Penpal

The novel flashes back to when the narrator and his mother lived in their neighborhood, which the narrator theorizes was originally built around the lake, gradually expanding to connect new residents to the town. Among the first lake houses, the narrator’s favorite is the colonial-style house of Mrs. Maggie. A warm elderly woman, she welcomes conversations with the narrator and Josh every time they swim in the lake. She frequently invites them to her house for snacks, though the boys decline her invitation for reasons related to previous encounters with her.

Around the time of the Balloon Project’s conclusion, the narrator and Josh ponder how far a bottled message might go if they threw it into the lake. Mrs. Maggie overhears their conversation, and when the narrator mentions the Balloon Project to her, she brings up her husband, Tom, who is a pilot. She promises to tell Tom about the Balloon Project when he returns. The narrator notes that Mrs. Maggie said the exact same thing months earlier.

He first met Mrs. Maggie around the time his mother started allowing him to take the bus home from school. His walk home from the bus stop passed her house, and she kept referring to him as “Chris.