Before We Were Yours

One day Fern suddenly freezes in the middle of a room and wets herself—Victoria is talking to Georgia Tann in the parlor. Rill tells Fern to go hide and then sneaks closer to hear what they’re talking about. Tann tells Victoria that she and Darren will have to pay several thousand dollars for lawyers or else Rill and Fern’s grandma will get custody of them. Rill knows this isn’t true because she doesn’t have a grandma, but she’s afraid that if she speaks up Tann will take her and Fern back to punish them. Victoria is sobbing, but Tann tells her the only thing to do is come up with the money by the next day. Tann gets ready to leave and Rill sprints up to where Fern is and promises she won’t let Tann take them back.

That night Victoria tells Darren about what Tann said and Darren is furious. Victoria begs him to pay Tann, but he says he refuses to be blackmailed and decides to go to Tann himself that night. Victoria says that they should move to Augusta, but Darren doesn’t want to do that either. Instead he gets ready to leave. Rill hurries into the kitchen and grabs a basket of food that’s meant for the people working on a building for the Seviers. Rill takes the basket to the construction site and sits to eat with a boy named Arney, who’s helping build a studio. Rill decides that she needs to ask Arney to help her and Fern escape to the river to find their parents. Rill feels bad about how sad Victoria will be, but she’s desperate to get away before Tann takes them back.

Rill talks Arney into running away with them by saying Zede will take care of him. Arney reveals that he’s actually a girl, but Rill says that doesn’t change anything and promises to make sure Arney is taken care of. That night Victoria says they will have a pajama party with movies and hot cocoa. Rill is disappointed because this will make escaping harder, but she’s determined to find a way to get herself and Fern down to where Arney will wait for them. Victoria is worried that Rill is sick because she wants to go to bed so early and her concern makes Rill wish Victoria were Queenie. Rill gets to her room early in the night, but has to wait for Fern.

Victoria sings a lullaby to Fern while she carries her up the stairs and Rill notices that everything is getting “tangle[d]” in her head—her adoptive parents and biological ones, the shanty boat and the Seviers’ house. After Victoria tucks Fern in, Rill dresses them both in warm clothes and carries Fern down to the water. Arney is waiting for them and she quickly loads Rill and Fern into the boat so they can get away as quickly as possible. Arney hesitates for a moment, but Rill convinces her to keep rowing towards the river and promises Arney will be part of the family there. They travel through the night until the moon sets and then fall asleep in the boat together a short distance from the river. Rill sleeps deeply until the next morning.

When Rill wakes up, she is exuberant because she knows they’re close to where the Arcadia must be tied up. When Rill throws cookies to some kids who help them push their boat back into the water after sleeping on the shore, Arney gets mad, but Rill assures her that Queenie will make them dozens of cookies. Rill tells herself over and over that once they get back to the Arcadia, their lives will be truly happy again, but she begins to worry a bit as they get closer—what will Briny and Queenie think when they see it’s just Rill and Fern? As they approach the Arcadia, Rill realizes something is wrong even though Fern shouts excitedly. The boat looks uncared for, and Silas runs out to greet them. However, he tells them that Queenie died and Briny “took to the bottle.”