Lily and Dunkin

The sign in front of Bob says that the city plans to cut him down to make way for a new playground. Lily is devastated. The flamingos Lily sees on the way home are dressed in silly costumes, which lifts her spirits a little. Unfortunately, the Beckford Palms people come and pluck them from the yards. Lily is sure that “everything good gets taken away” (110). 

Dunkin can’t sleep because he’s worried about basketball. His mom asks him whether he wants to talk about his dad. She’s concerned that she hasn’t seen him cry, but Dunkin assures her that he just hasn’t felt like crying. Internally, he reassures himself that his dad just needs a little time, like he has in the past, before he’s okay again. Dunkin’s mom suggests a therapist, but Dunkin dismisses the idea. He wonders why his mom wants him to be sad when “getting too sad is a bad thing” (112). 

Dunkin wakes before sunrise supercharged with energy. He feels better about his dad and thinks that soon he’ll join them in Florida. He also feels positive about basketball, figuring that his few hours of sleep helped his body figure out what it was supposed to do.