The Girls in the Garden: A Novel

Clare runs into Leo at the grocery store. He recommends a kind of bread, and she takes his suggestion, although it is more than she would normally pay. They talk about how Grace is spending a lot of time at Leo’s apartment and about Gordon’s food preferences. When they start to obstruct foot traffic in the store, Leo suggests they get coffee nearby.

At the cafe, Leo explains that he is a restaurant consultant. Clare says she is a stay-at-home mom, and her husband is Chris Wild, the filmmaker. Leo has heard of Chris’s work and asks where he is. Clare admits that Grace lied about Chris being dead and explains that he had a schizophrenic episode, which caused him to burn down their house and be hospitalized. Leo thinks Clare should tell her daughters that Chris is out of the hospital, but Clare disagrees. She can’t stop thinking about how proud Chris was to stop the “alien rat invasion” (152). Then, Clare tells Leo her theory about Chris staying with Roxy. Leo suggests looking her up on IMDb and tells Clare he’s there for her if she needs help with anything. Clare is happy to have a man looking after her.

In mid-June, Tyler surprises Pip by walking with her to see the rabbit. They talk about Grace spending a lot of time with the Howes girls, and Pip not spending time with them. Tyler says Grace is actually spending a lot of time with Dylan in his bedroom. Pip doesn’t believe her. Tyler offers to get them some ice cream, but one shop has a huge line, and Tyler doesn’t want to go into the next shop. They walk to another shop, and Tyler complains about the rich girls that they pass by.

After getting ice cream, Pip asks Tyler about some scratches on her arms. Tyler said they came from helping her drunk mother out of a sequined dress. Then, Tyler continues to insist that Pip’s dad is alive, and Pip refuses to discuss it. Tyler says she thought she knew who her own dad was, but she was wrong. Later, it is revealed that Tyler’s mother led her to believe that Leo was her father, when in fact he is not. Tyler believes Gordon killed Phoebe. Before Pip goes inside her apartment, Tyler shows her a picture from Dylan’s social media of him with Grace in his bedroom. Pip writes a letter to Chris about Grace and Dylan’s relationship. She feels like she is losing her friendship with Grace. Pip ends the letter asserting that she is mad at Chris for setting the fire and glad she can’t send him this angry letter.

Adele sees Cecelia while out walking. Cecelia apologizes for not being able to return the favor and host because her job as a social worker is very time-consuming. They talk about Gordon and about Adele homeschooling her daughters. Then, Adele asks Cecelia about the part in Rhea’s memoir about Leo and Cecelia dating. Cecelia says she was far more interested in Leo than he was in her and is embarrassed by the way she acted. The age difference didn’t seem to matter as much in the park. Cecelia assures Adele that there is nothing to worry about. Before parting ways, they discuss Chris burning down the Wild’s house and how it must have negatively impacted his daughters. Cecelia asks if Tyler can come to Adele’s house, and Adele decides to have a party for the girls in their new tent outside.

When Tyler arrives, Gordon is annoyed. Adele explains that they are setting up a campfire. Gordon demands to use Adele’s computer to call his wife on Skype and demands some wine and chocolate. After Gordon is settled, Adele brings some snacks to the girls. Adele asks about the injuries on Tyler’s arms, and she claims she got them from a blackberry bush. Leo comes home, and they set up the tent in the park. The adults sit nearby and drink. Rhea is out on her balcony as well. Clare and Pip come over. Clare accepts some wine, and the adults talk about the beauty of the park and the layout of the apartments around it. Gordon complains when the adults wonder about the psychology of their children, calling children animals. The others eventually laugh and ignore his statements as they become more offensive. Adele and Leo start the campfire and the kids toast marshmallows. Clare leaves after her second glass of wine and tells her daughters to be home at 10 pm.

At 10 pm, Clare sits up waiting for her daughters and thinks about her low tolerance for alcohol. She calls Grace and Pip, but they don’t answer. Clare walks over and sees Leo in front of his apartment. She asks about the girls, and he tells her not to worry because they are all together in the park. When Clare accepts Leo’s invitation to sit on the bench with him, he shows her the information he found on Roxy Hancock, including her address. Leo writes down the information for Clare, then deletes his search history. Clare is grateful for Leo’s actions.

After the fire burns out, some kids hang out near park benches, while others go to the playground. Pip and Tyler wind up on the playground alone, and Tyler continues to talk about Grace and Dylan. Pip wants to go home, but Tyler insists she spy on Grace and Dylan. Grace is on Dylan’s lap, and they are making out, which shocks Pip. Catkin and Fern pass around a joint, but Grace refuses to hit it. Tyler gets angry when Pip refuses to do anything other than go home, and she storms off. Right after this, Clare finds Pip. Hearing Clare’s voice, the others put out their joint and rearrange themselves. Grace emerges from behind the bushes. She and Pip tell Clare that they left their phones in the tent, and they all go home.

After Grace and Pip are in bed, Pip asks Grace about her relationship with Dylan. Pip admits that she and Tyler saw Grace and Dylan making out. Grace says Tyler is jealous, and warns Pip against using cannabis because it can induce schizophrenia. Pip promises that she won’t use cannabis and feels closer to Grace.

Adele is excited that Gordon has progressed to crutches and lost some weight. He asks her to help him dye his hair, and she does so. They talk about how Gordon’s new wife and her children usually dye his hair and how children are better behaved if their parents use corporal punishment. Adele disagrees, and Gordon argues if he’d been able to parent Leo and his brothers like he wanted, then Phoebe might not have died. As Gordon says kids are evil, Adele thinks about Rhea’s memoir.

That evening, Adele looks out at the park and thinks about it as “an extension of her home” (199). She watches Tyler and Dylan racing on their bikes, then watches Pip leave. When Dylan holds Grace’s hand, Tyler leaves. Adele sees Leo coming home from the store and stopping to hug Tyler and kiss the top of her head. Tyler kisses him on the cheek, and he comes inside. Adele asks what Tyler said, and Leo replies that she’s having boy trouble but is not sure about the specifics. Adele becomes suspicious of Leo.

Adele visits Rhea and they talk about Adele’s family. Rhea worries about Gordon around young girls. Adele asks Rhea about Leo’s relationship with Cecelia shortly before Phoebe died, and Rhea doesn’t know the details about their intimate life. When Adele shares Gordon’s suspicion that Leo and his brothers were involved in Phoebe’s death, Rhea tells her not to trust Gordon. She doesn’t believe a love triangle could have caused Phoebe’s death because Phoebe was already struggling with substances and a troubled home life. Phoebe and Cecelia’s mother was neglectful and violent. Cecelia is repeating the cycle of trauma.

Clare takes the tube to Roxy’s apartment and walks past it four times. The fifth time she passes, the door opens. Clare looks into her purse and sees Roxy looking back into the apartment. Clare can hear Chris and see him in the shadows. After Roxy walks away, not seeing Clare, Clare takes the tube back home.

After Pip comes home from school, she asks Clare where Chris is currently staying. This shocks Clare, and Pip clarifies that she wants to send letters to him. After Pip demands to know what’s going on with Chris, Clare agrees to call and ask the hospital about him the next day. They hug, and Clare goes out to tell Grace to come home for dinner. Clare finds Grace in Dylan’s lap on the terrace of the Howes’s apartment and worries that her daughter is performing oral sex. Grace immediately moves when she sees her mother and says she will be home soon.

Clare storms off and Leo follows her. She admits that she didn’t know about Grace and Dylan’s relationship. Leo assures her that Dylan is a nice guy who takes care of his brother. Then, Clare tells Leo about seeing Roxy and Chris. Leo suggests asking Roxy about Chris’s mental state and offers to contact a friend who “works in mental health” about Chris’s condition (220). Clare is comforted and heads home.

The chapter ends with a flyer for the “Virginia Park Annual Summer Party” (221).

Clare throws a small birthday party for Grace on July 5th, during the afternoon. Grace opened Dylan’s present in her bedroom, changed into the clothes Clare bought her, and went out to the park. As Clare is taking out the trash, she sees Leo. He drops his sunglasses, and she picks them up. Clare is excited by the casual touch of giving them back. Leo invites her over for a barbeque on his terrace, saying they’ll be out there all day.

Adele runs the face-painting booth at the park’s summer party. Grace stops by and thanks Adele for her birthday presents. Catkin and Fern join Adele in face painting other children, with Willow as their assistant. Adele sees Grace and Dylan going off together after looking into Grace’s bag secretively.

When Clare and Pip take Leo up on his invitation, he introduces her to his brother John, John’s wife Zoe, and their kids. Leo assures Clare that Grace is with the other children. Gordon has Leo set up a chair for him by the music. Clare has Pip check on Grace, and Pip says that she is with Dylan and Tyler, and that Clare shouldn’t bother them.

Adele left her kids in charge of the face-painting booth, and it was overrun by younger children. She goes back to clean up, then arrives at the barbeque. As jazz music plays in the park, Clare goes into Leo’s kitchen to talk to him. She says she might need to sober up because she’s a single parent, and he assures her that she can relax and have fun. Then, Clare tells Leo that Chris left a package of lovely presents for Grace with a card. She thinks Roxy helped pick them out and deliver them. Clare shares her feelings about Chris breaking her trust and cries. Leo hugs her, and Clare wants to kiss him but doesn’t. Leo suggests that Clare let the children see Chris in a “highly regulated environment” and offers his place (236). Leo also mentions that Cecelia is a social worker and might have some advice, but she won’t be coming to the party. Cecelia prefers to hang out with a different crowd. Leo seems angry with Cecelia as he chops vegetables, and Clare leaves the kitchen, thanking him for his help.

Leo cooks on the terrace as the jazz band ends their set. Adele sees Clare, very drunk and flirting with Leo. Willow takes Pip into her room. Then, Adele helps Clare to the bathroom. Clare says Adele is a wonderful mother, and Clare blames herself for marrying a dangerous man. She confesses that she is jealous of Adele but also likes Adele. Willow and Pip go out to the playground. Adele tells Leo that Clare is extremely intoxicated and that perhaps he should help her home.

Pip isn’t enjoying the game Willow demands they play. Fern and Tyler arrive at the playground and refuse to play the game. Instead, they gossip together. Gordon comes by and overhears them insulting someone else’s sexual activities and tells them to “watch their language” (245). After he leaves, Fern and Tyler play Willow’s game. Pip goes to the Howes’s apartment and finds Clare there. Clare, still very intoxicated, tells Pip that Leo is going to be her new dad. Pip takes Clare home, surprised because she’s never seen Clare this drunk before.