Isabel sits on the stairs, thinking about how she could stay there while her family moves on, and a new family moves into the apartment. She looks at Wolfe’s post that Robbie made of a harbor in Iceland. Robbie went there for what was supposed to be six months, but he has been there longer as flights were grounded due to COVID-19. She thinks of how much he has changed since he moved out of the apartment: He quit his teaching job, reapplied to medical school, and left on a trip for Iceland. She fears that asking him to move out has caused him to separate himself from her completely.

Robbie stands in the doorway of his cabin in Iceland, looking out at the valley and the mountains around them. He rented the cabin to live in the “inhabited silence” of the wilderness, with no cell service and the feeling that he is “accountable” only to Wolfe (124-25).

Isabel writes a letter to Robbie. She tells him how much she misses talking to him, even though he is only spending five days at the cabin. Violet is enjoying doing school online, but she insists that her parents keep the windows closed, and Isabel is worried about her acting “funny.