The Family Upstairs

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019

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Part 1, Chapters 21-25Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1

Part 1, Chapter 21 Summary

Libby and Dido meet Miller Roe outside the Chelsea mansion. Inside, Miller Roe describes how the entryway “used to be full of stuffed animal heads and hunting knives” (110) and even had thrones, underlining how the family was once very glamorous and wealthy. He explains that Henry Lamb had no family, and Martina was estranged from hers, though they did try to contact Martina in the late 1980s only to be turned away every time. A relative of Martina’s even tried to stop by the house in 1992. He claimed, “he heard noises, saw curtains moving” (111), but nobody ever answered the phone or the door. As Libby, Dido, and Miller Roe continue through the house, Miller Roe points out the kitchen table where the children were homeschooled. Nobody knows who homeschooled the children, but Miller Roe believes it wasn’t Henry or Martina Lamb. When the police found the bodies of Henry and Martina Lamb as well as a third unidentified man, the home contained papers and schoolwork as well as “robes. Bedclothes. All the apothecarial stuff, the bottles and trays and what have you. Soap. Face clothes. Towels” (112), but the police confiscated all those items, and they are most likely gone. At the time of the tragedy, the house didn’t contain any art, furniture, or even shoes.

Libby, Dido, and Miller Roe continue to the secret staircase which leads up to the attic and the children’s rooms. Dido shares that her parents’ house contains a similar secret staircase and says, “Always used to give me the heebie-jeebies when I was little. I used to think that a cross ghost was going to lock both doors and I’d be trapped in there forever” (114). When they get upstairs, Miller Roe points out that all four children’s bedrooms have padlocks on the doors. The group enters one of the bedrooms, which is empty except for a mattress. They are about to leave when Miller Roe notices a sock stuck between the mattress and the wall. The sock shows the current Gap logo, which has only existed for a couple years, indicating that the sock was left inside the house recently.

Part 1, Chapter 22 Summary

At the end of the week, Lucy calls Michael on a pay phone. Michael asks if Lucy has a cell phone yet, and Lucy lies and says a friend is getting one for her soon. Michael says he was able to get the fake passports for Lucy, her two kids, and her dog. Michael invites Lucy over for lunch on Sunday to collect the passports and explains that his maid will be gone for the day so they will have the place to themselves. Michael invites Lucy to make her panzanella recipe, and Lucy says, “I hope I’ve still got the magic touch,” which makes Michael respond suggestively, “I really, really miss your magic touch” (117). When Lucy finally gets off the phone, she runs to the bathroom and throws up.

Part 1, Chapter 23 Summary

The novel jumps back in time again to the Chelsea house in the summer of 1990. Henry, the son, notices that his mother, Martina, is folding laundry. In the past, the Lamb family always sent out their laundry to be washed by a laundry service. Henry also notices that his mother’s hair has grown long, and she no longer wears eye makeup. Henry asks why the laundry service doesn’t come anymore, and where his father’s money went. Martina brings Henry into her bedroom. Martina explains that Henry’s father’s money has been gone for a while now. They are just barely getting by on 30 pounds a week. Martina reveals that David is overseeing the money and has everything worked out. David, Birdie, and Justin are all working to bring in money. Horrified, Henry asks if this means they are living as a commune. Henry says he, his parents, and his sister should sell their house and move into an apartment. Finally, Martina explains that this isn’t just about money. Martina explains, “David came and he’s shown me another way to live, a less selfish way. We have too much, Henry. Can’t you see that?” (120). Martina admits that their guests are probably staying forever. With David’s guidance and with fewer belongings, Martina explains that they are not poor; rather, “We’re unburdened. We’re free” (121).

Part 1, Chapter 24 Summary

Libby, Dido, and Miller Roe continue to explore the house. They find a large glass door at the back of the house which opens onto stone stairs that lead down to the garden, but the door is sealed shut by vines, and probably hasn’t been opened in many years. The group tries to open the door by searching for a loose windowpane and trying the keys on Libby’s key ring, but the door won’t budge. Finally, Miller Roe notices that it is padlocked from the other side. Miller Roe brakes one of the door’s glass windowpanes and opens the padlock from the other side, using one of Libby’s keys. The group continues outside and finds the garden where, as Miller Roe explains, the poison used to kill Henry Lamb, Martina Lamb, and the strange man was grown. Looking back at the house, Dido notices a ladder near the chimney on the roof. Peeking into the neighbor’s yard, which is overgrown and unused, Libby notices a pathway that leads to the street. The group goes back inside the house and finds a trap door in the attic. Miller Roe helps Libby through the trap door, and she climbs through a narrow tunnel and ends up on the roof, where she sees the ladder Dido noticed earlier. Libby figures whoever left the Gap sock inside the house must be sneaking in through the path in the neighbor’s garden, onto the roof, and through the trap door.

Part 1, Chapter 25 Summary

At the Blue House, Lucy explains to Marco that he can’t come along to lunch with Michael, because Michael wants to see Lucy alone. Lucy assures Marco that everything will be fine during her lunch with Michael, but “She can’t look at her son while she lies to him” (126). Marco comes up with a plan to call Lucy at Michael’s house—if Lucy is scared, she’ll say their code, “How’s Fitz?” (126) on the phone. Lucy agrees to Marco’s plan.

Lucy notices Fitz’s poop is still on Michael’s lawn, covered in beetles, and “finds it strangely reassuring” (127). Inside, Michael offers Lucy a beer. As Lucy drinks, she eats chips, feeling she “needs to be sober enough to stay in control but drunk enough to go through with what she came here to do” (127). Michael encourages Lucy to finish her beer quickly so he can pour her a glass of wine. Michael guides Lucy outside and asks Lucy about what she has been up to for the past 10 years, specifically her history with Stella’s father. For Lucy,

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[she] cannot tell him that Stella’s father was the love of her life, the most beautiful man she’d ever set eyes on […] that he broke her heart and that she was still carrying the shattered pieces of it around in her pockets even now, three years since she last saw him (130).

Lucy lies and says he was “an arsehole” (130) and explains that he skipped town and returned to Algeria. Michael reminisces about the good times he and Lucy shared and then asks about Marco. Lucy says Marco is pretty clever, good at languages and art. Michael wonders if Marco might be gay, which makes Lucy want “to throw her wine in Michael’s face and leave” (131), but Lucy continues to be polite and friendly, knowing she has to humor Michael in order to get the passports. Lucy insists on returning to the kitchen to finish her panzanella. As she gets up, Michael continues to be forward and flirtatious, and Lucy can tell he is drunk.

Part 1, Chapters 21-25 Analysis

These chapters are significant because they begin to reveal the reason why Henry Lamb and Martina Lamb allowed the strangers into their home, which led to their downfall. Speaking to her son, Henry, in 1990, Martina reveals that his father has run out of money, and they are just barely getting by on savings and by selling stocks. Martina also reveals that she is happy to have David and the others in her life because they are showing her another way to live. Martina reveals to Henry that she has been sad for a long time, and all their belongings didn’t make her happy. She explains, “We have too much, Henry. Can you see that? Way, way too much, and when you have too much it drags you down” and that “We have to give to the world, not keep taking from it” (120). Under David’s guidance, Martina feels, “We’re unburdened. We’re free” (121). As Libby and Miller Roe try to decipher why the Lamb family lost all their money, this flashback to this conversation between Martina and her son help explain why Martina fell victim to David and the other strangers. Unhappy with her lavish lifestyle, Martina felt David was teaching her to live in a way that was freer and that gave back to the world. Martina also revealed that David was overseeing their finances. David’s influence will eventually progress, ultimately leading to the Lamb family’s downfall.

Fitz’s dog excrement is a small symbol that comes up in these chapters. The first time Lucy visits Michael, Fitz poops outside Michael’s house. When Lucy returns two more times, she notices the poop still isn’t cleaned up and that it is covered in beetles. Lucy finds this “strangely reassuring” (127). It is very difficult for Lucy to return to Michael and ask Michael for help, since he was abusive toward her. Nevertheless, Lucy feels forced to turn to Michael, which makes her feel sick. Allowing Fitz to poop on Michael’s lawn is a small act of rebellion for her. This act is a subtle, wordless way for Lucy to reveal her disgust toward Michael and his house.