chunk: Mother and son often argue while Calvin tries to referee, generally taking Conrad's side for fear of pushing him over the edge again. Things come to a climax near Christmas, when Conrad becomes furious at Beth for not wanting to take a photo with him, swearing at her in front of his grandparents. Afterward, Beth discovers Conrad has been lying about his after-school whereabouts. This leads to a heated argument between Conrad and Beth in which Conrad points out that Beth never visited him in the hospital, saying, "You would have visited Buck if he was in the hospital." Beth replies, "Buck would have never been in the hospital!" Beth and Calvin take a trip to see Bethâs brother in Houston, where Calvin confronts Beth, calling her out on her attitude.