Kathy tells Abigail that she has secretly been seeing Weyland-Weyland wants the three of them to live as a family once again, and has offered to move Kathy and Abigail to Norway to live with him while he undertakes an architectural course. One evening, Abigail, sewing with Natalie, takes a bit of crochet from the Crown family’s rag bag and decides it would make a great collar for a green dress she’s working on. Natalie insists that even the children who play the game are frightened of it, and that the only one unperturbed by the bizarre ritual is a “little furry girl” who Natalie often sees watching from a corner of the playground. The game thrills and excites Vincent but frightens Natalie badly. She frequently babysits for her next-door neighbor Justine Crown’s children, Vincent and Natalie.ĭown at the playground, Abigail has started to see children playing an athletic but slightly disturbing call-and-response game called Beatie Bow, in which a child in a sheet chases other children round the yard until the next Beatie Bow is tagged. She feels there is an “empty place” inside of her, but doesn’t know what created it or could possibly fill it. Abigail is fourteen years old, a thin plain girl who is clever but reserved, and very much a loner. When Abigail’s father leaves Abigail and Kathy for a younger woman, Abigail renounces the name Lynette, and chooses for herself “Abigail” because it sounds like a witch’s name.įour years after his departure, Abigail and her mother still live in a modern, high-rise apartment building designed by Weyland.

Abigail Kirk is born Lynette Kirk, a name her mother Katherine regrets and her father Weyland loves.

Beatie bow book