Incidents Around the House

Bela’s parents are throwing a party at their house and have hired a local teen named Kelvin to watch Bela. Though Mommy wanted to cancel because Bela fell down the slide, Daddo insists that they should keep the schedule and celebrate Bela’s clean bill of health. Bela enjoys the parties because she is good at dancing and likes to dance for the adults there as well as to spend time with Kelvin, whom she thinks of as a friend. Other guests at the party include their neighbors Amanda and Dan, who never stay late, because they have a new baby, and Daddo’s friend Mark.

Kelvin arrives, and Mommy tells him about Bela’s fall. During the conversation, Bela worries that they will see Other Mommy in the bathroom. She acts strangely, but Kelvin and Mommy brush it off as excitement about the party. While she gets dressed, Kelvin asks her if they have squirrels because he hears a noise on the roof.

She tells Kelvin that carnations bring people back to life, misunderstanding what Other Mommy said about “reincarnation.” When they go downstairs, Kelvin repeats this fact to Daddo, who laughs and says Bela must mean reincarnation, not carnations.