches faster than the children can cross New Haven; the children must sleep in a city park. It begins to rain, and Dicey finds a covered spot for her brothers and sister to rest while she sits on a bench and watches over them. A man sits next to her just as she starts to cry. He tells Dicey she can trust him, explaining he’s been in a similar situation.