72. Bompie. Sophie’s following entry picks up where the last one left off, and says that, after Dock took Bompie’s hand and gently stroked it, Bompie opened his eyes—but he was a bit confused. Bompie calls Dock “Peter,” and when Dock identifies himself (as Jonah, his real name), Bompie says that Jonah is away at camp. He says the same thing to Mo and Stew. When Cody and Brian step forward, Bompie identifies them as Mo and Stew; when Sophie steps forward, Bompie thinks she’s Margaret, his late wife. Brian tells Sophie to stop trying to introduce herself, since he thinks Bompie doesn’t know her—but when Bompie hears the name “Sophie,” he knows her immediately.
Much to the shock of everyone, Bompie does, in fact, know Sophie—aswe discover later on, they’ve corresponded through many letters. We can see that Bompie’s memory is going, as he struggles to identify his children,and he seems to be stuck in an earlier time, thinking that all his kids are at camp. Brian, with his typical coldness and inability to just let Sophie be herself, tries to intervene in her introduction to Bompie—but Brian’s unkindness is thwarted when Bompie recognizes only her.