Winter's Bone

Ree decides to visit her childhood friend Gail Lockrum on her way home. Gail has a strained marriage with Floyd Langan, whom she married when she found out she was pregnant. Gail, Floyd, and their son, Ned, share a trailer next to his parents’, who help with the baby. Gail and Floyd’s marital problems revolve around his ongoing affair with Heather Powney, whom he had been dating since junior high, before Gail and Floyd’s brief affair destroyed their relationship. Gail struggles with her sudden and unwanted marriage as well as her new baby; during her visit, Ree massages Gail and plucks burrs from her hair.

Ree tells Gail about her father’s disappearance and its potential consequences and explains her need to visit Jessup’s old girlfriend, April. Ree and Gail hope to borrow Floyd’s car, but he refuses to let Gail drive it. Ree is angered by Floyd’s controlling nature and tells Gail: “You never used to eat no shit” (35). Gail withdraws into herself after this conversation and asks Ree to leave so that she can take a nap. As she leaves, Floyd tells her that she does not understand the difficulties of finding oneself married to a stranger after a drunken night together.