A Brief History of Seven Killings: Part 4, Chapter 23 Summary & Analysis

Ken has been in the bathroom for about an hour. Dorcas is still trying to figure out what disease he has, and for some reason it hasn’t occurred to her “that clearly his problem was not physical.” She can hear him trying to climb out of the window, but knows he won’t be successful, as there’s a grate over it. She is sitting on the couch watching TV, waiting for Mr. Colthirst to arrive. She is puzzled by how “normal” and “dashing” Ken seemed only hours ago, although at the time she struggled “not to think of him that way.”

There is a knock on the door; it is Ms. Colthirst, who barges in rudely. Mr. Colthirst comes up behind her and apologizes. Ken barks at Ms. Colthirst, telling her to go away, and she replies that this has all happened because he won’t take his pills. Ken doesn’t recognize Ms. Colthirst either. Mr. Colthirst explains who his wife is and adds that they are in the Bronx. Eventually Ken comes out, looking disheveled. Ms. Colthirst takes Ken down to the car, leaving Mr. Colthirst alone with Dorcas. He explains that “every day is a new day for Pop,” to which Dorcas replies that the same is true for everybody.

Mr. Colthirst clarifies that Ken has amnesia and can’t remember anything past April 1980. He adds that the previous woman they hired to take care of him found it too exhausting and quit. Mr. Colthirst says he will phone the agency and tell them it wasn’t Dorcas’s fault it didn’t work out. However, Dorcas tells him not to, because she wants the job.