Molly Notkin's party: Joelle's overdose (pp. 239–240)
the smoke’s baby-blanket blue that’s sent her sliding down along the wall past knotted washcloth, towel rack, blood-flower wallpaper and intricately grimed electrical outlet, the light sharp bitter tint of a heated sky’s blue that’s left her uprightly fetal with chin on knees in yet another North American bathroom, deveiled, too pretty for words […] —and is knelt vomiting over the lip of the cool blue tub […] and can hear again and seems to see, against the fire of her closed lids’ blood, bladed vessels aloft in the night to monitor flow, searchlit helicopters, fat fingers of blue light from one sky, searching.
Context
The attempt itself: the hit meant to explode her heart leaves her "uprightly fetal" — the theme's posture at its terminus — then vomiting into the blue-lacquered tub. The failed exit; she'll wake toward Ennet House. (Carlisle: her "suicidal dive recalls Ophelia's" — his reading, recorded.)