The Great Alone

In the evening, Cora apologizes for not allowing Leni to attend the graduation party thrown in her honor. She tells Leni she could have snuck out, and Leni admits she considered it but knew it would end with Ernt attacking Cora. When her mom cautions her to be careful, Leni replies, “We can’t be good enough to keep him from losing it” (262). She tells her mom she got into the university, and Cora says that she will help Leni, but that they must plan with care: Leni needs to avoid seeing Matthew during the summer.

As her dad continues working on the wall, the isolation makes Leni restless. Desperate come August, Leni wonders if Matthew still feels the same way about her. Her chance to see him comes when her parents go to Sterling, a trip that could take a day. Leni rushes to go see Matthew and let him know. They spend the day together and sleep together for the first time. As Leni and Matthew talk about Ernt and their plans to leave, Leni thinks her love for Matthew is different from her mother’s love for Ernt.