The House at the End of the World

Katie reads T.S. Eliot while waiting to finish dinner, placing four bronze urns on the table in front of her in case she needs to evacuate quickly. The smallest urn holds the ashes of Cassie, her golden retriever who died of cancer. As Katie puts the final touches on dinner, she hears a small cry from outside. It is the fox, Michael J., whom she invites inside her house. He joins her and investigates the house. She offers him water and talks to him while she cooks, and then she gives him the steak she’s making. While she makes frozen meatballs for herself, she’s reminded of Cassie and wonders why she hasn’t adopted a dog on the island. This question reminds her of her promise—a promise to her dying husband that she would live for him and for their daughters—and she feels shame knowing that she has only been living in the sense of survival.

A flashback chapter tells the story of the day when Lupo, Hamal, and Parker go on a joyride to terrorize a Vietnamese family that operates an ice cream shop in the gang’s territory. Mistaken about the time and made delirious by partying, the men don’t expect anyone to be there when they shoot up the place, hitting the nail salon and the pizza parlor nearby.