Summary: Chapter 13: Opa!

Cal invites Julie to spend the weekend in Pomerania with him in separate hotel rooms. He relies on seeming old-fashioned to excuse his slow courtship. As they pass a nudist beach, Cal is jealous that he can never feel so free in his body.

Milton tries to salvage his failing restaurant. By now, he can only sell it for a fraction of its worth. Chapter Eleven and Callie know something is wrong by the tone of the adult conversations happening in Greek and because Milton is home during the day. The family begins to ration electricity.

In July of 1967, the impoverished Black citizens of Detroit fight back against the police after they raid a bar, which turns into multiple days of rioting. A friend calls at night to warn Milton of the riots. He grabs his gun from under his pillow and runs to the diner. Terrified, the rest of the family camp in the attic for the next three days, watching events on TV. Desdemona compares the burning to Smyrna, but the rioters on TV look happy. Eventually, the government sends in the National Guard, and Callie sees a tank drive down her street. Determined to protect Milton, she sneaks out of the house and heads downtown.

At the diner, Milton is surprised when one of his regular Black customers, Morrison, approaches and asks for a cigarette. Milton asks why the riots are happening. Morrison says, “The thing wrong with us is you,” a phrase Milton never understands and uses mockingly in the future. Morrison goes home to light his cigarette, and the National Guardsmen shoot him.

Callie approaches the diner, pleased to see it still intact. Just then, Marius throws a Molotov cocktail at the diner while shouting, “Opa!” Milton sees his diner catch fire but remembers the insurance policies. He flees and is surprised to find Callie outside. She cries when she sees the restaurant burn, but Milton tells her it’ll be okay.

Summary: Chapter 14: Middlesex

The insurance payout reverses the Stephanides’ fortunes, and they become wealthy.Milton attempts to find a house in affluent Grosse Pointe but struggles because Grosse Pointe has instituted the Point System. This system keeps the “wrong” kind of people, anyone not white and Protestant, out of the neighborhood. However, when the realtor shows Milton an unusual house that she knows will be a difficult sale, she realizes that she might have to make an exception. Milton pays cash up front, further circumventing the Point System. Tessie is dismayed, but the family moves into the house on Middlesex Boulevard.

Previous section Chapters 11 & 12 Next page Chapters 13 & 14 page 2

Popular pages: Middlesex

Take a Study Break