At breakfast, Mommy urges Bela to eat because Mommy has only a few minutes before leaving for work. Bela resists, and Mommy jokes bitterly about making "little money," revealing stress and impatience. Bela remembers that Mommy always handles breakfast while Daddo does the dishes, because a past attempt by Daddo to cook too much food ended badly.

Mommy then pushes Bela to say "I love you too," showing both affection and strain. When Mommy asks what Bela is thinking about, Bela looks at the recycling bin and asks where it goes. Bela follows that question by asking whether it goes to a "better place" than their house, which unsettles Mommy. Mommy gives a practical answer about recycling becoming "something else," but Bela privately connects that idea to carnations.

After Bela finishes eating, Mommy leaves in a hurry, looking frazzled and unsure when Mommy will return. Bela notices that Mommy does not say goodbye to Daddo, who is already working in the den. That absence quietly suggests tension or distance inside the household.

Once Mommy is gone, Bela goes upstairs and pauses by the hall table with the flowers. Other Mommy is already waiting outside Bela's closet doors. Bela knows Other Mommy wants to talk about carnations, and Bela also senses Other Mommy's impatience.

Bela enters the bedroom, waves, and sits where Other Mommy likes to talk, revealing that these encounters have become familiar and more frequent. Other Mommy crosses the room, almost floating, and sits beside Bela on the bed. The chapter ends with Other Mommy asking, "Can I go into your heart?" turning the scene from eerie presence to direct, intimate threat.