Family Family

India is happy that Lewis’s dads aren’t angry over the debacle, but she grounds Fig for lying, which makes her sad. While Lewis swims in the pool wearing his cape, he and Davis talk alone. Lewis says he’s always struggled with his identity, and when he told people that Val Halla was his mother, they didn’t believe him because of the difference in their skin color. Davis empathizes since his mother was a white Norwegian and his dad was Black. They both bond over being asked by others, “What are you?” (297). Davis contends that he is unique for being Black and having a Norwegian relative and that Lewis is unique for having a movie star mother. Davis suggests they stay in touch since they both share this uniqueness.

Davis has trouble letting go of what happened between him and India despite moving on with his life. When she becomes famous, and her face is suddenly everywhere, he finds it impossible not to think about her. Davis remembers India saying that Robbie’s dad was a musicology teacher and searches for him using that info. When he finds Robbie, Davis sends an email introducing himself, explaining how he knows India, and asking if they can talk.

Bex considers all the ways that meeting India has surprised her. Mainly, she realizes that there’s nothing glamorous about being a movie star’s kid. She finds Lewis quite strange and doesn’t recognize much they have in common. Fig likes having all the extra family members and says, “Sometimes less is more, but not with family. With family, more is more” (304). Bex is jealous that Lewis got to meet Davis, and she resolves to find Robbie Brighton. She tells the other kids, and Lewis says he knows where to find him because Davis told him where Robbie lives in Oregon.

Davis drives 12 hours to meet Robbie, who lives in a cottage behind a bookstore and runs a community center. After breaking up with India, Robbie backpacked across the world. He eventually met someone, married, started a family, and divorced.

Over tea, the two men discuss the marked differences between their situations. Robbie concedes they were very young and stupid, and Davis agrees he and India were too. However, he’d never been able to get over the birth control mishap fully. They both agree it was hard to get over India. Robbie never tried to contact Rebecca, though he often thinks of her with love. They both watch Val Halla, and Robbie is proud of India’s accomplishments. Davis explains what it was like to act on stage with her, “She’s just totally replaced by the character she’s playing” (309). When Davis says his goodbyes, he figures he’ll never see Robbie again, but they stay in touch.

Bex convinces Fig, Jack, and Davis to come with her to find Robbie. Leaving their cell phones behind so their parents can’t track them, they pack food and clothes and walk to the bus station.

Meanwhile, India, Davis, Camille, and the Andrews have drinks downstairs and discuss the ultimatum the execs gave India. India and Davis go into the kitchen to search for snacks, and Davis tells her, “[Y]ou were as close to miraculous as I ever had in my life” (321). They share a passionate kiss. India goes to check on the children and finds them missing.

She goes into a panic, looking everywhere on the property. They see their cell phones, and Camille realizes that Bex had withdrawn money from her account that morning. India thinks they may have gone to the Hollywood sign, so she and Davis drive there while Camille and the Andrews stay at the house in case the children return. The children aren’t at the sign, and suddenly, Davis realizes they are on their way to Oregon.

The bus ride is long and boring, and Fig is frightened by all the mirrors in the rest stop bathrooms. They begin to run low on food and struggle to say no when a strange man offers to buy them breakfast.

On the last leg of the trip, Bex and Fig talk about Fig’s parents. She tells Bex that her father loved fruit, which inspired her and Jack’s names. Bex says Fig should try to find her birth father. She thanks Fig for taking the risk to come with her to see Robbie and declares her loyalty, showing that she’s a “Family family” (336).

Ajax offers India and Henri the chance to perform Much Ado About Nothing for Central Park’s Shakespeare in the Park. India is overjoyed at the opportunity to perform live on stage again. She plans to stay with Dakota and take the twins to all her favorite spots in the city. She declares it will be “the best summer of her life” (338).

The children walk from the bus station to Robbie’s house. Tired, hungry, and needing a restroom, they are hopeful Robbie will welcome them with open arms. Bex begins planning what she will say to him. India is already there when they arrive at the cottage and knock on the door.

At first, the pandemic lockdown doesn’t affect India much. The children prefer staying home, and she doesn’t have to worry about missing work or needing money. However, she is devastated when Ajax tells her they have canceled Shakespeare in the Park. Watching everything in New York shut down crushes India, and she begins to feel the isolation herself. She and Dakota have weekly and sometimes daily Zoom calls, which drives home how difficult life has become for actors during the pandemic. India continues to rehearse her lines for the play to keep hope alive and give her something to do.

Ajax presents her with the script for the adoption movie, which will be filmed while maintaining social distancing. After her first read of the script, India tells Ajax she is interested but wants to make some suggestions for edits to the story, which she finds too traumatic and predictable. Ajax explains this is a bad idea because she has no writing experience. He encourages her to take the role to bring more awareness to the adoption conversation.

After the children use the bathroom, shower, and have pizza, India questions them about how they got to Oregon. Bex sees photos of Robbie’s five children on the wall and is suddenly overwhelmed with the notion that a few days ago, she had no siblings, and now she has potentially eight. She meets Robbie for the first time, and India joins them in answering Bex’s questions. For her entire life, Bex believed that India was certain in her decision to place her for adoption, but Robbie wasn’t sure. Robbie explained that what he wanted at the time was impossible, and when faced with a decision, he went with what India wanted because he loved her.

Bex realizes she has lived thinking she was missing out on being Val Halla’s daughter. However, if India had kept and raised her with Robbie, she would have never become a famous actress. India explains how she believed Robbie and Rebecca brought her good luck in her acting career. Bex thinks, “They had given her life, but she had given them lives, these lives, and not only them but a lot of other people too” (356).

After India puts the children to bed, she sits on the floor and cries. Robbie reminds her about the first time they met when she was crying on the floor outside the theater. Robbie has a big family, but he explains his guilt about the divorce. India reminds him about children’s capacity for resilience. Robbie has learned from parenting that giving children love isn’t enough, especially when families go through hard times. He explains his philosophy is to always start with love but to understand it’s not the only way to make a family work.

Fig says she can’t sleep, and India asks Robbie to sing her a lullaby. He sings her the tune from Guys and Dolls, and India is reminded of why she fell in love with him. Alone with her mom, Fig apologizes for following Bex and explains all her fears and anxieties, which led to her planning to save India’s career. After explaining to Fig that it’s not her responsibility to protect them, India knows what she must do.

India agrees to film the interview with Evelyn Esponson from Robbie’s house in Oregon. When India calls Ajax to tell him about the interview, she says she has something to tell him. He says he already knows that she is pregnant. India is happy Ajax knows her so well that he already guessed about the pregnancy, but that’s not the news she has for him.

During her interview with Evelyn, India explains that the public thinks they know her from her role as Val Halla but that she is just a character, and they don’t know the real her. India explains that she kept her adoptions a secret and that it wasn’t out of shame but from a genuine desire to protect them and their families’ privacy. India continues by espousing her belief that family is complicated—no matter if it comes through biology or adoption—and she desires that they both be treated equally. People should have the right to choose abortion, adoption, or raising their children and not be judged for their decisions. She understands that her response might not make everyone happy, but her goal isn't to appease critics. India ends the interview by announcing her retirement from television acting.

Everyone speculates what India’s next move will be, and she claims she’s returning to her “first love,” which makes Bex think she and Robbie are getting back together. Over dinner with her entire family present, India apologizes to Bex and Lewis for keeping their existence a secret. She only wanted to protect their families’ privacy but now recognizes their desire to understand their origins. Robbie lights candles on the table, and Fig panics, but Bex holds her and says, “I got you, girl” (376) while India extinguishes the flames.

The novel ends with a media release announcing India and Dakota’s new Broadway production, Family Family, based on India’s experiences. The press release features a quote from India: “There is something about your first love you never forget or let go of. I am lucky to have found my way home” (380). India and Dakota are co-producers, and they named their production company “Two Sarahs Production.”