Christmas Eve arrives, and Blanche prepares dinner; Clara Jean and her boyfriend, Chip Smallwood, the prison guard, stop by. After the girls are in bed, the adults help Ora bring the bikes inside and place the gifts under the tree.

In the morning, the girls are overjoyed with the bikes and other gifts. Ora, sensing that Patrice is sad, talks with her, and Patrice explains that Marcus’s absence is bothering her.

Ora’s new makeshift family settles into a routine that winter. One evening, however, when Judge Odell joins them for dinner, Grace mentions her dislike of bad dreams. Blanche, in her panic, drops a dish. The judge encourages Grace to talk about the dream, suggesting that that might help it end, but Ora and Blanche try to silence her. Grace mentions that it is about the “white-haired boy,” whom both Ora and Blanche know to be Skipper.

After Grace leaves the table, the judge tells Ora that he is certain she and Blanche are hiding something.

Ora learns that Eddie receives a subsistence check that he picks up at the post office. One January day, he takes Patrice’s bike there but never returns.