The unnamed narrator and her husband Drew decide to get divorced, sharing custody of their three-year-old son Jack. In the aftermath of their split, the narrator also develops an ability to "hover," sort of like flying. Jack struggles in the wake of their divorce. He becomes terrified of death. He turns a bag of flour into a stuffed animal, sleeping with it and playing with it at school. He begins being bullied at school. These behaviors create tension between the narrator and Drew. Drew works in tech and looks down on her career as a writer. He also thinks she is too lenient towards Jack's strange behavior. They have multiple meetings with his teacher, in which they find out that Jack has been telling people that he had a sibling that died. After one such meeting, the narrator enters the playground and watches the bully pick on Jack. She inserts herself into the situation and ends up playing with the two of them. The kids end up being called back by the teacher and the narrator hides in the jungle gym, worried that if anyone sees her she will get in trouble.