The Smell Of Other People's Houses

Ruth feels that despite her heartbreak and the loss of her baby, “the world will still go on spinning” (213). She was asking one question a day about her baby daughter and gave her grandmother’s name. Time passes without her realizing it, and The Sisters expect her to continue with her life. Ruth soon leaves the abbey for Fairbanks.

Ruth feels like a different girl. A man speaks to her on the bus, making her feel like a person again. The man says she will meet someone about Ruth’s age and is unsure about the soap gift he bought her. Ruth says she will love it. The man is Phil. Ruth soon falls asleep.

Ruth awakes and sees Phil talking to another man about fishing and boats. In her last letter to Ruth, Selma writes the news in Fairbanks. She has learned where she comes from, Alyce was accepted in dance school, new boys have arrived in town and Dora and Dumpling spend time with Lily and Bunny at Ruth’s house. Ruth wants to see them but has not thought much about returning home. She wonders how her grandmother will act because she now sees her differently.