Atdtda36: Charmed, 1007-1008

[Paul Nightingale]

A more detailed description of the tent colony, courtesy of Stray's pov:
'Stray found ...' etc. And: 'Before nightfall she was sitting at the bedside
of a feverish, crusty-nosed Montenegrin girl about three'. Cf the end of
Ch65: 'Stray gathered the older woman in her arms ...' etc (981). And then,
later in this section, Jesse's 'Hi, Ma' (1008).

Time passes: 'As the winter went on ...' etc (1007) and Stray's ability to
tell 'the flirters from the bad shots' (1008). The passage emphasises
Stray's activity, 'crisscross[ing] the whole patch with her arms full ...'
etc (1007), with no mention of anyone else, other than, in passing, Sabine,
introduced and quickly dropped by the narrative: an interaction similar to
that with Sister Clementia in the previous section. Stray functions as an
individual, and the presence of other members of the colony is left
implicit. This is in contrast to her relationship of sorts with 'marksmen
who ha[ve] the high ground ... playing with her'.

It is here that Jesse reappears, his own identity revealed through his
identification/naming of Stray.

On 646 we find out what 'young Jesse [is] up to these days', Stray telling
Frank the boy is with Willow and Holt: '... he's pretty much in there with
them when I'm on the road'. Here, Stray awaits a sign of 'the shape
[Frank's] disapproval [will] take' - she infers some kind of judgement,
perhaps, of her as a negligent parent. Jesse is discussed by Stray and Mayva
on 980: 'snaps of Jesse she always carried in her purse'. In the current
section, Stray fears for her son's safety, as though trying to confine him
to a childhood he has rejected.