Summary: Chapter 21
“What you do speaks so loudly that I
cannot hear what you say.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Tibby stops eating and watches TV in her room, ignoring
the ringing phone. Mrs. Graffman leaves a message, asking Tibby
to visit Bailey. Tibby can barely handle the pain she feels, and
she wishes she could somehow go to sleep in Mimi’s box.
Carmen calls Albert. She’s tempted to apologize, because
she knows Albert will instantly forgive her and they can close this
episode forever. Instead, she tells him how disappointed she is
in how the summer turned out, and how uncomfortable she feels around
his new family. Sobbing, she asks him why he left her and Christina, and
why he hardly ever visits her. Albert, crying too, apologizes. This
is the first time Carmen has heard him cry.
Carmen visits Tibby, but Tibby doesn’t feel like talking.
The phone rings, and Mrs. Graffman leaves a message saying that
Bailey isn’t well and that they’d like Tibby to visit. Carmen leaves,
but she comes back shortly thereafter. She tells Tibby to visit
Bailey, gives her the Pants, and then leaves. Late that night, Tibby
is suddenly afraid she’s too late. She rides her bike to the hospital,
fast. Tibby finds Bailey’s room, where she sees that Bailey has
a lot of tubes connected to her. Bailey is asleep, but Tibby squeezes
onto the bed with her and holds her hand.
Lena’s family and the rest of the town celebrate an important
holiday, the Assumption of the Virgin. After eating and drinking
with all the revelers, Lena retreats to her room, watching the party
from her window. She sees Effie dance with Andreas. She sees Kostos dance
with her grandmother and the other old women, even though lots of
young girls are watching him eagerly. Lena cries, but she doesn’t
really know why. Later, she looks at the moon from her window, and
she sees her grandfather in his window too. She knows she’s a lot
like her grandfather, but she hopes she can open herself up enough
to find love, like he did.
Summary: Chapter 22
“All Moanday. Tearday. Wailsday. Thumpsday. Frightday.
Shatterday.”
—James Joyce
When Effie comes into Lena’s room to borrow clothes, she
sees the picture that Lena made of Kostos. She claims that now she
knows Lena is in love with Kostos and tells Lena she has to do something
or she’ll always be sorry.
Tibby wakes up in the hospital with Bailey. She tells
Bailey that Mimi died. Bailey tells Tibby to go to work, because
Duncan needs her there, but to come back later. Carmen is waiting
for Tibby in the hallway, and they trade pants before leaving the
hospital.
