Homecoming

The following morning, Dicey wakes the children and instructs them to change clothes. They eat peanut butter sandwiches Liza packed, and Dicey tells the children they will walk to Bridgeport. Dicey suspects the journey will take three days. They have seven dollars, so they can only spend two dollars daily on food. James says he regrets spending four dollars on dinner the previous night, but Dicey stresses the importance of looking forward. Sammy, the youngest at six, refuses to join his siblings. He sits cross-legged on the ground. He doesn’t believe Liza won’t return for them and wants to wait for her in the car. Sammy only agrees to walk to Bridgeport when Maybeth asks him politely. At nine, Maybeth doesn’t speak often, though Dicey usually recognizes her quiet intelligence.

The sun beats down on the children as they walk, exhausted. Sammy lags in protest, and James invents a game about soldiers to keep him moving. Assuming they are nearing the halfway point, Dicey buys Coca-Colas for the kids at a McDonald's, where they also use the restroom. The drinks cost 80 cents. Dicey gives James their paper bag so she can carry Sammy on her back for a while. The road becomes more rural, and the children lie down to rest between two houses near the ocean. James labels the houses shacks, but Dicey loves their proximity to the sea. A woman chases the Tillermans off her property, and they reluctantly keep walking. Finally, they reach an abandoned house with a “for sale” sign out front. They eat hot dogs and stale doughnuts Dicey purchased earlier. Dicey studies the map and realizes they’ve only walked eight miles. At this rate, they will reach Bridgeport in two or three weeks.

Their money dwindling, Dicey realizes how unprepared the children are for this journey. She understands they must beg or work for food to survive. Dicey dreams about Sammy as a baby, remembering his chubby cheeks, adorable smiles, and games. She tries to remember the last time he laughed, recalling him chuckling at Maybeth when a wave ruined her doll made from seagrass. Sammy and Maybeth fall asleep, and Dicey and James carry them to the house's back porch, hidden from the main road. Dicey stamps out the fire the children built to cook the hotdogs.

Dicey dreams about Aunt Cilla’s house; she envisions a sizeable white house overlooking the ocean. James remarks, “It’s still true then” (33), a phrase he mutters every time he wakes. Sammy is obstinate from the minute Dicey attempts to wake him. He only responds to Maybeth’s requests and refuses to believe their mother completely abandoned them. They walk all day again, stopping at a grocery store for supplies when they are hot and tired. Dicey spends more time looking at food prices, considering her options to feed her siblings.

They wake early the following morning with only milk to drink for breakfast. Again, Sammy is rude and stubborn all day. They reach a less populated area, and Dicey purchases chicken wings and potatoes in a supermarket. She plans on cooking them over a fire, but rain suddenly pours from the sky. Dicey sees a sign for public beach access and leads the children in that direction, but Sammy refuses to walk. Dicey threatens to leave him behind and starts to walk away with James. Maybeth gives her hand to Sammy, and he reluctantly accompanies his family.

Dicey follows the signs for the beach access, holding her groceries from the bottom as the paper bag gets soggy. She discovers three sheltered picnic areas, each with a stone fireplace. Sammy also finds a collection of nickels and dimes. He stumbles while running down a hill, covering himself in sticky, wet sand. Dicey braces for a tantrum, but all four children laugh and begin looking for firewood. Soon, they have a fire, warm and dry themselves, and cook dinner over hot coals. The children feel thankful for their full tummies.

The siblings take turns sharing their wishes for food to accompany their meal: butter, salt, and corn. Maybeth wishes for their mother, which silences the children. Dicey shares her plan to walk to a state park the following day. She believes they can do anything because they’re the Tillermans. James counters that people tend to abandon them because they’re the Tillermans. He admits feeling disconnected from other kids and traditional families in Provincetown, their hometown. James talks about their father’s abandonment years earlier, and the younger children ask Dicey to share her memories of him. She recalls her father calling her “little one” and carrying her on his shoulders, but also him getting angry with Liza for being pregnant and frustrated with her symptoms stemming from mental health conditions. Dicey faintly remembers police officers asking her and Liza about the children’s father. The children can’t remember his name; Liza gave them her surname. Dicey makes up a memory about a backyard wedding to convince the children that they aren’t “bastards” and, thus, have nothing to feel ashamed about.

When Sammy and Maybeth fall asleep, James explains how Sammy experienced bullying at school because of their mother’s health conditions and nontraditional family. Dicey recalls Liza talking with Sammy frequently after school, though less and less as her condition worsened. She worries about Sammy’s overall well-being.

The children wake up thirsty. They walk a few miles, stopping to drink from a hose at a gas station. The attendant ignores them, and Maybeth believes he might be trustworthy. Dicey explains they need to exercise extreme caution when considering who to trust. Dicey buys apples, potatoes, and a fishing hook at a convenience store. The store clerk tells Dicey how to catch clams and gives her a bit of fishing line free of charge. The Tillerman children have 26 cents left as they enter Rockland State Park.

Dicey leads her siblings to a campsite on the beach. She realizes the ocean sits at high tide, which means they cannot dig for clams. However, James finds mussels on nearby rocks, which they harvest and eat for lunch. They camp overnight on the beach. Restless, Dicey walks down by the water while enjoying solitude. Suddenly, two other young people approach and introduce themselves as runaways. Dicey pretends to be a boy again, and she invents a story about running away from home. The following day, Dicey tells her siblings about her lie and asks them to maintain it. She explains that it’s safer to be a boy than a girl. James grapples with the “runaway” label, believing their goal of reaching Aunt Cilla’s house disqualifies them.

Dicey and Maybeth wash everyone’s undergarments while James and Sammy attempt to fish. James grows restless with his chores and plays on the rocks instead. He falls and hits his head hard, and Dicey worries he has a concussion. Sammy catches three fish alone, but James is too nauseous to eat. He tells Dicey to take the younger siblings to the playground while he rests. The strangers from the previous evening (Edie and Louis) approach Dicey again. Maintaining her false identity as “Danny,” Dicey discovers the young couple is hiding from their parents, from whom they stole a significant amount of money. Dicey cuts the playground visit short to distance her family from these strangers. Luckily, James feels better when they return. They dig clams for dinner, and James maintains the fire while the others prepare the food and roast potatoes for dinner. They fill their bellies as the sun sets.

Although James feels better, his head aches when he moves. Dicey must prioritize his health; however, with the weekend's arrival, the beach is now crowded with vacationers. Dicey decides to try fishing in the marsh as the Tillermans only have four apples as their last food source. Before she sets off, Edie approaches with an autoharp. She plays and sings for the children; her version of Maybeth’s favorite song is darker and harsher than the Tillermans prefer. Edie offers to sit with James while the others fish. Dicey leaves Sammy at the playground as he refuses to walk any distance.

Dicey successfully catches several fish. She and Maybeth return to show the boys; they discover Sammy stole a family’s lunch picnic. Dicey scolds Sammy and instructs him not to steal again; however, they eat the picnic lunch and the fish. They theorize how they would recover one of the siblings if arrested. Edie and Louis stop by with oranges for James. They tell Dicey to be careful when fishing in the marsh as it is protected land. Louis laments the lack of rights children have and how difficult it can be to just exist as a child.

Dicey hesitates to return to the marsh the following day, digging for clams instead. Sammy steals another picnic lunch as well as a man’s wallet. Dicey forces Sammy to return the wallet, though it has $20 inside. Dicey explains that they will only steal if they’re desperate, and they’re not yet at that point. Dicey watches James closely, noticing his improved health as he dances to Edie’s music. She believes James is lying about his head to stay at the state park campsite where the children have grown comfortable. Dicey tells the children they must continue their journey the following day. A police car cruises by their campsite, and Dicey leads the children into the woods, where they sleep fitfully.

The Tillerman children quickly depart Rockland State Park, glimpsing a police car in an apparent search. Dicey theorizes the authorities are looking for Edie and Louis, though Sammy’s stolen wallet makes her uneasy. They walk quickly, making good time. Their muscles are now conditioned and rested. However, they grow hungry and have no food. Dicey realizes she left her map at the state park in her hurry to leave. The family feels apprehensive about continuing without knowing which direction they’re traveling. They come to an upper-class, quaint town. Dicey enters a small grocery store and offers to wash their windows in exchange for a new map and 25 cents. Sammy invents a story about being lost and waiting for his parents to pick him up, and a baker takes pity on him. For 51 cents, the baker gives the Tillermans some rolls and a pie. The children leave town quickly, stopping on the outskirts to feast.

They continue walking, exhausting themselves. Approaching a creek, the boys fish while the girls start a fire. They eat three small fish and go to bed hungry. Dicey cannot catch any fish the following morning. Though hungry and thirsty, they keep walking only to discover an unsafe road with no sidewalk crossing over a large bay too vast to swim across. Frustrated, Dicey wishes they would turn into stone. She doesn’t know how to move forward and feels the weight of her siblings’ fears bearing down on her. She brainstorms ways they can make money.

When Maybeth and Sammy voice their fear and gnawing hunger, Dicey decides the children will offer to carry people’s groceries to their cars for tips. They stand just outside a grocery store; most customers decline, but a few accept the offer and give the siblings nickels and dimes. One man, in stride with his granddaughter, gives the children two dollars. Dicey refuses, but the man insists, shoving the dollars into her pocket. His granddaughter gives the money she intended to use for her mother’s birthday present, exclaiming her mother would much prefer an original poem. By the day's end, the children collect over five dollars. They buy bread and peanut butter, saving over three dollars while they devise a plan to cross the bay.

The Tillermans decide to use a rowboat in the dark of night, justifying the theft by assuming the owner will find it so close to the other side of the bay. Dicey must row against a current for most of the way, and while she enjoys the stretch and strain on her back, the work tires her. After their crossing, Sammy walks asleep on his feet. Dicey gives their grocery bag to James and carries Sammy but feels exhaustion settling in. The children find a quiet graveyard in which to sleep. James dislikes their campsite for the night, which makes him think of death. He remarks that they will all be dead eventually, and he asks Dicey if their mother died. When Dicey responds that she doesn’t know, she thinks briefly about other family members, potentially grandparents. James assumes they’re all dead, a comment Dicey finds “morbid.” Too tired to answer any more of James’s questions, Dicey instructs her brother to go to sleep.