Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of child sexual abuse, gender discrimination, sexual content, and cursing.

Poppy’s confession continues, and she identifies her “real sin”: She had sex with a married man, Sterling. She describes the sex in detail, noting that she had multiple orgasms. He orgasmed, too, and Poppy admits that she likes to make men ejaculate. Tyler wonders if he could masturbate in the confessional booth.

Tyler hears Poppy leave the booth, so he also exits. He pushes her against the church’s baby grand piano and spanks her for not wearing underwear. She’s aroused, and even though someone could enter the church at any moment, he uses his fingers and mouth on her. She uses her hand on him; to avoid vaginal penetration, she rubs his erection against her clitoris. She implores him to ejaculate, and he does. She tastes his semen before leaving. Tyler is alone, and the church is quiet. The lack of vociferous recriminations makes Tyler feel more guilty.

Millie is the older, technically proficient bookkeeper for St. Margaret’s. She was one of the first woman engineers in Missouri, and she has a blunt, motherly relationship with Tyler. She intuits that something is going on with him, and she senses that his issues relate to Poppy.