The Wrong Family

Juno reminisces about her mother’s beauty salon, called The Slick. Her mother, Hoida Pearl, would gossip with the ladies who came to get their hair done, and they would ask Juno to leave the room so that they could speak freely. Juno would sneak around so that she could listen to all the stories. She plans to use those skills now. There have been angry voicemails on the family phone from Dakota, but Nigel erased them without telling Winnie about them.

Trapped in the crawl space during the Crouches’ sickness, Juno spends a lot of time thinking about her past: She was in prison, and no one would help her when she left. Her husband and stepsons were gone, and no one, even her old friend Bette, would tell her where they went. Juno had been convicted of fourth degree criminal sexual misconduct, intentional affliction of emotional distress, and sexual harassment by a professional for (among other things) having an affair with a client to whom she was providing marital counseling.

When the Crouches leave for the cabin, Juno has the house to herself. She finds the name Josalyn Russel in the family computer’s search history, leading her to an article about a pregnant girl who disappeared.

Winnie thought she would feel better at the cabin, but she feels terrible wherever she is. She has only told Nigel half Josalyn’s story. Josalyn had bipolar disorder and a substance use disorder, and she ran away from home at 18; Winnie used these details to paint Josalyn as a “villain.” However, after gaining Josalyn’s trust with snacks, Winnie learned that Josalyn had been molested by her stepfather and his friends and that she started using drugs to cope with the trauma.

When Josalyn got pregnant, she insisted on keeping her baby, even though she lived in a tent and was selling sex to get drugs. Winnie eventually received a voicemail from Josalyn asking for help and giving Winnie her location. She found Josalyn and the baby in terrible conditions and believed that Josalyn had died: “The smell of death was so present that Winnie’s eyes had immediately gone to the baby and stayed there. The child was her priority; the child had not asked to be put in this dire situation” (205). Winnie climbed back to her car with the baby and drove away instead of calling an ambulance.

Juno deliberately breaks the cable box to mess with Nigel’s mind. She finds $500, a condom, and a credit card in Nigel’s gym bag, which was left in Hem’s Corner. She keeps $25 and pokes a hole in the condom before returning the things. Nigel calls a cable repairman about the box, and Juno heads out of the house, knowing the Crouches have left the alarm off so the repairman can come.

Juno goes to the park and finds Sam, who recognizes her T-shirt. Juno says she picked it up from Goodwill, but she actually took it from a donation bag inside the house. Sam buys them both hot dogs from the kiosk, and Juno buys him some Froot Loops, a forbidden food in his household but one of his favorites. Juno observes to Sam, “Unfortunately, we aren’t the only ones in charge of our story arcs. Outsiders have an influence, too” (216).

Juno could leave the house now that winter is over and go back to living in the park, but she wants to save Sam. She decides to investigate the Russel family.

Winnie notices that Sam has Froot Loops but decides not to say anything even though she really doesn’t want him to eat sugar. She asks him to walk around the lake and he agrees. However, he refuses to talk and engage with her.

During the walk, Manda calls and tells Winnie that Dakota has been making threats. Manda insists, “God, I know how you guys worship your brother, but he’s not been right for a while. No one wants to acknowledge that” (225). Dakota thinks he saw a ghost in Winnie’s house and is drunk most of the time. Manda warns that Dakota has it out for her husband. Winnie wonders what’s going on with Sam and if he knows anything.

Juno locates Josalyn Russel’s obituary, which is very distant in tone. Juno calls the Russels using Winnie’s home phone. Lying that she knew Josalyn at Illuminations, Juno uses her “loss” of her stepsons to ingratiate herself with Terry Russel on the phone. Juno asks for Terry’s email address, saying she has something important to tell her.