Mystic River

On Monday morning, Celeste is with Annabeth to offer support as the family hosts mourners for the day. When Celeste’s mother died, Annabeth was by Celeste’s side immediately; and now, Celeste is there for Annabeth. When Jimmy comes in to see if his wife needs anything—so soon after learning his oldest daughter is dead—Celeste marvels at his “aura of command” (194) and his ability to think of others in a time like this. Most of all, Celeste thinks of how she couldn’t believe that Katie was dead when she first heard and it still didn’t feel real to her. Though, this denial primarily stems from a “horrifying” and “illogical” (198) association of Katie’s death with Dave.

Jimmy and Theo, Annabeth’s father, search for coolers in the upstairs apartment of the Savage’s, but as they are about to leave with one, Theo asks Jimmy to take a seat. Theo begins to give Jimmy “a pep talk on pain,” which causes anger to “bubble up from the pit of his stomach” (201). Theo reminds Jimmy that he’d lost Annabeth’s mother too soon and grieved for six months because he could “afford” to (201). Silently, Jimmy notes that Janey Savage had died more than a decade ago, that Theo had drank his grief numb for closer to two years, and that Theo had paid little attention to her.