This prompts Marilyn to begin making major changes in her life.

Following Doris's death, Marilyn realizes that, despite her best efforts, she is following in her mother's footsteps. Marilyn deeply resents her mother for failing to acknowledge her marriage and insisting that her daughter's educational pursuits were worthless. Marilyn is overwhelmed by complicated emotions following her mother's death. 'So when James came home that night, she said simply, 'My mother died.' Then she turned back to the stove and added, 'And the lawn needs mowing,' and he understood: they would not talk about it.' Narrator In addition, she had the ability to hide her true feelings and intentions from those closest to her. This detail supports the notion that from an early age, Lydia was never fully understood by her parents. Seeing Lydia walk was a surprise for Marilyn, as Lydia didn’t show any signs that she was about to take her first steps. Marilyn reflects upon her past experiences with Lydia, and she recalls the moment that her daughter first started walking. Marilyn says this to herself when she first finds out about Lydia's disappearance. That the weight of everything tilting toward her was too much.'What else have you been hiding?’’ Marilyn She had staggered so readily, fell so eagerly, that she and Nath both knew: that she felt it, too, this pull she now exerted, and didn't want it. When his palms hit her shoulders, when the water closed over her head, Lydia had felt relief so great she had sighed in a deep choking lungful.

More than this: the second he touched her, he knew that he had misunderstood everything. They would be sucked into the vacuum she left behind. He and his parents and their lives would spin into the space where she had been. Even without Lydia, the world would not level. He could feel the ground still tipping beneath him. In the instant after, he knew it would change nothing. Crouched on the dock, he had a glimpse of the future: without her, he would be completely alone. “Whenever he remembered this moment, it lasted forever: a flash of complete separateness as Lydia disappeared beneath the surface.

Everything i never told you pages