Then She Was Gone

Laurel visits her mother, who says she thinks she’s close to dying. She’s been staying alive for Laurel, and now that Laurel is happy, she feels ready to go. Later that day, Laurel takes Poppy shopping, and they talk about Poppy’s mom. Poppy says she hated her mom, who was, “ugly and neglectful” and, “smelled of chips” (114). Poppy also shares her rather dark philosophy that life has no purpose or meaning. Laurel buys Poppy new outfits that are better suited to her age, realizing they are the types of outfits Ellie wore as a girl. Even though Poppy is reluctant at first, she’s excited to try something different from her usual, formal look. 

Heading to the family birthday dinner, Laurel feels nervous about all of the people who will be there—her ex-husband and his partner, Bonny, who she’s never met, her new boyfriend Floyd, Jake and his girlfriend, Blue, Hanna, and Poppy. Laurel soon finds that her anxiety was unnecessary, as the dinner goes smoothly. Paul and Floyd are dressed almost identically, and Poppy gives a toast, “to happy families!” (124). After Laurel unwraps a book as a gift from Paul, Poppy remarks that she loves reading stories, calling them “the only thing[s] in this world that are real” (126). Leaving the restaurant, Paul remarks to Laurel how much Poppy resembles Ellie, and that what she said about stories sounds exactly like something Ellie used to say. Laurel finds herself feeling defensive as Paul discusses the “lookalike family” Laurel has found (127), but Paul is clearly pleased for Laurel. 

Laurel and Floyd continue to grow closer, and Floyd shares how deeply he feels for her. On her way out of Floyd’s house to visit her friends, she notices a piece of mail addressed to Noelle Donnelly, and the name sounds familiar. Later, she asks about the name, saying she remembers it from somewhere. Floyd tells her that Noelle is Poppy’s mom, and she was a math tutor. Hearing this, Laurel realizes that Noelle was Ellie’s math tutor right before she disappeared. When Laurel questions Hanna about Noelle, Hanna recalls Ellie telling her that Noelle was creepy. Laurel wonders how Noelle, whom she remembers as unkempt and unattractive, could have been with Floyd, who seems so self-assured and put together.

Laurel gets a call from Jake and Blue, who tell her that Floyd has a dark aura. They think he’s hiding something. Angry and defensive, Laurel attributes their remarks to Blue’s strangeness and her ability to influence Jake’s opinions. The next time she’s at Floyd’s she has a heart-to-heart conversation with SJ, who is having an affair with an older, married man. The discussion turns to Ellie, and SJ asks if Laurel believes Ellie ran away. SJ read about Ellie’s case on the Internet, and just as she’s about to tell Laurel something about Poppy’s mom, Floyd walks in. 

Laurel feels unsettled about her recent discoveries about Noelle Donnelly as Poppy’s mom and Ellie’s strange math tutor. She looks through Ellie’s diary, searching for comments about Noelle, and finds one entry where Ellie describes Noelle as a “bunny boiler” who is too “intense” (154). Laurel asks Floyd about Noelle, and he shares that she was a fan of his book, which is how they met. He was lonely at the time, but the relationship dragged on, and he felt he couldn’t get free of her. Then, she got pregnant with Poppy, and four years later, left her with Floyd and disappeared. 

Laurel waits outside SJ’s work to question her about Noelle. SJ never liked Noelle and says Noelle would always ignore her. She reluctantly tells Laurel about a moment she remembers from when Noelle was eight months pregnant. SJ saw her naked in the bedroom, but there was no baby bump. SJ knows she was a troubled child with “emotional difficulties” (161), so she’s not sure if she imagined this moment or not.