What If

Summary

• The chapter opens with a flashback of when Tova and her knitting group, the Knit-Wits, found out that Tatum, the granddaughter of one of their members, was pregnant at 18.
• Tova was envious of the situation because if her son Erik had a child before he died, she would have had a grandchild to love and care for.
• Despite Tatum's unexpected pregnancy, she had help from her mother and the baby’s father, which Tova observes as ideal.
• This leads Tova to contemplate the various outcomes of unplanned teen pregnancies, affirming the complexity of the situation.
• Tova then starts thinking about Cameron, a young boy who is searching for his father, even though the man he believes is his father might not be.
• She recalls how confidently Cameron speaks about his father, similar to Erik’s confident nature, which leads her to think about the possibility that Erik could have possibly been Cameron’s father.
• However, she brushes off this idea as unlikely, arguing that Cameron's mother, Daphne Cassmore, if she really had a child with Erik, would have told her about her grandchild.
• A pet cat in the scene mirrors Tova's feelings of uncertainty and reluctance about her upcoming move to a new house in Charter Village, primarily because pets are not allowed there.