Chapter Thirteen: What We Talk About When We Talk About Dad

Summary

• The narrator and their sibling John are driving to Henry's House, a therapy center outside DC, which feels unsettlingly busy in contrast to the empty streets.
• Henry's House is a central part of their family life due to their sibling Eugene's needs and John's summer job there.
• The narrator feels disoriented to see life continuing at Henry's House while their own world feels stopped due to an emergency.
• They aim to contact Shannon Haug, a lawyer affiliated with Henry's House families, for urgent assistance but find she's occupied with a deportation hearing.
• The narrator parks the car while avoiding bustling activity around them and remains there while John enters the building to seek information.
• John returns to the car with news that Shannon is busy with a hearing but will be available soon to meet at the police station.
• Groupie Moms (GMs), a group of therapy parents, approach John and the narrator and offer sympathy for their family situation, which prompts the narrator to probe them for information.
• The GMs accidentally reveal that the narrator's father has been diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer, a detail previously unknown to the siblings.
• Upon further conversation, it's hinted that their father might be despondent over this diagnosis.
• The discussion with the GMs is cut short, and John refuses to discuss their father's cancer with their mother, to avoid adding stress.
• As they drive to the police station, the narrator speculates about the reasons behind their father's disappearance, considering suicide or escape.
• They decide that withholding the cancer diagnosis from their mother is wrong and disrespectful, but John expresses doubt about whether this information is related to their father's disappearance.
• End of the chapter hints at a possible scandal or secret life led by their father as they receive a shocking text message with an image of him in distress, potentially being attacked.