Pet Sematary

As Louis hunts the keys to the house that he has misplaced, Ellie falls from the swing and cuts her knee on a rock, shrieking even louder when she sees the antiseptic her father retrieves from his medical bag. Rachel acknowledges that their neighbor has just come out on his porch, and Louis stifles the urge to slap Ellie, who is still screaming. Gage gets stung by a bee and starts screaming, making Ellie scream as well. Jud comes up and advises they pluck the stinger out: “[Jud] held out his hands and smiled crookedly […] a smile Louis liked at once—and he was not a man who ‘took’ to people” (8).

Jud deftly pulls out the stinger in Gage’s neck, surprising both Louis and Rachel. Ellie doesn’t understand Jud’s accent, which makes her parents break out in fits of laughter. Louis introduces his family and apologizes for laughing. Jud offers for Rachel and the kids to meet his wife, but the movers show up, and Louis realizes he still doesn’t have the keys. Jud admits that he has a copy from the old owners which he proposes to give to Louis and then warns Louis and Rachel about the dangerous road. Ellie finds a path and asks where it leads. Jud offers to show her sometime before taking Ellie and Gage into his house to meet his wife.

Louis finds the missing set of keys and Jud returns with the extra set of keys. Louis feels overwhelmed by homesickness, which Jud recognizes but doesn’t understand, admitting that he lives in the same house his father built. Louis is surprised at how youthful Jud seems for his age but then gets pulled away by the movers. Jud offers for Louis to come over later that night and drink beers with him, and Louis accepts tentatively, thinking he won’t go but feeling affectionate toward Jud nonetheless.

After the movers leave late that night, Louis tells Rachel to go to bed although he feels too energized to go to sleep. He admits he’s going to go drink with Jud, and Rachel warns him about Norma’s arthritis, although she admits she and the kids liked Norma. Rachel tells Louis not to stay out too late.

Norma has gone to bed as well, leaving Jud and Louis to drink their beers: “all of it gave Louis Creed the oddest feeling of coming home” (13). Jud offers Louis cheese, but Louis declines. Louis asks after Norma’s arthritis, surprising himself, and they talk about the road with the trucks that constantly roar by. They sit in comfortable silence for a bit before Jud talks about the pet cemetery past the path Ellie pointed out earlier. Jud talks about how the local kids maintain the path and the pet cemetery and some of the animals buried there, like a pet raccoon. Louis talks about Church, and Jud suggests getting Church neutered so he doesn’t wander as much and potentially get run over. Louis says he has to get to bed because he has work in the morning. At home, Louis checks in on his kids, kissing Gage because Rachel isn’t there to see this affectionate side of him. Louis gets into his side of the two twin mattresses he and Rachel have pushed together to make a bed. He sees the end of Jud’s cigarette still alight, and wonders what Jud is standing watch against. Louis dreams about working at Disney World with a 10-year-old Gage.

For the next two weeks, “Louis began getting a handle on his job as head of University Medical Services [and] Rachel began to get a handle on the house” (19). Ellie is excited and terrified to start kindergarten, and Gage is adjusting to the new house. Louis’s beer with Jud becomes a nightly ritual. Louis meets Norma, Jud’s wife, and examines her rheumatoid arthritis but is disappointed when he finds there’s nothing more he can do for her. Norma and Rachel become friends, exchanging recipes. Norma fawns over the children. Louis takes the day off for Ellie’s first day of kindergarten; Rachel cries after Ellie leaves, and Louis gently scolds her, close to tears himself. They anxiously await her return, and Louis goes over to Jud’s to collect spare corn cobs Jud has offered him. Norma reassures Louis that Ellie will be fine.

When Ellie comes back smiling, Louis realizes that he is going to get old. Ellie tries to tell him about her day, but Louis has to put Gage down to nap first. As he is taking Gage upstairs to bed, Louis is struck by “a premonition of horror and darkness” (22) that he tries to shrug off. When he puts Gage down in his crib, Louis recalls his undertaker Uncle Carl’s showroom with all the coffins.

After Ellie’s first week of school, Jud comes over and offers to show her where the path leads. Louis decides to come along and put Gage in an infant carrier. The weather still feels like summer and Jud stops to show them the beautiful view from a hilltop of their property. Jud acknowledges that this place has been mostly forgotten by more recent generations. When they get to the woods, Jud calls Ellie back from running ahead and tells her she always has to stay on the path so she doesn’t get lost. This worries Rachel and Louis, whom Jud tries to reassure while still maintaining the importance of not straying from the safety of the path. Rachel is not convinced. As they continue the walk, Louis is sweating profusely and his back is cramping with Gage’s weight but he refuses any help or offers to slow down. Louis is amazed at how agile Jud seems.

When they get to the pet cemetery, Louis is surprised at how well-kept and beautiful it is: “The forested backdrop lent the place a crazy sort of profundity, a charm that was not Christian but pagan” (30). Louis and his family read the various pet gravestones that are still legible, and Jud tells them little tidbits about each animal. Louis sees how uncomfortable Rachel is and winks at her to break the tension. They continue reading the gravestones, and Louis is impressed by the amount of care and attention that has been paid to the cemetery. Jud shows Louis the grave of his old dog, Spot, who died in 1914. Louis asks how long the pet cemetery has been around for; Jud admits he doesn’t know. Jud talks about being the last of his friends to survive and how the ground here is stony and hard to bury things in. Jud sees Ellie climbing the blowdown and warns her to get down before the trees shift and she breaks an ankle. Ellie jumps down and the trees catch and rip her pants. Louis thinks about how the blowdown seems to be a manmade barrier between the pet cemetery and the MicMac woods beyond, but then is distracted by Gage pulling on his ear.

Louis is working on building a model of a Rolls Royce—a hobby that Rachel is somewhat contemptuous of—when Ellie comes to talk to him. She doesn’t ask him straightaway what is on her mind, but rather begins the conversation by asking if they are rich because a boy in her class told her all doctors are rich. Louis says they are not rich. Church enters the room, prompting Ellie to ask about the pet cemetery and why pets don’t live as long as humans. Louis tries to explain about metabolism, lying to Ellie that cats live as long as dogs, although he thinks to himself that cats live short and violent lives. Louis tries to reassure Ellie that Church will live at least until she’s in high school, but Ellie feels like that isn’t very far away. Ellie gets mad that God would try to take her cat away from her and starts crying. Louis comforts her by holding her and decides not to lie to her about death, in the manner that his mother lied to him about where babies came from. He tells her that it’s a part of life, and she keeps crying, eventually falling asleep.

Louis puts Ellie to bed and comes down to find Rachel angrily mixing cake batter. Rachel yells at him that she doesn’t want Ellie going up to the pet cemetery by herself and is furious at Jud for exposing her daughter to death so early. Louis is surprised at Rachel’s vehement reaction and thinks about all their friends who have divorced. Rachel becomes childish in her argument, asserting that Church will not die if they take care of him. Louis asks her how she slept, and Rachel gets furious. Louis tries to argue that death is a natural thing for children to learn about; Rachel says she doesn’t want to discuss it anymore. Louis tries to explain that children don’t forgive the lies their parents tell, and Rachel screams at him to stop saying death is natural. Louis is so surprised he knocks a bag of flour off the counter, and Gage wakes up, crying. Louis continues, telling Rachel how dangerous it is to repress truths. Rachel screams that she hates him and maintains that there is nothing natural about death. This leaves Louis to wonder about her sister and clean up the flour from the floor.

Jud apologizes for upsetting Ellie; Louis is surprised at his prescience. Jud acknowledges that the pet cemetery is usually kids’ first acquaintance with real death, unlike television death, and how some kids end up with nightmares. One local kid who went on to be a state senator had an argument with his friends about who would be the pallbearers when his dog died, until his sister got the encyclopedia out and showed them that there could be as many people in a funeral procession as one wanted, so they had many pallbearers. The idea of it makes Louis laugh heartily, and Jud advises that the kid’s nightmares stopped when he buried the dog. Jud says Ellie will get over it, but that she must accept death as a part of life. Jud talks about how older folks were closer to death, like how his brother died as a kid. Louis leaves to get to bed early for the first day of school the next day, and Norma again asserts Ellie will get over it. Louis and Jud joke about a cribbage game the next night and Louis being a terrible doctor. At home, Rachel is asleep on her side of the bed with Gage. Louis is still upset and worries about divorce. He tries to go to sleep but finds his thoughts nagging him, remembering his cousin Ruthie who died in a car accident. He remembers praying with his mother and then screaming out loud that his cousin couldn’t be dead because he loved her. Louis checks in on Ellie, finding Church asleep with her. He sees Rachel’s bulletin board and decides it’s time to neuter Church to prevent him from crossing the road.

Louis explains to Ellie that Church’s upcoming surgery will prevent him from crossing the road: “He realized how worried [Ellie] must have been. Perhaps Rachel had not been entirely wrong about the effect the Pet Sematary had had on her” (52). Rachel apologizes and they talk about Gage growing up too fast. Louis gets ready to go to work for the first day that the students have returned. Louis tries not to think about death as he leaves the house.

On the way to work, there is a lot of traffic around the university because of joggers, who seem to dart out in front of cars at will. The ambulance is gone from the infirmary parking lot as well. He finds Charlton, who explains the ambulance broke down and they probably won’t’ get it back for months. Charlton talks about the two types of patients they get: those who come in with half-degree fevers, and athletes who play a whole semester with tendonitis or chipped bones.

Until Victor Pascow arrives, the infirmary is fairly quiet, with Charlton explaining in gruesome detail what the candy-stripers have to deal with. Everyone loses it when Victor comes in with his head crushed and his neck broken except for Charlton, who yells at the candy-stripers and sets them to work. Louis examines Victor, knowing he is going to die. Louis calls for the ambulance, but is then reminded it is broken, and so he tells someone to get campus police, knowing the situation is futile. No one seems to know what happened to Victor, only that other students brought him in in a sling. Victor starts grinning horribly and speaking: “‘In the Pet Sematary […] It’s not the real cemetery […] The soil of a man’s heart is stonier, Louis […] A man grows what he can […] and tends it’” (61). Louis tries to put Victor’s speech off but is filled with dread when he realizes Victor has called Louis by name, without the two having ever met. Victor says a few more unintelligible things, shudders, and dies. Louis, covered in sweat, bites his finger to keep from passing out.

Louis feels like the scene that follows is from a play: finding out Victor’s name and how he was struck by a car while jogging, hearing his companion sobbing. Louis starts doubting that Victor ever said anything about the pet cemetery. He pulls himself together and takes charge, ordering everyone to various jobs to calm people down. A police officer notes that it is a bad way to begin the semester.

Louis stays busy all day, making a statement to the press about Victor being killed by a student driving a car. Louis tries to get some semblance of a routine back into his day, going over the files of students with disabilities. Charlton announces that the carpet has to be replaced because it’s covered in Victor’s blood’ Louis takes a Tuinal to calm down. Rachel calls, and Louis apologizes for not leaving work earlier. Rachel is mostly concerned that Louis is all right, telling him to come home.

Rachel meets Louis at the door in lingerie, having left the kids at the sitters. She takes him upstairs to the bathtub, bathes him, and gives him a handjob while he’s in the bath. They eat beef stroganoff she’s cooked, then go upstairs to have sex. Louis picks up the kids from the sitter, Missy, who asks Louis all about Victor’s accident, the retelling of which Louis hates. Louis puts the kids to bed and when Rachel asks, he admits he’s too tired to go over to Jud’s for a beer. As Louis is falling asleep, Rachel mentions that Church’s surgery is scheduled for the day after tomorrow. Louis falls into a dreamless sleep.

Louis awakens to the sight of Victor’s undead corpse, beckoning him to follow. Louis feels no fear, believing it’s a dream. Louis follows Victor, surprised at the realistic qualities of his alleged dream: “The compulsion to follow was strong, but he did not want to be touched, even in a dream, by a walking corpse” (71). Victor passes through the door to the garage but Louis is unable to and briefly loses sight of Victor. When he sees Victor walk toward the path leading to the pet cemetery, Louis stops, not wanting to follow him, but then finds himself unable to resist following Victor. Louis keeps trying to convince himself that this nightmare is just a dream, but it feels too real when he gets scratched by a tree limb. When they get to the pet cemetery, Louis is overcome with terror. Victor takes him to the deadfall, which is now a pile of moving bones, and warns Louis not to go beyond its barrier because of the power that lies past. Victor warns Louis that everything he loves will be destroyed and reaches out to touch Louis. Louis backs away, knocking over a monument and trying to scream before fading into darkness, where the only sound he can hear is the click of the deadfall’s bones.

Louis slowly wakes up to Gage and Ellie giggling and playing, realizing that Rachel has let him oversleep. Gage babbles about wanting Ellie to stay home from school, and Ellie comes in to make sure Louis is awake before running to catch her bus. Louis asks Gage to come in to give him a kiss, but Gage ignores him. Louis has a conversation with Rachel about breakfast, but when he goes to get up, he realizes he is covered in dirt and pine needles and has a scratch from a tree branch. He stifles the urge to scream and answers Rachel’s questions about eggs, deciding she can’t see him this way. He throws the dirty bedlinens into the laundry for Missy and hops in the shower, seeing Victor Pascow’s eyes when he closes his own. Louis starts laughing, realizing how adept he is at hiding things from his wife. The terror passes. Downstairs, Rachel asks what’s so funny, and Louis tells her a joke, impressed at how easily he gets rid of all evidence. He feels much better until he has driven several miles from his house where he starts shaking so hard he must pull over, terrified he is losing his mind. When he gets to the office, he is surprised to see how normal he appears. Louis greets the other doctor, Surrendra, who tells Louis that as he stitched up a drunken patient last night, the girl vomited on his head. Louis sends Surrendra home, and he and the PA, Masterson, laugh. Louis feels normal, and Masterson tells him to prepare for the drug salesmen who come today and try to bribe everyone to push their products.

Louis retrieves a copy of Victor’s medical records, looking for some connection to the pet cemetery but not finding one. Louis feels much better than he did that morning. He calls the morgue to find that Pascow’s parents have already flown their son’s body back to their home in New Jersey. Louis contents himself with the thought that he just suffered a crazy dream. When he drives home that night, he convinces himself he was sleepwalking, rationalizing the rest of the events. Louis tries to shove the words Victor spoke to him out of his mind. After dinner, Louis takes a walk to the pet cemetery, touching the deadfall to make sure it has not turned into the bones that so horrified him. Louis begins climbing the deadfall but only gets halfway up before he climbs back down, afraid he will fall. Walking back, he swears he saw a path continue on the other side of the deadfall, but tells himself to let it go. At home, Louis reads through medical journals about somnambulism before Rachel calls him to bed. It is difficult for him to get to sleep; every time he closes his eyes, he sees Victor. When he wakes up the next morning, he throws back the sheets to find them clean and then whistles as he takes a shower.

Rachel takes Church to the vet to have him neutered. That night, Ellie scream-cries herself to sleep, huddled around Church’s bed. Louis finds her and puts her back to bed. Louis writes a note that is supposed to be from Church and sticks it to the cat bed. He and Rachel have sex and fall asleep. When Church gets home, Ellie won’t let anyone else touch him and dotes on him. Louis is upset to see that Church has lost his spunk, although neither Ellie nor Rachel seem to notice.

Life at the Creed house returns to some semblance of normality, with Louis’s beers with Jud becoming an every-night occurrence. Rachel and Norma sometimes join. Louis and Rachel have sex more than they ever have since their first year of marriage: “The nasty death of Victor Pascow on the first day of the fall semester began to fade in the memory of the student body and in Louis’s own” (89). Louis only dimly remembers the sleepwalking incident and tries not to think of Pascow’s dying words. On Halloween, Ellie dresses as a witch but Gage cannot join them in the festivities because he has a cold, despite Rachel and Missy working for hours on his bug costume. Ellie seems pleased that Gage is not coming with her and Louis as they go trick-or-treating. They go to Jud’s house, and Norma’s arthritis seems to be acting up because she drops the apple she tries to give to Ellie. Norma gets Ellie another one, and Jud and Louis briefly speak about Norma’s deteriorating condition. Jud asks Louis to examine her because she is now having chest pains as well but is too scared to go to the doctor.

Other trick-or-treaters in Jud’s house begin to scream, and Louis and Jud run inside to find Norma having a heart attack. Louis administers CPR, telling Jud to take Ellie to Rachel, who will call an ambulance. Louis worries briefly that Norma will start talking to him about the pet cemetery. Another mother comes in to help, and Louis tells her to get a wet cloth for Norma’s forehead. Jud returns with Louis’s medical bag, and Louis administers medication to Norma. After Norma is stabilized, Louis picks up the scattered treats she’d dropped. The mother and Jud thank Louis, and Louis feels like he’s won one. Jud says he owes Louis a favor. The ambulance takes Norma away and Jud wants to go after her, but Louis argues that the hospital won’t let him see her and he should just stay put. Louis leaves to resume trick-or-treating with Ellie. Rachel briefly argues that it will be too late, but Ellie’s pleading wins her over. Rachel asks after Norma, whom Louis maintains will be fine. In the car, Ellie worries that she made Norma have a heart attack, but Louis assures her that this is not the case and that Ellie might have saved her life. Ellie asserts that Norma will probably die anyway because she has a bad heart and is old, which surprises Louis. Later, Rachel asks how Ellie handled it, but Louis assures Rachel that Ellie is fine. They fall asleep, but Louis wakes up to Pascow’s dragging steps on the stairs. He opens the door to the bedroom, but there is nothing there.

When Louis calls to check on Norma’s condition, he finds her stabilized and the doctor admits that she probably owes her life to Louis’s quick action. Louis brings her flowers, and Norma thanks him, telling Jud to take him out for a beer. It snows the week before Thanksgiving. Louis takes his family to the airport. Rachel is upset that he is not accompanying the family to her parents’ house for Thanksgiving; Louis assures her that he will be fine with Jud and Norma. Ellie hurries Rachel to the plane, afraid they will miss their flight. Rachel tells him she loves him, although she knows he’s skipping the trip because Louis does not get along with Rachel’s father, who thinks Louis is a loser and not good enough for their daughter. Louis remembers how Irwin Goldman, Rachel’s dad, offered to pay for Louis’s med school in its entirety if Louis broke off his engagement with Rachel. Louis lost his temper and exchanged harsh words with Irwin: “In the end Rachel had brought them both around […] although neither of them has ever changed his mind in the slightest about the other” (103). However, the arrival of Ellie and Gage softened Rachel’s parents and eased some of the tension between them and Louis. Louis watches the plane take off and prays for their safety, feeling lonely. Louis has beers with Jud and Norma and talks about the MicMac tribe’s fierce attempts to repel English colonizers. He talks to Rachel on the phone later, wishing she was with him.

Louis eats a nice Thanksgiving dinner with Jud and Norma and falls asleep after. He wakes up to a phone call from Jud, explaining that he thinks Church has been hit by a truck on the road. Louis hopes it isn’t Church, unsure of what he will say to Ellie if it is. He thinks about how people always assume their families are different, and somehow specially protected from harm. He calls Church’s name but the cat doesn’t come, so he goes over to Jud’s house with a trash bag. Louis almost gets hit by a truck himself as he crosses the street, but Jud waves him back just in time. Louis bends down to see that the dead cat is Church, and Louis is “aware for the first time that he had loved Church” (109). Louis thinks about not telling Ellie and suggesting that Church has run away. Jud comments about how much Ellie loves the cat, and his use of the present tense strikes Louis as odd. Louis is surprised at how heavy Church’s body is as he puts the cat in the trash bag. When Louis admits he will probably bury Church in the pet cemetery, Jud tells him to wait. Louis is surprised to find how at home he feels. Jud comes back with a pick and a shovel, and Louis protests that they can’t bury Church tonight, but Jud maintains that if Louis loves his daughter, he will follow Jud.

Jud is silent on the walk to the pet cemetery, but once they get there, he and Louis talk about how good this place feels. Jud continues over the deadfall, and Louis barely remembers the dream warning of Pascow. Although he feels more alive than he has in years, he urges caution to Jud. Jud tells him not to hesitate or look down. Louis concludes he must be dreaming. Louis follows Jud without issues, feeling confident. Jud tells Louis that the air is more electrical, and there will be noises but Louis should ignore them. As long as they stay on the path through the Little God Swamp, they should be safe. Jud pauses and tells Louis to be quiet as a huge thing passes by them and maniacal laughter echoes through the swamp. Jud tells Louis it was just a loon, but Louis sees terror in the old man’s eyes. They climb steps carved out of rock and Jud admits he hasn’t been here in twelve years. The MicMacs created a high plateau for a burial ground, burying pets alongside their owners. Jud tells Louis to bury Church, which is a favor for Louis for saving Norma’s life. The soil is stony and hard but Louis finds the work soothing. Jud piles rocks for the cairn, explaining about the magic of this burial ground, which eventually turned sour because of the Wendigo. Jud pressures Louis to make a cairn, and Louis notices most of the other cairns have fallen over. They leave, and Louis feels like he is sleepwalking.

When they get back to Louis’s yard, he is incredulous that so little time has passed. He asks Jud what they did. Jud answers simply that they buried Church, but Louis does not entirely believe him. Louis questions how Jud came to know about the burial ground, and Jud talks about how he buried his dog there, which strikes Louis as odd for reasons he doesn’t understand. Louis thanks Jud and runs into the house as the telephone rings. He thinks about calling Rachel back, but suddenly it seems like too much work. Louis finds himself sweaty and starving, eats, and then falls asleep. He awakens in the middle of the night, remembering that Jud previously mentioned his dog was buried in the Pet Sematary, not the MicMac burial ground, and that the rest of Jud’s story doesn’t line up. Louis contents himself with believing that Jud is senile but has trouble falling back asleep. He hears feet climbing the stairs and tells Victor Pascow to leave him alone, “[a]nd although a great many other inexplicable things happened as the year darkened, Louis was never bothered by the specter of Victor Pascow again, either waking or dreaming” (131).

Louis wakes up to Rachel’s phone call and lies to her about being at Jud’s the night prior. Rachel puts Gage on the phone, telling him to give his grandpa a hard time, and Gage babbles mostly nonsensically, so Louis is happy when Rachel takes the phone from Gage. Ellie talks to Louis as well and asks after Church. Louis says he hasn’t seen the cat yet this morning, thinking he would have made a great murderer. Louis talks to Rachel one more time and hangs up, not feeling guilty at all.

Masterson calls asking Louis to play racquetball, but Louis is so sore from burying Church the night before that he tells him to call back later, after Louis finishes working on a medical article, although Louis knows he won’t go play. He barely gets anywhere working and goes to see Jud, who has left a secret note for him on the porch because he and Norma have gone shopping. Jud advises that Louis not tell Ellie about her cat or talk about the MicMac burial ground around town because people don’t like outsiders to know. Jud says that they’ll talk later that night. Louis finds it hard to remember their time at the MicMac burial ground, as though it were a dream. He finds Jud’s prescient knowledge of Louis’s inner consciousness to be somewhat unnerving.

At one in the afternoon, Church comes back, which does not surprise Louis. Louis picks up the cat to find that he is once again live weight, and no longer the heavy corpse he had in the trash bag, which makes Louis somewhat nervous. He inspects Church to find dried blood and pieces of the garbage bag on his mouth, which makes Louis feel nauseous and crazy. He feeds Church, disgusted by the loathsome feel of the cat and the way Church smacks his food. Louis runs up the stairs and takes a bath and convinces himself that Church had only been stunned when he was hit, and that Louis had made a misdiagnosis. Church creeps up on Louis and brushes his shoulder, making Louis jump. Louis notices that Church now sways and staggers, having lost his previous grace. He double-checks Church’s ragged ear and paw to make sure it’s really Ellie’s cat, which it is. Louis tells Church to leave and the cat stares at him before staggering awkwardly away. Louis gets out of the tub and tensely dries himself off while the phone rings. Wanting to get away from Church, Louis agrees to play racquetball with Masterson. As Louis is leaving, he almost trips over Church on the stairs, and swears that Church turns and grins at him. Louis can’t bring himself to touch the cat to put it outside, although he knows he should.

After Norma goes to bed, Jud relates how Stanley Bouchard told him about the MicMac burial grounds. The first time Jud’s dog died, in 1910, Jud remembers that the dog, Spot had been very sick and Jud’s father sent Jud away so that Jud wouldn’t see his father put the dog out of its misery. Jud recalls that drunk Stanny B found him crying, and Stanny B related that his trapper grandfather, who used to barter with the MicMacs, found out about the burial ground and passed it on to later generations; however, the Wendigo story was more widespread, mostly because the cannibalism might have had some element of truth to it in regards to the freezing northern winters and rampant starvation. Jud believes that the MicMacs, who resorted to cannibalism, might have buried the bones in the burial ground and then decided the land had gone sour. Jud remembers Stanny B telling him to carry Spot beyond the deadfall and then stay awake that night, and Stanny would come by and throw a rock at his window. Jud did as Stanny asked, anxiously awaiting his arrival that night and terrified his parents would find out what he was doing. While Jud tells the story, Louis drinks heavily. Jud explains that Stanny, so drunk he couldn’t stand, took him to the burial ground: “‘It seemed to me we was gonna walk forever. The woods were spookier in those days […] He told me the same things I told you last night […] Most of all, he said, don’t speak to anything if it should speak to you’” (146). Jud admits he saw something that first trip that he hasn’t seen since, and won’t again because last night was his last trip to the burial ground.

Louis can barely believe what he hears, except he knows it’s true and he believes that Jud’s assertion to go up to the burial ground was not entirely his decision. Jud recalls how after he buried Spot, he went to sleep and the next morning woke up to his mother screaming for him when a filthy Spot came through the door, although Jud is not surprised at the resurrection of his dog. Jud remembers feeling terrible that he’d upset his mother and took Spot outside to feed and wash him, realizing the dog’s tongue was cold. Louis is interested by the similarities in his and Jud’s experiences. Jud recalls washing his dog and finding the wounds that had healed. Louis tries to explain that the dog might have survived a bullet to the brain, but Jud disagrees. They argue about whether or not Church was dead, and then Jud continues his story about how shocked his dad was when he found Spot alive, although he said he needed another bath. Later, Jud sat down and talked with his father. Jud tries to explain why he took Louis up there—to teach Ellie about death—but ultimately he is unsure. He tells Louis of other animals—like Hanratty the bull, who turned mean—who had been resurrected, although most of them just turned stupid and slow. Near tears, Jud finally admits that he did it because “‘it gets a hold of you. You do it because that burial place is a secret place, and you want to share the secret’” (154). Jud reflects on playing God, and Louis asks if anyone has ever buried a person up there, which Jud vehemently denies, although Louis thinks Jud is lying.

Louis doesn’t realize how drunk he is until he gets home. He can’t find the light switches and feels blind. He wonders where the cat is, gets a splinter, and slams into the bumper of his car. Church slinks around his ankles and Louis screams.

Ellie and Gage scream their welcomes as they meet Louis at the airport. Rachel looks exhausted and admits that Gage threw up, which she attributes to airsickness. The kids are excited to hear Louis has made chili. Ellie asks after Church; Louis does not tell her about the mouse Church eviscerated. Rachel admits Ellie woke up screaming this weekend from a nightmare about Church getting run over. Gage throws up all over Louis, who figures out Gage has a virus. By the time they get home, Gage is running a fever, and Louis sees that Church has disemboweled another mouse, which he quickly hides from his family. Louis recalls that Church rarely killed mice before and never in such gruesome ways. Rachel snaps at Louis for daydreaming. After dinner, Ellie picks up Church but then puts him down because he smells bad. Louis assures Ellie that Church just rolled in something.

Rachel realizes how high Gage’s fever is; Louis, trying to be patient, says they can’t do anything for him. They argue and Rachel cries. Louis apologizes, and Rachel admits her parents bought Gage and Ellie new wardrobes. Louis is furious, thinking how Rachel’s father “bought [Ellie] six new dresses and I brought her goddamn cat back from the dead, so who loves her more” (162). Rachel maintains her father is getting old and her parents were just trying to demonstrate affection for their grandkids. Ellie calls for them, asking to put Church out because he smells so bad. Louis is disgusted at touching the cat and wonders how Church got back in. At first, Louis blames Jud but realizes he is also to blame. Rachel wants to sleep in the same bed as Gage, so Louis makes up the futon. Louis explains that Ellie wanted Church put out, which Rachel finds odd. Louis checks all the windows and locks to make sure Church can’t get back inside, and then falls into a fitful sleep, dreaming about killing and resurrecting Church a second time. He wakes up to Church on top of him and Gage choking. Louis freaks out, pushing the cat off him. Louis performs an infant version of the Heimlich on Gage, and Rachel collapses, terrified at how close to dying Gage was. Louis tells her everyone is close to death always. They realize that Gage vomits after drinking milk. Louis locks Church outside for the night after finding out how he got in.

Gage seems better in the morning and Ellie teaches him to say inappropriate words. Louis laughs, but Rachel is not amused. Gage vomits, and Louis erupts in a fit of laughter, much to the shock of Rachel and Gage, although Louis feels like everything is back to normal.

Gage gets sick off and on until Christmas and gives his sickness to Rachel and Ellie, although Louis doesn’t get sick. At the university, Louis must take care of sick students and drunk frat boys who crash sleds. On Christmas Eve, Louis and Rachel wrap presents after the kids have gone to sleep. Church rubs up against Rachel, disgusting her, and she tells the cat to leave her alone. Louis thinks about how Church never purrs anymore, except when he woke Louis up by lying on top of his chest. Ellie rarely cuddles with Church anymore, either, and Louis suspects they would notice more changes in behavior if Church was a loyal dog instead of a more feral cat. They finish wrapping presents and joke about having sex. Louis makes Santa tracks with his boot for Ellie, which impresses Rachel, given that Ellie has become suspicious that Santa is not real. Rachel and Louis eat some of the snacks the kids have left out for Santa, and Louis gives Rachel her present: a sapphire necklace from Tiffany’s. Rachel is ecstatic, although she complains about how much Louis spent on it. Louis puts Church outside, finding a mangled crow the cat has left on the doorstep. Louis feels like this is his fault, especially when he sees Church messing with the crow. Louis kicks Church and cleans up the mess. He goes upstairs to find Rachel in bed with nothing on but the necklace. They have sex, but Louis finds he cannot fall asleep easily after, thinking about Church’s Christmas present to him and the secret about Church he keeps inside him.

The kids play more with the boxes than their toys, although Ellie once again believes in Santa. On New Year’s Eve, the Crandalls come over, and Louis notices that Norma looks like she’s dying. Louis putters around the house during winter break and is happy when classes resume. The flu hits and Louis gets very busy. One day, he receives a tearful phone call from Rachel, and he immediately worries one of the kids has been hurt. Rachel explains that Norma has died that morning. Louis is upset that Rachel wants to keep the death a secret from the kids. Rachel asks Louis to come home to help Jud.

In the aftermath of Norma’s death, Rachel refuses to let Louis talk about it. Ellie seems detached yet curious, and Jud cries. Louis pays close attention to Jud, knowing that grief in old age can trigger senility, but Jud seems as healthy as ever. They drink to Norma, and Jud talks about how gorgeous Norma was when she was younger. Jud gets drunk but not incapacitated, regaling Louis with stories about Norma. “Yet between the stories of the past, Jud dealt with the present in a way that Louis could only admire; if it had been Rachel who had simply dropped dead after her grapefruit and morning cereal, he wondered if he could have done half so well” (182). Jud makes the arrangements for Norma’s funeral, burying her next to his future plot. Louis imagines Jud dragging Norma to bury her in the MicMac ground, and so terrifies himself that he gets more beer. Louis realizes he admires and loves Jud.

Ellie asks Louis about heaven as Rachel makes cherry pie for Jud. Louis explains that people believe a lot of different things about what happens after you die, most of which revolves around faith, which differs from knowledge. Ellie asks what he believes in, and he thinks about how he used to believe that death was the end, but tells Ellie that he believes that people go on but is unsure of how. He says that Norma is probably someplace safe and happy, and assures Ellie that animals go on, too. Ellie says she could accept it if Church died.

Rachel admits that as a kid, she dreamed of monsters who looked like her sister. Louis says she doesn’t have to talk about it, but Rachel admits that if she doesn’t now, she probably never will. Louis remembers how Rachel refuses to attend funerals. Rachel explains how her sister, Zelda, got worse every day, her body slowly curling on itself. She admits that her family wanted Zelda to die at the end, which Louis reassures her is normal for the family members of long-term illness victims, some of whom even commit suicide after the victim dies. Rachel then talks about how hateful her sister became, purposefully pissing herself and always smelling of drugs, which eventually stopped working. Rachel next recalls how her parents left her, at 8 years old, alone with Zelda the night she died, even though Zelda gave her nightmares because Rachel thought Zelda wanted to kill her for not being sick. Zelda choked to death that night, and Rachel tried to save her, even though she secretly felt relieved. Rachel remembers being so terrified she backed into the wall and smashed a picture of Oz the Great and Terrible, screaming until the neighbors came and found her. Louis congratulates her for dredging up this terrible memory and damning her parents for leaving her alone with her dying, insane sister. He then gets her a Valium, wondering why her parents didn’t hire a nurse. Calmer, Rachel explains that she had nightmares about getting sick like Zelda because she had strained her back trying to save Zelda. Rachel was shamed by a psychologist for this alleged ploy for attention. Every night, Rachel relived the terror of her sister’s death over and over. Rachel explains that this is where her phobia comes from. Louis wishes she had told him sooner. Rachel tries to rationalize her parents’ behavior because money was tight because of Zelda’s illness. Rachel says she will skip Norma’s funeral but allows Louis to take Ellie.

Ellie is uncharacteristically quiet and observant at Norma’s funeral. Louis helps carry Norma out, as a pallbearer, and the separation scares Ellie. Norma’s family seems distant, as though her death has severed the link between their family and Jud. Louis reflects on how the young have no time for the past. On the way home, Ellie cries that Norma will no longer be around to make oatmeal cookies, yelling that she will never have babies so she will never die because death is terrible. Louis argues that death is an end to suffering. At home, Rachel agrees to make oatmeal cookies with Ellie.

Later, Louis tries to write a medical article, but Rachel interrupts him, explaining that Church eviscerated a rat in the house while they were gone. Rachel admits that when she tried to take it away, Church growled at her, and wonders if the cat is sick because he’s been different lately. Louis puts away his work, knowing he’ll never get to it, and he and Rachel have sex. Louis thinks about Church and Norma.

Ellie turns 6, the flu epidemic passes, and Rachel has sexual fantasies about a grocery store worker, which Louis encourages and teases her about. Jud’s grief mellows and Gage gets his first haircut, his darkening hair making Louis realize that he is getting older.

Louis’s last happy day is March 24, 1984, when he decides to take Gage kite-flying while Ellie and Rachel get groceries. Earlier, Gage pooped out one of Ellie’s marbles, and Louis realizes he could have choked. Gage is excited, and Louis realizes he hasn’t flown a kite in almost two decades. The weather is perfect, as is the neighbor’s field where they fly the kite. Louis lets Gage fly the kite, and Louis imagines what Gage is experiencing. Ellie and Rachel come back and Louis is happy to see them, although he does somewhat regret losing the alone time with his son. Later, Louis chastises Ellie for leaving her marbles around where Gage could get to them, “not knowing that the marbles were really not the problem, and chills were really not the problem, [but] that a large Orinco truck was going to be the problem” (210). Louis tucks Gage in, and they talk about flying kites. Louis sees Church’s eyes in Gage’s closet and briefly thinks they are Zelda’s. Louis throws one of Gage’s toys at the cat, hitting the cat and sending it gracelessly running away. Rachel comes to see if everything is okay; Louis lies about Church knocking over Gage’s toys. He closes and locks the closet door and watches Gage sleep.