Chapter Thirty-one: Relatively Happy for the Rest of My Life

Summary

• The narrator and family are processing the traumatic revelation of the father's fate and must prepare for a hearing.
• Eugene's arduous communication process through spelling is likened by Anjeli to mothers lifting cars to save their children.
• The family is emotionally exhausted and desires solitude after learning about their dad's fate but only gets a few moments to grieve before being interrupted.
• Shannon, a visitor, offers condolences and informs them that she's sent evidence to the police to drop the case and is hopeful they will no longer pursue action against Eugene.
• The narrator reflects on the bizarre connection between the details Eugene shared and the images shared between John and the narrator, questioning the source of their knowledge.
• The mother and Shannon discuss concerns about finding corroborating evidence to fully clear Eugene's name, with Shannon suggesting the need to unlock the father's phone.
• As Vic leaves the house, he hints that he might have overheard the revelations about the father's fate and leaves a note and a flash drive for the narrator.
• The flash drive contains enhanced notebook pages and a file labeled "Notes for Mia" from the narrator’s father, which Vic thinks will be important.
• The "Notes for Mia" include the father's thoughts on happiness, ambition, Mia's life choices, and his advice on maintaining a balanced perspective in life.
• The narrator internalizes a strategy from her father's notes to stay relatively happy by keeping today's hardships as the baseline against which future happiness is measured.