Night Road

Six years later, Zach is in his second year of medical school and lives with Grace in a cabin on Pine Island. Jude hasn’t improved despite her efforts with therapy and medication. She no longer tries to control her grief or life, so she controls her emotions and lives by a rigid routine. Zach and Grace arrive at the Farradays’ house one night for dinner. Like the rest of her family, Grace is serious and rarely smiles. When Zach hangs up his backpack, he touches Mia’s green cardigan, which remains by the front door. The adults sit down to talk while Grace plays by herself. They discuss Grace’s invisible friend, Ariel—the girl’s only friend because she doesn’t fit in well with other children. Jude offers to pick Grace up and feed her dinner tomorrow so that Zach can attend his study group. Miles and Zach are cautious about trusting Jude because she sometimes forgets about Grace in her grief and because tomorrow is the sixth anniversary of Mia’s death.

Jude wakes up the next morning to a beautiful day. She travels to downtown Seattle for an appointment with her psychiatrist, Dr. Harriet Bloom. Jude likes Dr. Bloom because she rarely smiles, doesn’t speak of healing and hope, and can prescribe medication.