Sammy arrives while Patch, Charlotte, and Saint are together and presents Charlotte with an extravagant birthday gift: a 1912 Boss and Co. shotgun in a brass-and-leather case. The three adults and Charlotte trade jokes about the gun, boys, and Saint arresting the trouble it might attract, which briefly gives the scene a playful, family warmth.

Afterward, Saint leaves for Kansas, and Patch drives alone with Charlotte. Charlotte chatters excitedly about her birthday party and a boy named Dallas, while Patch watches her with deep affection and sees her as the best part of his life. The attention around Patch has also grown since a New York Times piece about him spread nationally, bringing so much mail that it had to be redirected, with Charlotte diligently helping answer it and telling people Patch will not be painting for now.

Before going on, Patch and Charlotte stop at Misty’s grave. Patch leaves Charlotte alone with her mother while he walks the perimeter of St. Raphael’s, and when he returns Charlotte is visibly upset, though she hides her grief behind a joke about a bird fouling her eye. The visit underscores how much loss still shadows even a celebratory day.

Patch then takes Charlotte to the Culpepper Zoo. In the sunshine, Charlotte maps out an ambitious route through every exhibit, feeds the farm animals, and enjoys the aquarium, allowing herself to be fully childlike for a while. But when they enter the reptile house, Patch is suddenly overwhelmed by a severe physical episode: heat, panic, shaking, tight muscles, and a racing pulse.

Patch tries to steady himself and keep smiling for Charlotte, but the attack worsens. As Charlotte calls him over to see the snakes, Patch clings to the wall, struggles for control, and is flooded by the vivid image of Grace’s face. The chapter ends with Patch apparently losing consciousness, the last thing he hears being Charlotte crying out on her birthday.