Content Warning: This section of the guide examines substance use disorder and domestic violence.

The months following Joe’s accident are difficult. He is in constant pain, and he struggles to believe that he will ever truly recover. He is mired in self-pity, and he blames the man who hit him, though his mother and Mae point out that he stepped out in front of the man’s truck on a dark night. He also confesses to Mae that he blames himself for Ruthie’s disappearance. Mae has no patience for Joe’s guilt, telling him that having been the last one to see Ruthie does not make him responsible, nor does it make him special. She feels that he uses Ruthie’s disappearance to feel sorry for himself. Although he does not want to admit it to Mae, he realizes that she is right. He resolves to be more helpful, as Mae suggests, and to try to move on. When Mr. Richardson, the man who accidentally hit Joe with his truck, offers him a job at his service station, he accepts.

He is happy working for Mr. Richardson. He meets Cora, a red-haired woman ten years his senior, and their relationship blossoms into marriage.