The Cliffs

Walter comes home after three weeks, though where he has been remains a mystery. Jane has been drinking every night. Over the past three weeks, she realized that “Walter had been her reason for getting out of bed” (373). Now, she pours a glass of wine with lunch, and then another. When Allison pulls into the driveway, Jane hides the bottle and glass under the sink.

Allison brings cookies, and they chat about the house, which Jane finally listed with a realtor. Allison admits that she and Chris are worried that Jane is drinking. Jane knows she should admit the truth but instead gets angry and defensive. Allison reads her a letter that is sweet and moving, but Jane, feeling like Allison is just being smug about her perfect life, lashes out, so Allison leaves. Jane gets the wine from under the sink and drinks it while eating the cookies Allison brought.

Jane continues to pack boxes with her mother’s possessions and later calls Goodwill to pick them up. Afterward, her possessions are the only ones in the house. She “imagines what it might be like to live here alone the way her mother and grandmother had” and starts to see the house as a “refuge” (381).