Catalyst

The news media arrive at the house even before paramedics take Mikey and Teri away, as do the police. Kate and her friends stay. They sit on the floor in the house, candles lit, and try to make sense of the accident. Each one cries as they wonder whether the accident was their fault. Everyone knew the electricity was poorly wired, but nobody watched out for Mikey.

Toby splatters paint on the walls. The others follow suit. Their painting—wild colors, thought fragments, and crazy forms—provides an outlet for their sorrow. No one wants to go home: “We work together until the candles burn out” (162). The painting ritualizes their grief.

Kate’s father brings Teri home shortly after midnight. She is obviously sedated. Later, Kate checks on her and finds Teri trying to climb out the bedroom window. Distraught, Teri tells Kate she needs to go home. Kate tries to stop her, but Teri is determined to spend the night in the room where her son died.

Kate finds her in Mikey’s room sitting cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by her son’s toys, including the blackened fire truck. Uncertain of what to do, Kate sits down behind her, resting her back against Teri’s: “The ridge of her backbone is thick, like she has hunks of granite instead of vertebrae” (167).