Things Not Seen

The Van Dorns visit the Phillips’s house for dinner. It’s informal and they have pizza; mainly, it’s a chance for the two dads to discuss the science of Bobby’s invisibility. Mrs. Van Dorn seems tense, like she doesn’t want to be there, but everyone else is fairly okay. Alicia looks mildly embarrassed, and Bobby knows he and she are on the same page. Bobby is nicely dressed, but he shows no head or hands.

The dads retire to the front parlor, spread out their books and journals—Bobby notices his timeline and upstairs inventory sheets on the table—open notebooks, and start scribbling out equations and theories. Mrs. Van Dorn—Julia—discovers that she and Emily went to the same university and both majored in English literature, so she loosens up, and the two wives enjoy themselves. Bobby worries that, thus aligned, they’ll become well-meaning pests for him and Alicia.

Alicia and Bobby go to the study and open up the computer. She says that at home she’s getting good at using audio and braille-reader software to navigate and read online. Otherwise, her mom helps her. She feels guilty because her mom stopped working to focus on her.