Summary—Chapter Eight: The Miracle of Dog Doo Park
“I have always thought you had a wonderful
way with words,” he said. “You don’t need to go fishing for big words
in the dictionary. You are poetic, mi’ija.”
(See Important Quotations Explained)
Taylor and Lou Ann sit with Turtle and Dwayne Ray in
Roosevelt Park, which the local kids call Dog Doo Park. Much to
her dismay, Taylor has just found out that her mother plans to marry
Harland Elleston, who works at a paint and body store. Lou Ann tells
Taylor she should feel good that her mother has enough life in her
to marry again, and she accuses Taylor of disliking men. Taylor
disagrees, thinking longingly of Estevan. Lou Ann reminisces about
her excitement when she first met Angel. The wisteria vines in the
park that once seemed dead now bloom a beautiful purple, and Taylor
relates them to a biblical story about water pouring out of a rock.
Turtle sits in the dirt saying the names of vegetables. Edna Poppy
and Mrs. Parsons walk by, and Taylor jokes with Edna, who is wearing
all red, as she always does. Mrs. Parsons mentions that Angel stopped
by Lou Ann’s house this morning while Lou Ann was out. When Taylor asks,
Lou Ann says that if Angel wanted to, she would let him move back
in.
One day, Taylor tries to apologize to Estevan for Mrs.
Parson’s rude comments about immigrants. He says that she is like
most Americans, who think that if something bad happens to someone, that
person deserves it. Taylor and Estevan compliment each other’s speech:
Taylor loves Estevan’s impeccable English, and he thinks her Kentucky
accent and expressions are poetic.
Taylor slowly begins to understand what Mattie meant
when she called her shop a sanctuary. People come and go often and
quietly, and Mattie frequently leaves for days at a time, “going
birdwatching”—that is, looking for people who need a safe place
to hide.
Taylor decides to take Turtle to the doctor on account
of her history of abuse. When the nurse assumes Taylor is Turtle’s
foster mother, Taylor does not correct her assumption. Dr. Pelinowsky determines
that Turtle stopped growing as a result of her abuse, a condition
called “failure to thrive.” He shows Taylor x-rays of Turtle’s compound
fractures and says that although he assumed Turtle was two years
old, the x-rays indicate that she is actually three. When Taylor
protests that Turtle has been growing of late, he assures her that
failure to thrive is a reversible condition. While he talks, Taylor
looks out the window into the garden, where a bird has made a nest
in a cactus.
After they go to the doctor, Taylor and Turtle meet Lou
Ann at the zoo. Taylor learns that Angel came back to tell Lou Ann
he is leaving for good to join a rodeo on the Colorado-Montana circuit. Lou
Ann accuses Taylor of taking Angel’s side, but Taylor explains that
if she criticizes Angel now, Lou Ann will resent her if Angel ever returns.
Over the course of their conversation, Taylor refers to the month
of April. Turtle looks up quickly, and the women realize that Turtle’s
real name is April.
Summary—Chapter Nine: Ismene
Esperanza attempts suicide by swallowing a bottle of aspirin,
and Estevan comes to tell Taylor the news. While Mattie takes Esperanza
to a clinic, Taylor keeps Estevan company in her house. Taylor realizes
that in times of crisis, she “fall[s] back on good solid female traditions,”
and she tells Estevan she will either keep feeding him or keep talking.
He tells her to talk. They sit next to each other on the couch and
talk, and Taylor feels terribly attracted to Estevan. She tells
a story about a classmate, Scotty Richey, who electrocuted himself
on his sixteenth birthday. She explains the cliques at her high school.
At the top of the social ladder came the town kids, then the motorcycle
crowd, then the farm kids (her group), who were called Nutters because
they earned money by picking walnuts. Taylor says that even the
Nutters had one another, but Scotty did not fit in anywhere. Suddenly,
she gets angry at Esperanza, who, unlike Scotty, had someone, but
nevertheless tried to kill herself.
