Oona Out of Order

Oona wakes up in her brownstone with her mother and feels like she’s getting used to the leaps. There is a message written on her hand that says to ask Madeleine about her tattoo and to check her mother’s bag for a clue. While Madeleine is making them tea, Oona rummages in the bag and finds a card with the initials “M.D.C.R.” on it. Oona shows Madeleine the card and asks what it is and how it’s related to her tattoo. Madeleine tells her the initials stand for Mackenzie Dale Charles Ray. It takes Oona a moment to realize that “Mackenzie” is Kenzie and that he is also named for his father, Dale, and Oona’s father, Charles. He is Oona’s son.

Oona feels betrayed and confused. Madeline explains that Oona got pregnant with Dale on purpose, knowing he would die young and having seen how wonderful Kenzie is as an adult. She knew, however, that the time travel would prevent her from being a good mother, so one of Madeleine’s friends adopted Kenzie. The legal arrangements state that Oona can’t see or talk to Kenzie until he is 18.

Oona can’t understand her decision to give up a child she wanted, and Madeleine tells her that the Oona who did so had learned the first rule of being a mother quickly: to put her child’s happiness first.