The Smell Of Other People's Houses

Content Warning: This section discusses teen pregnancy, domestic abuse, sexual abuse of a child, and substance use disorder.

Ruth learned that Dumpling is in a coma through a letter from Selma. She wants to call home and ask how she is, but international calls are prohibited in the abbey. She remembers her last conversation with Dumpling, the only person who said goodbye to her. Ruth had told Dumpling that she had seen her grandmother often give letters to Dumpling’s father. This prompted Ruth to give the note for her mother to Dumpling, thinking that Dumpling’s father could deliver it.

Ruth reveals she had her 17th birthday alone on the bus, on the way to the abbey. She used her grandmother’s “emergency money” to buy a cake. She feels exhausted worrying about her baby and Dumpling.

Ruth still thinks of Hank, daydreaming. When she returns to the abbey from blueberry picking, she sees a man and a woman visiting about to visit Mother Superior. The woman is holding a bottle with bluebells. Ruth overhears their conversation and learns that the pair wants a family because they cannot have children. The man works in the mill, and they could teach the child to hunt.