5:00
The cat was on the table eating the left-over pancakes that she had fixed for her son before he went off to school . Instead of shaking the cat in the air , making it appear to be in the midst of convulsions , she just sat down and watched it eat . Then she tossed the dirty plates into the sink -- a function that was not habitual to her , but one that she did n't mind taking on this day when washing them would add to her mental void . She did n't have him go into school for any part of the day even though the funeral would n't take place until 5:00 . Instead , long before sunrise she loaded up kid and canvases into her old car . Then they began a long ride that would take them briefly into Syracuse , into Albany , and then back to Ithaca in a circuitious meandering of interstates and main streets . She had that pivotal expectation that if she were able to find the addresses of art galleries the curators there would guide her toward various amateur art fairs so that she could sell her work .