PeteyChapter Summaries G. Kelly
Part One
Chapter 1
Roy and Sarah Corbin are travelling to meet a nurse. They are giving up their two year old “idiot” son, Petey, because they can no longer look after him. Sarah remembers Petey’s birth and how the doctor said he was an “idiot”.
Chapter 2
The nurse drops Petey off at Warm Springs Insane Asylum in Montana. The asylum is very dreary and unwelcoming. A doctor examines Petey and he too decides Petey is an “imbecile”. The doctor says Petey will not receive any treatment. Three years pass and one day Petey is being given a bath. The attendant bathing him drops him in the tub. Petey smiles but the attendant doesn’t notice. No one understands Petey’s attempts to communicate.
Chapter 3
Esteban Garcia comes to work at Warm Springs. He was a migrant worker who has decided to settle down. Every day after his shift, Esteban says goodbye to all of the children on the ward. Esteban tries to teach Petey to nod. Petey refuses to accept any chocolate until he learns to nod.Esteban realizes Petey can think because he gives him chocolate. Esteban tells a nurse about his discovery but she gets angry and tells him to stop wasting her time. When a group of civic leaders from Butte tour the ward, one of the men calls the patients “a bunch of freaks”. Esteban gets very angry quits working Warm Springs.
Chapter 4
Three years later. Petey is now 11 years old. An attendant comes to Infants Ward to bring Petey to Men’s Ward. Petey experiences outside for the first time. He is amazed. During mealtimes on the ward, the attendants rush and he always chokes on his food.
Chapter 5
Petey becomes ‘friends’ with mice (Sally, William, Patches Cloud, Blackie and Esteban). Petey purposely tries to eat messily at mealtimes so he can save food for his mice friends. Esteban always curls up next to Petey during the night. Sally has babies and they too become Petey’s friends. Calvin Anders is found on the steps of Warm Springs and is brought to Men’s Ward. He instantly becomes friends and meets the mice. Attendants discover mice droppings and talk about rat poison.
Chapter 6
Petey stays awake all night to scare away his mice friends so they don’t get hurt. Calvin sees Petey batting at the mice with his arms and doesn’t understand why he would want to hurt his friends. Calvin asks Petey questions about his actions and figures out he is trying to protect the mice from poison. Petey successfully communicates an idea. He can say “aeee” and “ooooo”.
Chapter 7
Calvin and Petey take turns staying awake so they can protect the mice. To get around the ward, Calvin pushes Petey’s wheelchair a little at a time. The two have become best friends. Every night Calvin says “good night” to Petey and Petey says “Guuu baa”. One day when Petey is looking out the window, Calvin spins in his chair and falls over. Calvin needs help.
Chapter 8
Petey thrashes his arms in order to get the attention of the attendants so they can help Calvin. The attendant who comes to the rescue is named Joe who used to work on the railroads. He quickly realizes that Petey is not an idiot. Joe, Petey and Calvin watch old western movies. They have pretend gunfights. Later on, Petey develops pneumonia.
Chapter 9
Calvin is put in charge of helping Petey get better. He is a little too attentive but it is because he cares so much about his best friend. Over Christmas, Joe gives Calvin and Petey toy pistols and treats in their stockings. Joe gives Petey a special gift – a small framed Bible verse saying “They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint”. The boys prefer “pigeons” instead of “eagles” so Joe scratches changes it. This is the first time they have ever celebrated Christmas. Petey and Calvin decide to give Joe a present of their own – some candy from their own stockings.
Chapter 10
Joe retires from Warm Springs. He writes Petey and Calvin a few letters then, it is implied, that he dies. Two years pass and Calvin has become very depressed. They no longer have play gunfights. A nursing student who is taking psychiatric training at Warm Springs enters Petey’s life. He forms a special friendship with Cassie. Cassie shares stories of her husband and daughter with Petey.
Chapter 11
Cassie takes Petey outside. Petey asks Cassie if Calvin can come outside with them so an attendant wheels him out too. Calvin has a breakthrough in his depression. He smiles for the first time in a long time. They listen to a band play. Cassie tells Petey that “all people need purpose”. Petey agrees to let Calvin be responsible for taking care of him. Calvin feeds Petey and nearly chokes him with potatoes by mistake. Petey sees himself in the mirror for the first time. Cassie tells Petey she will be leaving Warm Springs to meet him in New York. Petey is devastated. Cassie gives Petey a necklace with half a heart pendant. She keeps the other half. The pendant says “May the Lord watch between me and thee while we are absent from the other”.
Chapter 12
Twenty years later. Petey is still sad about losing Cassie. Both Petey and Calvin are in a state of depression. Owen Marsh, a former ranch hand, starts working at Warm Springs. Owen sees the framed Bible verse Joe gave him years ago. He notices that Petey’s eyes are quizzical.
Chapter 13
Christmas. Owen gives Calvin and Petey bundles of candy for presents. Calvin breaks his silence when Owen doesn’t understand what Petey is trying to communicate. Owen gets Petey a rickety wheelchair. He takes Petey and Calvin outside.
Chapter 14
Owen organizes activities for Calvin and Petey like dances and movies. Calvin pushes Petey’s wheelchair on the dance floor. Owen, Calvin and Petey watch TV together. Petey starts calling Calvin “Ike”. After two years of working at Warm Springs, Owen retires. Owen visits them once after he retires but doesn’t come back again because he sees how painful his visit is for Calvin and Petey. Awhile later, Calvin is transferred out of Warm Springs without any warning. Petey is transferred to Bozeman Nursing Home where he is very lonely without Calvin. Petey thinks about all the people who he has lost and he vows to never let himself love anyone again.