Slam Chapter 18 Summary

  • Sam wants to learn more about children and fatherhood, so he does a bit of research. Enter the Internet.
  • He reads loads of stories online—mostly people complaining—and learns that Britain has the worst teenage pregnancy rates in Europe.
  • One fact that surprises him? About eighty percent of teenage fathers lose touch with their kids after fifteen years. Whoa.
  • Right away, Sam rushes over to Alicia's house to talk to her about this. He doesn't want to lose touch with Roof even if things aren't great with Alicia, and that statistic worries him.
  • When he gets there, she's in the bath, so he waits. She gets annoyed, and they start fighting. Ah-gain.
  • She starts accusing him of sleeping around and threatens to take Rufus away from him.
  • Just then, Andrea comes in and scolds her daughter. Even when they are fighting, it's not cool to threaten that about Roof; it's just not right.
  • The three of them talk in the kitchen for a while. Andrea explains that people get other jobs or spouses over time and lose touch with each other. This is even harder when you get pregnant so young.
  • They know she's right, even though Sam doesn't want her to be.
  • Sam stares at Roof before he leaves. The baby is sleeping and looks so peaceful.
  • Just for a second, he wishes things could stay like this forever, with Sam and Alicia calmly watching their baby and not fighting anymore.