Beartown: Chapter 12 Summary & Analysis

Kira knows that sometimes she makes Peter feel browbeaten, because she calls him so many times a day to check whether he’s done what she’s asked him to do. At the rink, Peter’s office is filled with LPs he’s ordered. He has the records delivered to the rink so that Kira won’t know how much online shopping he does. The records remind him of Isak.

Kira recalls a terrible snowstorm that hit when they hadn’t been living in Beartown for very long. The children were off school, and Peter took Maya and Leo to go tobogganing. Watching them go, Kira felt “bereft” and cried all the way to the office.

While Peter was injured in Canada and Kira was at work, Peter found himself home alone with a sickly Isak one day. None of his rocking or home remedies soothed the baby, so finally, in desperation, he put on a record. The baby finally grew quiet and fell asleep in Peter’s arms, making him feel like a good father for the last time ever. He’s never told Kira about that, but he keeps secretly buying records.

That long-ago snowy day, Kira kept calling Peter. Uncharacteristically, he didn’t answer. Panicked about the weather, she sped home from work, finally stopping where she’d last seen them in the woods and clawing desperately at the snow. Ten minutes later, Peter called her—they were safely at home, and his phone had not been charged. Much later, she realized that this had been a nervous breakdown. She’s never told Peter about what happened that day. But that’s why she sometimes calls him multiple times a day.

The juniors’ locker room is quiet; the players are beginning to feel nervous about tomorrow’s big game. William Lyt asks Kevin if he has any chewing tobacco. Kevin says that he doesn’t. Later, when Benji asks the same, Kevin willingly fishes out a can of tobacco and gives it to Benji. When Lyt returns, he boasts about his family coming to the game and asks if Kevin’s parents are coming, too. Benji picks up on Kevin’s body language and intervenes with a joke, telling Lyt that his family is coming to watch Kevin play, not him.

Amat is doing his best to appear invisible. Eventually, though, Bobo crosses the locker room and towers over him, smiling. He mockingly scolds the other guys for littering the locker room with pieces of tape—it’s not as if their mothers work there. He reminds them that it’s Amat’s mother who works there. Pretty soon, pieces of tape are raining down on Amat.

As the rest of the locker room empties, Kevin hangs back and asks Amat if he knows Maya—does she have a boyfriend? At last, reluctantly, Amat shakes his head. He trails the juniors out onto the ice. As they all stand at center ice, he thinks that he’s going to prove himself to these guys no matter what.

Sune sees Peter sitting in the stands during the juniors’ practice and reflects that he’s never told Peter that he loves him. He knows Peter is driven by the fear of disappointing everyone, of not being good enough as a father, a man, or a General Manager. He watches Peter watching the junior players he’s spent the past 10 years nurturing. When Peter finally notices Amat’s presence on the ice, he laughs with surprise. Seeing this, Sune feels both joyful and sad, and he returns to his office. Deep down, he knows, he’s not indispensable, and the team will carry on without him.

Later, after Peter returns to his office, Fatima comes in to empty the trash cans. Peter is surprised to see her. He asks her if she’s heard about Amat. He gently guides her back to the ice. When she realizes her boy is training with the junior team, she weeps with joy and stands tall despite her aching back.