To Rose, Fern’s pregnancy feels like a cosmic joke on her. If it was her who had been pregnant, the sisters would have been celebrating instead of being in crisis management mode. Rose is used to life throwing her curveballs. After Nina broke up with Gary, things were good for Rose for a while. On Rose and Fern’s 12th birthday Nina seemed elated as if she were drunk. That day she introduced them to her new boyfriend Daniel (Danny). Rose’s heart sank because she was scared of men ever since Gary’s abuse. Yet, Danny seemed different, less pretentious and more “nice. A …. dad. The ones you saw on telly” (155). Nina treated Rose and Fern very nicely that day, but Rose noticed Nina kept looking at Danny as if she was putting on a show for him.

After the weekend’s eventful IKEA visit, Fern is glad for the quiet of the library on Monday. She gets rattled when Carmel asks to “shadow” (157) her to learn from her work patterns, but Carmel proves an unintrusive presence. Fern reads to children and recommends reads for patrons, demonstrating her deep knowledge of literature. Carmel tells Fern she is a gift, which puzzles Fern.