Chapter 28: Keeping Time – Summary and Analysis
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
After a video call with her parents, Ebby retrieves her late brother Baz’s clock radio from her suitcase and plugs it in while staying in France. The next morning, the alarm reminds her of the nineteen years she has spent waking up to the same sound—a ritual she maintained ever since Baz’s death. A flashback reveals an argument with her former fiancé Henry, who called the clock morbid; Ebby defended it as one of the few objects saved from her family’s home after the shooting that killed Baz. In the present, Ebby gardens and tries not to think about Henry, but she cannot avoid the pain of seeing him with another woman. She then recalls that she was pregnant with Henry’s child before he left her, and that she miscarried early in the pregnancy, a loss she never disclosed to anyone. Reflecting on her parents’ resilience after Baz’s death, Ebby finds solace in the clock’s steady display, acknowledging that she has always measured time by what she has lost.
Key Events
- Ebby unpacks Baz’s clock radio and sets it up in her French rental.
- The alarm triggers memories of her childhood routine: waking before Baz to race down the hall and hear his sleepy voice.
- A past argument with Henry is recounted: Henry calls the clock morbid; Ebby passionately defends it as a cherished memento of her brother.
- Ebby stops gardening to think about Henry with his new partner, feeling a deep hurt despite nine months having passed.
- A hidden history is revealed: Ebby was pregnant before Henry left, but she miscarried early in the pregnancy. She never told Henry or her parents.
- Ebby reflects on how her mother and father persevered after Baz’s murder, continuing to parent her with love and routine.
- The chapter closes with Ebby watching the clock’s digits flip and acknowledging her habit of “keeping time by what she has lost.”
Character Development
Ebby Freeman – This chapter deepens Ebby’s internal world. Her attachment to the clock underscores how she has frozen her grief in a daily ritual, refusing to let go of the connection to Baz. The revelation of her pregnancy and miscarriage shows a woman who tries to protect others from sadness at the cost of her own healing. Her decision to stop therapy and rely on nature’s sounds (“all the therapy she needs”) signals a retreat from professional help, even as she wrestles with Henry’s abandonment and the loss of a child.
Henry (ex-fiancé) – Though absent in the present, Henry’s earlier criticism of the clock reveals his discomfort with Ebby’s lingering grief. His tendency to back down from confrontation, which Ebby later sees as a source of trouble, is shown here as both a comfort and a warning sign.
Baz (deceased brother) – Baz remains a presence only through memory and the alarm clock. His sleepy grumble and the “soupy morning voice” are the fragments Ebby clings to, keeping him alive in her daily routine.
Ebby’s parents – Their resilience after Baz’s death is highlighted: her mother left her law firm to be present for Ebby, then returned to limited work, and both parents continued to show up with small gestures of care. Ebby realizes they are “wired for hope.”
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Keeping Time – The title echoes the chapter’s central motif: Ebby measures her life by losses—Baz’s death, the breakup, the miscarriage. The clock radio, with its unchanging schedule, becomes a timepiece for grief.
- The Alarm Clock as a Vessel of Memory – The clock is more than an object; it holds Baz’s voice, the routine of sibling care, and the only tangible link to a stolen past. Henry’s reaction frames it as an unhealthy fixation, but Ebby sees it as a vital anchor.
- Hidden Grief and Silence – Ebby conceals both her pregnancy and the miscarriage from everyone, including her therapist. She refuses to add to her parents’ sorrow, carrying her pain alone.
- Resilience and Perseverance – Ebby’s parents model a way to continue living after tragedy. Their example—getting up, working, laughing—shapes Ebby’s understanding of how to endure loss.
- The Body and the Natural World – Gardening and the sounds of birdsong, a tractor, and river muck are offered as an alternative to therapy. Ebby seeks healing through physical engagement with the earth.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 28 cracks open a secret Ebby has guarded for months: her pregnancy and miscarriage. This revelation reframes her flight to Maine after Henry left—she was not just escaping a broken engagement but also carrying a child she hoped would be a gift. The loss of that pregnancy doubles the grief she already carries for Baz. The chapter also clarifies why Ebby clings so fiercely to the alarm clock: it is a ritual that predates all her later losses, a thread connecting her to a time when her family was whole. By placing Ebby in France, far from home, the novel allows her to confront these memories alone, setting the stage for possible reconciliation or deeper isolation.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Ebby defend Baz’s alarm clock so strongly against Henry’s criticism?
Ebby sees the clock as a rare physical survivor of the shooting that destroyed her family’s home and killed her brother. It is not about morbidity but about holding onto the last tangible link to Baz. Henry’s dismissal threatens to erase that connection, which Ebby considers an insult to her grief and her family’s history.
2. What does Ebby’s decision to hide her pregnancy and miscarriage reveal about her character?
It shows her protective instinct—she does not want to burden her parents with more sorrow after losing Baz. It also reveals her tendency to suffer alone, as she has already stopped therapy and avoids leaning on others. The secret magnifies her isolation and suggests she believes she must handle pain without support.
3. How does the setting of France affect Ebby’s emotional state in this chapter?
Being in France places Ebby physically apart from her usual triggers (her parents, her old home, Henry) but also strips away her usual routines. The foreign environment forces her to confront her memories head-on, as she unpacks the clock and lets the alarm sound in a new context. The quiet morning sounds of the French countryside offer a healing alternative to formal therapy.