Saints at the River

In the Prologue to Part 2 (italicized like the Prologue to Part 1), we return to the night Maggie and Ben were left alone while the father went to the nearby convenience store to buy cigarettes. It is near dinnertime, and there is a large pot of beans simmering on the stovetop. When little Ben goes to the kitchen for something to eat, before Maggie can do anything, he accidentally pulls down the pot of boiling water. The searing water burns Ben’s face and splatters on Maggie’s arm and leg. Despite their pain and fear, they do nothing—it does not even occur to Maggie to use the telephone. They wait for the father to return. Ben can only whimper. Maggie feels like her entire body is on fire. They wait more than 20 minutes—Maggie counts off the minutes on the kitchen clock. When the father finally returns, he rushes the two children to the nearest hospital. Ben stays—his burns are severe and life-threatening. When Maggie and her father drive home (their mother stays with Ben), Maggie feels the mountains closing in on her and feels that they “would keep on moving closer until they finally suffocated me” (130).