33. The Scar

Summary

• The chapter starts with Kya creating mushroom illustrations for a guidebook she is working on. It’s winter in 1968 and she hears a truck pulling up outside her home.
• Fearing it’s a stranger, Kya contemplates hiding, but eventually faces him - a man in a military uniform with a prominent scar on his face, who she recognizes as her brother Jodie.
• Kya is taken back by a traumatic memory from when her mother still lived with them. Her abusive father accused her mother of prostitution to afford Easter celebrations, which escalated to a physical altercation. During the fight, Kya’s father was about to attack her mother with a fire iron when Jodie intervened. Kya’s father attacked him instead, severely wounding him.
• Back in the present, Jodie apologizes for leaving Kya alone with their abusive father. Kya understands he had no other choice. He explains that she was able to find her due to the book she published, which he saw in a shop.
• Jodie reveals he has been in the army, serving two tours in Vietnam, and is about to finish his mechanical engineering degree at Georgia Tech that the army paid for. He says he stayed away thinking Kya was no longer there.
• Jodie also has sad news. He was contacted by their mother’s sister, Rosemary, through the Red Cross. Their mother had taken refuge with her parents in New Orleans after abandoning the family. She had a mental breakdown and later died of leukemia.
• Kya is devastated that her mother had been alive for many years and had wanted to reconnect with her children, but their father threatened violence against them if she did.
• Jodie shows Kya a series of portrait paintings their mother had done of her children during her isolation. Kya is happy to get to know her siblings and her mother a little better through these paintings.
• After reminiscing about their childhood, they agree that Jodie can stay for a few days and visit often as he’s stationed not too far away.

• Kya reflects on the advice received about love and the importance of connection with others.
• Kya and her sibling Jodie spend time together, unpacking and hanging up their mother's paintings. These bring a new light into the home.
• Upon Jodie’s departure, he gives Kya his address and phone number. Kya reacts emotionally, overwhelmed by the reality of having a reachable and present family member.
• Jodie reassures Kya that she can always reach out to him, and encourages her to pursue a romantic relationship with Tate.
• Kya watches Jodie drive away, waving from his truck, which brings up a mix of emotions for her.