Goodbye, Vitamin

Ruth writes in her June 1st entry that “somehow, it gets better” (138). Linus, Howard, and Ruth begin taking daily walks and spending quality time together, including going to the grocery store together. Ruth acknowledges this as a turning point in their family dynamic.

Ruth is in the kitchen making dinner when her mother joins her to peel potatoes. Annie throws a peeled potato into the cooking pot from across the kitchen, and when Ruth tries, she misses. One lands in the coffee pot and another flies out the window. Annie and Ruth begin to laugh with each other.

Ruth takes her mother to an annual doctor’s appointment. In the car, Ruth notices how beautiful her mother is. She recalls a memory in which, during the height of Howard’s alcohol addiction, Annie found him passed out in the living room. She gently took off his clothing and left him sleeping, naked, in the living room until morning. Ruth also remembers a trip to Mexico she took with her mother. During a conversation on the trip, Annie admitted that she missed the time when Howard broke his leg and truly needed her. At the time, Ruth assured her mother that Howard still needed her, and while she is not sure whether it was true at the time, Ruth knows it is true now.