By feeling their faces with her hands

by looking closely at their faces

by looking closely at their hands

She was crying from happiness

The flowers made her feel that her husband was perfect and she was not

The flowers reminded her of the baby she lost

She is allergic to their dog

she is worried about prudence

she feels that she leads an insignificant life

because she finds herself attracted to ben

because he tries to scare her by poking her arm

because her father never hugs her anymore

because she is coming uptight like the winterbottoms

buries it at the base of the singing tree

puts it under the floorboards in her room

carries it in her small bag

because Mrs. Cadaver survived the crash that killed her mother

because she is afraid her father is falling in love with Mrs. Cadaver

because Mrs Cadaver is her English teacher's sister

because she saw her mother kiss trees out of love earth, and sal feels the same love

because she likes the taste

because she wants to practice kissing

because he wants to hold sal's hand

his mother is a palm reader and he wants to read palms as well

he is clowning around

she cannot accept the possibility that her mother would leave her under normal circumstances

because she suspects her father is hiding something from her

she knows her mother is flighty easy to trick

frightened and overwhelmed by its size

repelled by its uniformity and smallness

excited at the chance to meet new people and see a new place

guilty, thinking that her presence there is betrayal to her mother