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Summary

PART IV: Visitors 

Carl: 1961–Alice: 1962 

Carl regains consciousness in the back of the pickup truck and is taken to Dr. Treadwell, who informs him he suffered an arrhythmia. Though the doctor advises hospitalization, Carl and Marianne hesitate due to lingering medical debt from Scotty’s care. Marianne reassures Carl that she and the others will continue looking for Bear while he recovers at home. Their conversation is lighthearted, a contrast to the fear they once felt when discussing their sick child. 

Later, Carl wakes and finds Marianne in Scotty’s old room, now filled with boxes of his belongings. She suggests repurposing the space, and Carl proposes turning it into a sunroom. When Marianne asks if he knew Bear well, Carl recalls teaching him about the outdoors and how to build a fire. She questions why he speaks about the boy in the past tense, and he has no answer. Marianne shares that a small wooden bear carving was found near the search path, and Carl recognizes it as something Bear may have whittled, a skill Carl taught him. Marianne moves to the kitchen to prepare dinner, while Carl, returning to bed, realizes he speaks of Bear as if he is already gone. In his mind, Bear and Scotty have become one. 

Carl: 1961 

Each day, more people join the search until nearly the entire town of Shattuck is involved. Vic Hewitt leads the efforts, sending small groups in different directions, but after days without a sign of Bear, people begin to lose hope. The hounds quickly lost his scent on the first day, and though they found the wooden carving, rain has made further progress impossible. Some believe Bear wandered too far and was unable to find his way back, while others suspect an injury prevented him from surviving the night. 

When Maryanne returns home, she shares with Carl the growing suspicion that he was the last to see Bear alive. He confirms it but reveals something he has told no one else—Bear was afraid of his grandfather, Peter II. Maryanne believes him but knows no one else will. That night, a knock at the door startles them, causing Maryanne to take the shotgun off the wall for protection. The men at the door are Carl’s partners, Dick Saddock, Bob Lewis, and Bob Alcott, and they warn him that the police are coming. Though they believe in his innocence, they advise him to run away, as the authorities lack real evidence but will arrest him regardless. Carl refuses to run, but Maryanne urges him to. As his panic mounts, his chest tightens once again. At seven in the morning, the police knock on the door.  

Alice: 1962 

Alice gives birth to a baby girl, Barbara, but struggles to connect with her. Alone during labor, as Peter had a meeting he “couldn't miss,” she repeats to herself that she must love the baby. She recalls how different things were with Bear—how caring for him made her days worthwhile, making her feel less alone. 

The narration flashes back to Alice at home, after having Bear. Peter hires two nurses without Alice’s input; the day nurse, Francine, is kind, but the night nurse, Sharon, is harsh and authoritative. She often undermines Alice, and Peter constantly takes Sharon’s side, frustrating Alice further. One night, Alice hears Bear crying out for her. Defying Peter, she rushes to the nursery, overjoyed to see her son. Sharon is startled awake and watches as Alice reunites with Bear, but Peter storms in, furious. He rips the baby from Alice’s arms and forces him back to Sharon before dragging Alice away, reasserting his control. When she protests, Peter tells her to block out the cries by putting beeswax in her ears. 

Later, in labor with Barbara, Alice is sedated with gas and hallucinates Bear in the room. She reaches for him, desperate to keep him from disappearing, but the doctors and nurses restrain her. Truly believing her son is in the room, she takes it as a sign that he is still alive. She fights against those who restrain her, but as they increase the gas, he vanishes. When she wakes up, Peter tells her they will name the baby Barbara, dismissing the name Alice had wanted. After researching the name, she discovers it comes from the Greek word for “strange” and regrets the choice, but it is too late to change it. 

Alice: 1962 

For the first two months after Barbara’s birth, Alice finds solace in distraction. But by the third month, she begins hearing a child calling for her at night. At first, she believes it is Barbara, but deep down, she knows it is Bear. She repeatedly wakes to these cries, but each time she tries to reach the nursery, Peter stops her. The voices follow her throughout the house, leaving her exhausted and confused. 

Peter brings in Dr. Lewis, the family physician, who prescribes sleeping pills for Alice. The medication fills Alice’s dreams with dark, anxious images. She tells no one about the voices, as everyone around her insists she must move on. But Alice refuses to accept Bear’s disappearance, and she clings to the belief that he is still out there. She fears that if she lets go, Bear will sense her detachment and be lost to her forever. Each night, she prays to hear his voice again. 

Alice: 1962 

At the request of the Van Laars, Alice is admitted to the Dunwitty Institute, a psychiatric facility on Long Island. Her confused, hesitant parents don’t have the power to stop it, so they drop her at the Institute and leave. Separated from Barbara, she is left with only puzzles for entertainment. 

She is given her own room as a privilege due to her family’s connections, but it brings her no comfort. She dreads her nightmares, where she is constantly hindered from reaching a destination, calling them “Can’t Get There” dreams. In her first month, she has no visitors, only brief telephone calls. When she is finally given a coin to make a call, she realizes she has no one to reach out to, and she feels even more isolated by her loneliness. She calls an old friend, but after a brief, awkward exchange, she hangs up. 

One day, she is told she has a visitor: her sister, Delphine. Alice wants to leave, but the nurse encourages her to speak with Delphine. In a moment of dissociation, Alice closes her eyes tightly, willing herself into another world where she stands outside Bear’s room, waiting for him to wake and call for her. As Delphine repeatedly calls her name, all Alice hears is Bear’s voice whispering, “Mamma.” Delphine apologizes to Alice, but the reason is not explained.  

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