I Cheerfully Refuse

Lark reminds Rainy that they have a boarder coming. The couple rents their attic room to travelers. Many pass through quietly on their way to Canada, where they hope to escape abusive working conditions. When Rainy asks why Lark seems so excited, she tells him that the boarder gave her a copy of I Cheerfully Refuse, the unpublished final book by her literary idol, Molly Thorn. The boarder’s name is Kellan, and Lark tells Rainy that he has a burned and twisted hand.

Rainy wonders whether Kellan is a “squelette,” the French word for skeleton, which refers to impoverished workers fleeing the US. The term caught on after a group of Michigan laborers made it across Lake Huron to Canada only to be discovered emaciated and frozen, prompting the Québécois man who found them to yell “squelettes!” Kellan arrives. He’s too shy to accept any food, though he seems starved. Later that night, as Rainy and Lark talk in bed, Rainy asks where Kellan found the book, and she says she doesn’t know. What Lark does know is that Kellan plans to eventually continue on to his uncle’s place in Thunder Bay.

Rainy believes that Lake Superior is more of a sea than a lake and has a mind of its own. He remembers how during his first summer there, a dark storm cloud over the lake sank two big tankers in storms. When Rainy wakes the morning after Kellan’s arrival, Lark has left for the bookshop. At breakfast, Kellan asks if Rainy knows anyone who could help fix his Ford Ranchero. The car needs new parts, so Rainy suggests a trip to nearby Greenstone, where a market will surely have what Kellan needs. On their drive, Kellan tells Rainy that he worked a job in food science, designing dietary supplements for “astronauts,” the country’s remaining wealthy and powerful people. As they near Greenstone, Rainy begins to feel as though Kellan is his kid brother and admires the portraits he draws of others.

In Greenstone, Kellan sifts through crates looking for the parts he needs. While he does, a police officer known as Apeknuckle approaches the woman running the stall, demanding a discount. She refuses and hits his knee with a crankshaft, breaking his leg. Kellan is unsuccessful in his search, and he and Rainy find a stall to eat at. Rainy reads a story in the Mosquito, an anonymous local newspaper, about a group of kids in Green Bay that took Willow, a new drug that people use to peacefully end their lives and transition to a new adventure when they see no future ahead. Riding back to Icebridge, Kellan admits that he broke a six-year labor contract and is on the run. As he walks into the house, Kellan trips, and Rainy hears metallic clinks in his pocket. Kellan promises that he meant to pay, but in the confusion of the fight with Apeknuckle, he just took the pieces.

Rainy met Lark when he was 28 and worked as a painter in Duluth. He went to the library to eat his lunch in warmth and noticed her voice. It was a calm presence, addressing the frustration of patrons struggling to navigate recent cuts to the library system. He visited often, neglecting his job, sneaking glances at her and the birthmark on her face, and reading books she suggested to others. Through Lark, he learned of Molly Thorn, making Kellan’s possession of I Cheerfully Refuse even more exciting.

Rainy helps Kellan work on his car. After leaning on the vehicle and nearly crushing Rainy under it, Kellan runs up to his attic. Rainy finds him using nitrous oxide and speaking gibberish. He mentions spending time on a medicine ship and panics, insisting that he must leave before Werryck arrives. Kellan is terrified of this man and warns that he shows up unexpectedly and that when he does it’s best to run.

Rainy ponders this medicine ship, remembering a bronchial outbreak from his youth that was so bad an astronaut donated tankers as hospitals. These ships didn’t remain hospitals for long, though: The astronaut’s children decided after his death to convert the ships into pharmaceutical research centers. When Lark arrives home, she tells Rainy about a book collection going on sale in Duluth.

On Monday mornings, Rainy teaches music to children. They all score highly on the Feral Comportment Continuum, making some even “impervious to reality” and difficult to control (36). He has a special connection with Tonio, a boy who enjoys music but struggles to connect with other kids. One day, as Rainy leaves, Tonio runs out to him, chased by the children who attack him. Rainy shoos them away and tells Tonio that he’ll protect him.

Rainy goes to the shed, where he’s repairing his boat, Flowers. Flowers was his neighbor’s boat, but he left it to Rainy when he died. In the shed, Rainy recalls the time he and Lark took a sailing trip when they were younger. Lark grew up with boats and took the lead, renting a boat and sailing them to the Slate Islands in Lake Superior. At first, the wind favored them, though the lake became unpredictable and they fought to keep the boat afloat overnight in a storm. When they arrived at the Slate Islands, they met an older woman on another boat, who shared rich stories from her life with them. The woman didn’t share where she came from, and Lark later suggested to Rainy that the woman was the spirit of Molly Thorn, though both thought the author was surely dead.

Kellan stays into spring, wearing an anti-infection mask and hat to hide his appearance. He helps around the house, but Rainy worries about him. Kellan continues having episodes after using nitrous oxide, screaming about Werryck during the night. When the books in Duluth go on sale, Lark asks Rainy to join her, but his band has a gig so he can’t go. Kellan volunteers to go in his place, but Rainy is nervous. The roads to Duluth are dangerous. Lark assures him they’ll be fine, and they leave.

While driving to his gig, Rainy sees Labrino standing at his door. Rainy stops, noticing that, for once, Labrino isn’t lost in despair. Labrino cheerfully invites Rainy in, eager to share the good news about his son, who will soon pay off his debt to his employer. Slowly, Rainy realizes that Labrino is happy because he took Willow, seeing no future ahead. Labrino asks Rainy to stay with him and play him a song, but dies before Rainy can get his guitar. Rainy plays and sings anyway, waiting for the ambulance.

Later that night, Lark is excited after buying the whole collection in Duluth. She asks why Rainy seems upset, and he tells her about Labrino. She cries at the news and asks that Rainy not throw her a birthday party, thinking it inappropriate to celebrate the day after a tragedy.

Lark and Rainy go to the shop to unload the news books onto the shelves. As they work, an old man comes in and looks around before asking if Lark has anything special behind the counter. She shows him I Cheerfully Refuse but refuses to sell it to him. That night, the town comes to Rainy and Lark’s home to celebrate Lark’s 36th birthday. The old man from the shop appears and asks Rainy strange questions, hinting that the “decent” life Rainy enjoys is coming to an end. Rainy ignores the comments and searches for Kellan, who after helping set everything up went missing. Rainy asks a stranger lingering outside if he saw Kellan leave, but the man is no help. After the party, Lark and Rainy review the night. She suggests another trip to the Slate Islands, though she refers to it in the past tense.

The morning after the party, Kellan’s room is empty. Rainy goes to the shop to tell Lark, who understands why Rainy is sad seeing the boy go but reminds him that Kellan always meant to leave. As they talk, a microburst hits the town, and wind sweeps through the streets. Maudie, who owns the bakery the bookshop is in, watches with Lark and Rainy as her dog, Vixen, goes flying by. When the wind dies down, they split up and walk through the town, looking for the dog. After hours of fruitless searching, Rainy returns home to find the house a wreck. He runs up to the attic, calling Lark’s name, but finds her there dead on the floor.