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Dad
Cate is the narrator’s mother, and the daughter of Grandma and Grandpa. When the novel begins, Cate is married to Dad, though she is disturbed by his paranoia around the Y2K scare—and livid about the lack of care he demonstrates for others in his hit-and-run incident. Despite Cate’s love of and dedication to the narrator, she is aware that he feels closer to his father (and indeed, the narrator often expresses distrust of Cate, both as a 10-year-old boy and as an adult). When the Barricades are erected, Cate wants to live in the city while Dad wants to live in the country, so the two divorce. After years spent trying (and failing) to eke out financial security, Cate dies, though the narrator never lingers on this loss.
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Cate Character Timeline in Things We Didn’t See Coming
The timeline below shows where the character Cate appears in Things We Didn’t See Coming. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
What We Know Now
...big deal” of their trip to the neighbors. In passing, the narrator calls his mother “Cate,” despite the fact that Cate would prefer to be called “Mother.”
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...Dad is sweating, packing batteries and extra tanks of gas to haul in the trunk, Cate is not working at all. The narrator wants to turn the car key in the...
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...farm. When the narrator explains about Milo’s grandfather, Dad snickers that “he’s a dead man.” Cate adds her overnight bag to the pile. She worries the neighbors are judging them, and...
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...road, listening as a radio announcer describes New Year’s parties happening all over the world. Cate snarks that the roads seem pretty empty for doomsday, a comment that upsets Dad. Ignoring...
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...to save this thought for Grandma, since he knows Dad also thinks planes are unsafe. Cate tries to reassure Dad that they are prepared even if the worst does happen, but...
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...down but had been too distracted by staring at Dad’s green eyes to say anything. Cate and Dad begin to squabble, and Cate wants Dad to promise that he'll “be better”...
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...way that makes it clear her car does not have heat, unlike the narrator’s car. Cate urges Dad to get out of the car, vowing that things will be okay once...
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...he hit, Dad keeps driving. The woman, stunned, tries to memorize the family’s license plate. Cate is horrified at her husband’s behavior, telling the narrator “I don’t want you to learn...
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...they arrive, Grandma is brushing her hair and wearing her favorite green dress. She gives Cate and the narrator big hugs, and she presses Dad to explain why he packed so...
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...he notices that the car has been partially unpacked. From here, he looks in on Cate and her parents sitting in silence. The narrator wonders if they are bored or just...
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The narrator feigns sleepiness. Before Cate tucks him in, the narrator puts on a pair of heavy socks and slides a...
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...to get the food and water that can no longer be delivered to urban areas. Cate thinks this is all nonsense, but Dad prides himself on “thinking defensively.” The narrator wonders...
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...woman in the car with them. Dad wonders if the lights have gone out on Cate and her parents, which he thinks would be “funny.” The narrator doesn’t get the joke.
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The Theft That Got Me Here
...heavily medicated, and Grandpa has just had his driver’s license revoked due to reckless driving. Cate has sent the narrator to his grandparents’ house for the summer, in the hopes that...
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...but Grandma insists that he needs to finish college; though Grandma and Grandpa are sure Cate will understand, the narrator is not convinced. Grandpa is so overjoyed at the idea of...
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The Forest for the Trees
...the desert and training to be a servant for wealthy survivors. On that trip, Margo, Cate, and the narrator went on a hike together, which turned sour when they got themselves...
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Best Medicine
...they moved to the country. There was clean air, water, and a lovely garden, but Cate couldn’t take it and returned to the city. When the narrator was asked to decide...
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