A Complicated Kindness: Chapter Twenty-Seven Summary & Analysis

The next morning at dawn, Nomi is sitting in the field behind the dump. She has a strange feeling, which she likens to spending a long time with relatives and wanting to be alone, but then feeling guilty when it’s time for them to leave and wishing she was a better friend.

Before driving to the dump, Nomi has gone to the hospital to see Lids. But Lids’s normal room is empty, and the orderly tells her that she’s been moved to another facility to undergo shock therapy. Nomi tells one of the nurses that her face aches so much she thinks she’s dying, and asks for painkillers. The nurse says that she should be enjoying her adolescence, which is the best time of her life, and tells her to make some tea and lie down. Nomi says that all the furniture in her house is gone, but the nurse just shakes her head.

Even before going to the hospital, Nomi says, she drove to a local motel where she found Travis’s truck parked. She figured that he and Adeline must have found a sitter for their pretend baby. She lit some carpet in the trunk on fire, and the truck exploded. Then she bought some soda at the general store and walked to her grandmother’s house, where she went up to Trudie’s old room and lay down. On the bureau was an old picture of Ray with one of his classes.

After she leaves the hospital, Nomi walks to The Comb’s trailer. She tells The Comb that she doesn’t have any money, but he gives her a cigarette anyway. Nomi starts crying, and The Comb kisses her shoulder and takes her into his bedroom. When she wakes up, she’s in a field with The Comb, who tells her she “gave it up real sweet.” She suddenly remembers that she left her car at the general store, and The Comb gives her a ride into town. Nomi drives around for a long time, looking for a good place to get high, and ends up at the dump. She decides she will live here in the car and sometimes have Ray over for dinner.

After some time, Ray comes to find Nomi at the dump, bringing her a muffin. She tells him that she’s not looking forward to the next day, but he says she should look at “the flip side.” Nomi tells him that the dump is looking very clean, thanks to him, and Ray says that he and his students will be cleaning up a river bank today. Nomi asks what exactly “the flip side is,” and Ray thinks for a while and says it’s faith that tomorrow will be a better day. Nomi wonders if this is a triggering point.

That day, The Mouth comes over to Nomi’s house. He announces that the church has decided to excommunicate Nomi for skipping church and setting fires. Ray says that he understands. The Mouth says that the neighbors are starting to talk about the house’s state of disrepair and the lack of furniture, which they view as sinful. Nomi starts to drink water out of the tap. Ray offers The Mouth more coffee but he declines, saying he has to go to a ceremony at the museum village.

After The Mouth leaves, Ray starts to quote the Bible, saying that “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” He gives Nomi a table cloth to wipe off her wet face and smeared makeup. Nomi promises to do all the laundry and cook something good for dinner. She gives Ray the car keys, and he leaves for work. Nomi wraps herself in the tablecloth and walks upstairs, where she sees her French horn. She drags it to a nearby hill and teaches herself to play “All Through the Night,” practicing until the sound becomes bearable.