Following the biting incident, Socks is banished to sleep in the garage and spend all his time outdoors. He misses the Brickers, even Charles William, and will often look in the windows just to feel like he’s still part of the family. Socks’s greatest worry, though, is Old Taylor, an unfriendly cat who belongs to one of the neighbors. The cats have an understanding to stay out of each other’s way, until one morning when Socks finds Old Taylor eating his food. Socks warns Old Taylor to back off. Old Taylor doesn’t listen, and the two cats fight. Socks takes a beating and runs. He’s too injured to leap up into the garage window, so he goes to the house and quietly meows for help.

The Brickers are horrified to discover Socks’s condition. They fuss over him, cleaning his wounds with warm bath towels. Elsewhere in the house, Charles William starts to fuss. Instead of going to the baby, though, “this time Socks got the attention, which made him feel better” (115). The Brickers blame themselves for what happened to Socks and let the cat live in the house again. Finally, Marilyn brings Charles William into the room, and the baby speaks to Socks for the first time, calling him “Ticky.