Reese recalls when he and Emma met “on the playground in second grade” (39), after which he, Emma, and Charlie, all became fast friends. Intrigued by the human body even then, Reese dissected anything he could find: “I sliced the skin of an orange and then sewed it back together, careful not to spill the juice. When I had mastered oranges, I graduated to French bread, because the skin is delicate, brittle, and tears easily” (41).

Reese remembers the first time both he and Emma’s family found out about her heart condition, after she had a “spell” that required admission to the hospital. Afterward, she had to take large pills daily, and Emma’s mother made Reese promise to remind her to take them.

Back in the present, Reese experiences a recurring nightmare, which makes it difficult for him to sleep. In the nightmare, Reese holds a cracked pitcher of water while standing next to a dying man. He doesn’t know what’s wrong with the man, but he knows that when he pours the pitcher, the man seems to improve. “But the more I pour, the heavier the pitcher grows, and pretty soon, despite the feeling that I am using both my hands and all my strength, I am unable to hold it any longer” (45).