Sal’s life has been shaped by two things: her mother’s decision to run away after a tragic miscarriage and her father’s need for the two of them to leave their farm in the fictional town of Bybanks, Kentucky. She wishes that her father was not such a good man so that she could blame him for her mother’s departure.

As things stand, Dad Hiddle appears to have been an outstanding husband and father, so there is no logic to the idea that her mother had a rational reason for wanting to leave a bad marriage. He is described as a simple, quiet man who misses his wife desperately in the aftermath of her sudden departure. He takes the time to teach his daughter valuable life lessons, such as not to “judge a man until you’ve walked two moons in his moccasins.”

It is natural for Sal to try and apply logic to the problem of her mother’s departure and try to imagine ways that it could have been prevented. She wishes that her father was not such a good man because if he wasn’t, her mother’s decision to leave would make some sense to her. It’s really difficult for Sal to even think about blaming her mother in absentia for everything that has happened, so she wishes that she could blame her father. However, since Dad Hiddle is such a good man, it’s also difficult to place unfair blame on his shoulders.