Deep and Dark and Dangerous

Dulcie makes the cousins peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with chocolate milk, but Emma refuses hers. She now hates peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because Sissy said she hates them. Emma and Ali continue to fight, and Ali explains to Dulcie that this sudden negative change in behavior is the result of Sissy’s bad influence on her cousin. Emma tells a series of lies about Ali, including that Ali pushed her off the dock and left her to drown. This comment, along with some light cursing and insults, is the final straw for Dulcie. She makes Emma sit and eat before barring Emma from playing with Sissy if she keeps behaving poorly. Emma throws a tantrum, and Dulcie sends her to bed. Afterward, Ali and Dulcie try to make sense of Emma’s behavior, speculating she is mirroring Sissy to gain her affection because she has never had any friends. Dulcie feels she does not understand children because she can hardly remember being one herself—at least nothing before becoming a teenager.

Erin’s mother, Jeanine Reynolds née Donaldson, unexpectedly arrives. She has come to visit her friend from 30 years ago, but Dulcie, not remembering her, greets her hesitantly. Jeanine is unsurprised Dulcie is an artist because as children she often drew pictures for her and Teresa, who was obsessed with mermaids.