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Summary

Barbara: Part I

Louise, August 1975—Alice, June 1975

Louise: August 1975 

Louise, Barbara’s camp counselor, wakes up to realize that her camper, Barbara Van Laar, is not in her bunk. Anxiously, she wakes up her seventeen-year-old counselor-in-training Annabel Southworth to see what she knows. Annabel is extremely hungover, and she confesses that she did not complete her bunk checks the previous night. Louise finds evidence of Annabel’s late-night activities: an empty beer bottle, the end of a joint, and a vomit-filled potato chip bag.  

The night Barbara went missing, there was a dance in the community room. Louise remembers that Annabel was present for most of the event, but there was a chunk of time where she was absent. Connecting the dots, Louise realizes that Barbara had to have gone missing just after 2 AM, after Louise did her final checks. Before Louise sets out to investigate, she tells Annabel to throw away the incriminating evidence of her underage illegal activity. She fears that Annabel will spill her own secret of sneaking out, but Annabel herself will not be in trouble for it: Louise would be the one who gets blamed, since she is the lead counselor. Louise walks into the cabin, Balsam, and pretends not to have discovered that Barbara has gone missing.  

Tracy: Two months earlier, June 1975  

Campers were given three rules upon arrival: store food properly, never swim alone, and if lost, sit down and yell for help. Tracy finds the third rule both funny and embarrassing. Her father, the son of a jockey and horse owner, paid for her to attend Camp Emerson, but she would have preferred spending the summer reading at their vacation home in Saratoga Springs.  

Her parents are divorced, and her father has a new girlfriend, Donna, who drops her off at camp while he heads to the racetrack. Tracy’s father raised her in an RV before moving to a gated home in Hempstead, New York. Although he fought for full custody, he still sends Tracy to camp to have time alone with Donna. Tracy feels insecure and different from her classmates, especially the popular girls, as her tall frame, big hair, and pronounced freckles set her apart.  

As they arrive at camp, Donna notices the lack of the camp’s name on the sign and reflects on feeding carrots to her father’s horses, admitting she misses him. She thinks about the third rule and decides she’d have to be truly lost to sit down and yell for help. 

Alice: June 1975  

From the sunroom of Self-Reliance, the Van Laars' home, Alice Van Laar watches cars drive away after dropping off their children at Camp Emerson. She has witnessed this for 23 years, since she was 18 years old and newly married to Peter Van Laar III. 

At 5 o’clock, she takes the pills Dr. Lewis prescribed for her nerves. He said she can take two on especially bad days—days when she thinks about her son, Bear, who went missing and was never found. She takes her pills with alcohol. 

T.J. Hewitt, the camp director, has worked at Camp Emerson for five years. Her father, Vic, ran the camp until he was forced out after the summer of 1970 when his erratic behavior (like shouting nonsense at campers) led to parent complaints. Peter Van Laar III removed Vic from the role and suggested T.J. take over, though Alice opposed it. As a young woman in her 20s, T.J. had never been considered for the role before. Since there was no alternative, T.J. manages the grounds in the off-season and directs the camp in the summer. 

There is tension between T.J. and Alice as they meet. Alice has known T.J. since she was 3 years old and has always seen her as an outsider. Alice exchanges small talk with T.J. and then explains that Barbara, her daughter, might be acting out because Peter has been absent lately. Alice politely informs T.J. that Barbara will be attending camp this year, though she hesitates to ask, given the longstanding divide between the Van Laar family and the Hewitts. 

Without hesitation, T.J. refuses. Alice insists it would be good for Barbara, helping her make new friends and keeping her occupied. She also admits—at least to herself—that having Barbara out of the house would be convenient, especially with the upcoming annual party, The Blackfly Good-By. It will be the first they’ve hosted in fourteen years, a celebration of the preserve’s hundredth anniversary, bringing two dozen friends and relatives to the estate in August. 

T.J. asks if Barbara knows what’s happening to her in the fall. Alice says no, but she will tell Barbara at the end of the summer. T.J. makes excuses as to why she cannot take Barbara as a camper, saying that camp has already started and the cabins are full. Alice pushes back, insisting camp will be good for Barbara, but in truth, she simply wants her gone for the summer—out of sight, out of mind. 

T.J. tries to end the conversation, but Alice makes it clear: it’s not up to her. Peter wants Barbara at camp, and T.J. can’t refuse him. Reluctantly, T.J. agrees and says that Barbara will start tomorrow and bunk in Balsam. 

As T.J. walks away, Alice hears Barbara in the kitchen, where Alice has told the new cook to stop feeding her so often. Barbara can be manipulative, Alice thinks, likely able to charm the cook into giving her whatever she wants. Alice observes Barbara’s body, noting her transition into young womanhood. She criticizes it, believing that being tough is the only way to survive insults. Barbara slices a piece of bread, and Alice reminds her dinner is soon. Then she tells Barbara she will start camp tomorrow and that someone will pack her things. Barbara lowers her head, but Alice catches the hint of a smile. 

Louise, Barbara’s camp counselor, wakes up to realize that her camper, Barbara Van Laar, is not in her bunk. Anxiously, she wakes up her seventeen-year-old counselor-in-training Annabel Southworth to see what she knows. Annabel is extremely hungover, and she confesses that she did not complete her bunk checks the previous night. Louise finds evidence of Annabel’s late-night activities: an empty beer bottle, the end of a joint, and a vomit-filled potato chip bag.  

The night Barbara went missing, there was a dance in the community room. Louise remembers that Annabel was present for most of the event, but there was a chunk of time where she was absent. Connecting the dots, Louise realizes that Barbara had to have gone missing just after 2 AM, after Louise did her final checks. Before Louise sets out to investigate, she tells Annabel to throw away the incriminating evidence of her underage illegal activity. She fears that Annabel will spill her own secret of sneaking out, but Annabel herself will not be in trouble for it: Louise would be the one who gets blamed, since she is the lead counselor. Louise walks into the cabin, Balsam, and pretends not to have discovered that Barbara has gone missing.  

Tracy: Two months earlier, June 1975  

Campers were given three rules upon arrival: store food properly, never swim alone, and if lost, sit down and yell for help. Tracy finds the third rule both funny and embarrassing. Her father, the son of a jockey and horse owner, paid for her to attend Camp Emerson, but she would have preferred spending the summer reading at their vacation home in Saratoga Springs.  

Her parents are divorced, and her father has a new girlfriend, Donna, who drops her off at camp while he heads to the racetrack. Tracy’s father raised her in an RV before moving to a gated home in Hempstead, New York. Although he fought for full custody, he still sends Tracy to camp to have time alone with Donna. Tracy feels insecure and different from her classmates, especially the popular girls, as her tall frame, big hair, and pronounced freckles set her apart.  

As they arrive at camp, Donna notices the lack of the camp’s name on the sign and reflects on feeding carrots to her father’s horses, admitting she misses him. She thinks about the third rule and decides she’d have to be truly lost to sit down and yell for help. 

Alice: June 1975  

From the sunroom of Self-Reliance, the Van Laars' home, Alice Van Laar watches cars drive away after dropping off their children at Camp Emerson. She has witnessed this for 23 years, since she was 18 years old and newly married to Peter Van Laar III. 

At 5 o’clock, she takes the pills Dr. Lewis prescribed for her nerves. He said she can take two on especially bad days—days when she thinks about her son, Bear, who went missing and was never found. She takes her pills with alcohol. 

T.J. Hewitt, the camp director, has worked at Camp Emerson for five years. Her father, Vic, ran the camp until he was forced out after the summer of 1970 when his erratic behavior (like shouting nonsense at campers) led to parent complaints. Peter Van Laar III removed Vic from the role and suggested T.J. take over, though Alice opposed it. As a young woman in her 20s, T.J. had never been considered for the role before. Since there was no alternative, T.J. manages the grounds in the off-season and directs the camp in the summer. 

There is tension between T.J. and Alice as they meet. Alice has known T.J. since she was 3 years old and has always seen her as an outsider. Alice exchanges small talk with T.J. and then explains that Barbara, her daughter, might be acting out because Peter has been absent lately. Alice politely informs T.J. that Barbara will be attending camp this year, though she hesitates to ask, given the longstanding divide between the Van Laar family and the Hewitts. 

Without hesitation, T.J. refuses. Alice insists it would be good for Barbara, helping her make new friends and keeping her occupied. She also admits—at least to herself—that having Barbara out of the house would be convenient, especially with the upcoming annual party, The Blackfly Good-By. It will be the first they’ve hosted in fourteen years, a celebration of the preserve’s hundredth anniversary, bringing two dozen friends and relatives to the estate in August. 

T.J. asks if Barbara knows what’s happening to her in the fall. Alice says no, but she will tell Barbara at the end of the summer. T.J. makes excuses as to why she cannot take Barbara as a camper, saying that camp has already started and the cabins are full. Alice pushes back, insisting camp will be good for Barbara, but in truth, she simply wants her gone for the summer—out of sight, out of mind. 

T.J. tries to end the conversation, but Alice makes it clear: it’s not up to her. Peter wants Barbara at camp, and T.J. can’t refuse him. Reluctantly, T.J. agrees and says that Barbara will start tomorrow and bunk in Balsam. 

As T.J. walks away, Alice hears Barbara in the kitchen, where Alice has told the new cook to stop feeding her so often. Barbara can be manipulative, Alice thinks, likely able to charm the cook into giving her whatever she wants. Alice observes Barbara’s body, noting her transition into young womanhood. She criticizes it, believing that being tough is the only way to survive insults. Barbara slices a piece of bread, and Alice reminds her dinner is soon. Then she tells Barbara she will start camp tomorrow and that someone will pack her things. Barbara lowers her head, but Alice catches the hint of a smile. 

Next section Barbara (continued)

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