In 2007, Jet arrived at Shauna’s house to pick her up for lunch and found Shauna cleaning out clothes Kendi had left behind. Shauna, in a hot-pink bathrobe, apologized for the delay and mentioned donating the items, noting they were from Kendi’s “only-wear-black” phase in high school. Jet, surprised, did not remember Kendi dressing that way and felt a mix of nostalgia and unease as she handled the black clothes and thought about her own past and her mother.

While Shauna got ready upstairs, Jet’s thoughts spiraled briefly toward old habits of purging and a desire to check on Kendi, reflecting on the gaps in her memory during high school and her grief for Lillian. Shauna returned and elaborated that during that period Kendi “lost himself,” quitting soccer, abandoning aviation, and spending his time on video games. Jet expressed disbelief, missing Kendi despite having seen him the previous month in East Texas.

Shauna explained that Michael eventually had a serious talk with Kendi about choices, which prompted Kendi to research aviation programs and resume soccer, though his wardrobe was slow to change. She recalled her relief when Kendi reappeared in plain blue jeans, clarifying that they did not want him confined to button-ups and khakis, only to see him reengage with himself. Jet listened but silently disagreed with the “good riddance” sentiment, wishing to affirm all parts of Kendi’s journey.

They headed out for pancakes at Ol’ South, passing through the bags of donations. Later, Jet texted Kendi about his grunge phase, and Kendi replied playfully by recalling Jet’s own “K-Ci and JoJo shirt every single day” phase from sixth grade. The exchange made Jet smile and evoked shared history without heaviness.

The chapter closed with Jet wondering about the phases still ahead and, notably, feeling not exhausted but hopeful at the idea of the future, signaling a subtle shift toward acceptance and optimism.