Abra burns Aron's letters

The winter of 1917–18 is a frightened time, with Ludendorff unbeaten and the war seeming hopeless. Adam is given leave from the draft board. He rubs and soaks his numb left hand, cannot tie his own shoes, and stares at print he can no longer read, insisting daily that he must get his eyes tested. Lee quietly blocks it and hopes Dr. Edwards might drop by as a friend. He also refuses to let Cal confess to Adam yet, or to indulge the idea that he deserves to be killed. Cal times his walk home to meet Abra head-on. She shows him a postcard from Aron — "I don't feel clean. I'm not fit for you" — and lets him tell her the whole thing. She already knew about his mother, and tells him she stopped loving Aron when she outgrew the story they had made up, since he could not stand a story that came out any other way. She says she thinks she loves Cal, and because he is not good. At home she burns Aron's letters while her mother turns Judge Knudsen away again.

Abra's account of growing out of a shared story is the clearest statement of what separates her from Aron, and it doubles as an explanation of why Cal is bearable to her. Her father hiding from Judge Knudsen is never explained and does not need to be — the sheriff's list supplies it. Lee's refusal to have Adam's eyes tested is the other unspoken diagnosis.