Through Black Spruce

Gordon is becoming a solid trapper, and he and Annie have 15 animals they skinned to sell. When they head to the Northern Store to sell them, Annie is quoted a low price. She’s furious that women are still treated this way. After leaving the store, they head to her mother’s house to convince her not to send Will away. When her mother refuses, Annie lies and says that “Uncle Will has been responding when I talk to him […] sometimes he even squeezes my hand” (176).

She visits Will and resumes her story about Montreal. Annie is pregaming at Violet’s house with her friends Veronique and Amber. Violet and Butterfoot were the ones who set Annie up with the photoshoot. Annie says, “The agent paid for it—after all, I am the sister of Suzanne Bird—and I’m still paying for it today” (178). Annie is uncomfortable around Violet’s friends. She doesn’t want to take the drugs Violet gives her, but gives in when Violet puts them right up to her mouth. They drink and dance around the house. The entire time, Annie wonders why she is there. Before they go out, Violet reveals that she has a box of Suzanne’s clothes from when they lived together. They dress Annie up in her sister’s clothes.

Will prepares for survival through the winter in the bush. He hunts, builds his shelter, and prepares food, all the way his father taught him. He becomes strong and lean, feeling self-sufficient and powerful. He tries not to think about his friends and family back home, finding it too painful to remember what he left behind: “Loneliness grew like moss out here, crawling onto my legs and onto my arms” (186). He smokes and tries not to drink; it’s the longest sober stretch he can remember. Will contemplates death a few times. He’s afraid to unwrap his father’s rifle for what it might say to him. He stays under the water too long on a swim. While submerged, he has a vision of Suzanne’s face.

Covering himself with mud to protect against mosquitos, a very effective treatment, Will goes hunting and falls asleep on a beach. He discovers he’s not alone: “My eyes jerked open to the sound of kids’ chatter, of feet walking in the warm shallow of the creek” (193). Realizing the danger of being seen out here, he grabs his gun and runs into the trees; one of the children screams as he runs back to his shelter.

Annie moves into Will’s house. The house is a mess, but she and Gordon clean it up. Once again, she visits Will and resumes her story.

Violet seems to like Gordon and lets him move in with them after Annie runs out of money in Montreal. When Annie talks about him, Violet responds, “Protector? That is so fucking butch. How the fuck do I get one?” (196). Annie and Gordon travel with Violet to New York, staying in the apartment of another model, Soleil. Annie is getting increasingly wrapped up in her sister’s old life, getting her finished headshots, partying, taking ecstasy, and dating lots of men. Annie continues to meet more of Suzanne’s friends who remember her and worked with her. After getting invited to a party that Soleil is throwing, they go out shopping for the right clothes.

Will starts talking to his deceased family members while he is alone on the island, especially his late wife. She talked back too, saying, “These strangers are all right. They are old and smart. They know you are here. Meet them” (208). He packs up a bag of food to share and heads out to meet the other people on the island. He’s nervous, wary of their intentions and what they know about him, but he needs to find out what they know. He recognizes them from plane trips in his youth; “they were Attawapiskat people” (209). An old man speaks to him in Cree while Will responds in English. While they share a nice conversation about knowing Will’s father, his pilot days, and his plans to stay and trap over winter, Will battles the urge to drink. They warn him about polar bears and say they don’t have any news of the mainland.

Despite another band of rain coming through, Will wants to go back to his camp. He has a hard time finding it without moonlight and is forced to build a small shelter for the night. When light comes, he returns to his camp, builds a big fire, and drinks. He thinks about his visit. The Attawapiskats didn’t say anything about him running from the law. He muses that “these old ones are good actors or they truly don’t know anything” (214). He knows he has to find a new island for winter because people talk. As he tries to sleep, the rifle keeps whispering to him, so he decides to give it to the old man as a gift.

Annie has a dinner party at Will’s house with Gordon, her mom, Joe, Gregor, and Eva. Everyone knows that Annie told her mom that Will was responding to her by squeezing her hand. Annie keeps up the lie but worries that Eva will give her away. Eva covers up for her, saying that “activity in the prefrontal cortex is working overtime to click back into gear” (217). Eva stays the night and asks Annie about the lies once everyone has left. “Let’s just say that the percentage of patients in Will’s situation who make a full or even partial recovery is extremely low,” she says (218). Annie gets upset, unable to confront the reality of what is happening to her uncle.