Tell Me Everything

Lucy goes to Olive’s house, and Olive tells her about her husband Henry’s four aunts, three of whom lived in little houses on the same road. The fourth, Pauline, lived in Portland, but when she was around 20 years old, she taught school for a year on an island off the coast. Every day, a local fisherman would take her out to the island and bring her home. Pauline fell in love with the older, married fisherman. Her parents sent her to England for a year, and when she came back, she married a wealthy man and lived a good life.

After Pauline’s husband died, Olive and her husband, Henry, took Pauline out to the island to visit her old schoolhouse. Olive and Henry waited in the boat while Pauline visited the schoolhouse, and when she came back, she was blushing. She had seen the fisherman she fell in love with all those years ago. She didn’t tell Olive and Henry what they’d talked about, and as far as Olive knows, Pauline never saw the fisherman again.

Lucy asks Olive what the point of the story is, and Olive reminds her that her stories often don’t seem to have a point either, except for being about life.

It is early May. When Bob walks with Lucy, he basks in his happiness. He finally tells Lucy about Matt’s case. Lucy agrees with Bob that he should remove the rifle from Matt’s house, but they also reflect that “it’s his life” (226). They decide that Bob should contact Diana one more time. Lucy confesses that her daughter, Chrissy, didn’t invite her to a party, and she thinks it is because she embarrasses her daughters.

Margaret calls Bob, crying. She tells him that Avery Mason is trying to get her fired. He goes directly home. Margaret is crying on the couch, and he is simultaneously touched and repelled by her. Afterward, however, he notices a change in her sermons—she is sincere and truly connecting with her congregants.

On their next walk, Bob tells Lucy about this, and she also finds it interesting that Margaret’s sermons are better. Bob also tells Lucy that the last time he delivered Mrs. Hasselbeck’s groceries, she told him she knew he was watering the gin. Lucy asks what he’s going to do, and he says he will give her the full bottle. Lucy tells Bob that she talked to Chrissy, and her daughter isn’t embarrassed by her. She misses her and is hurt by Lucy’s move to Maine.

Jim returns home to Park Slope. One day, he gets a call that Larry has been hit by a car and is in a coma. Jim stays by Larry’s bedside, crying, talking to him, and telling him he loves him. On the third day, Larry wakes up. Jim’s presence at his bedside puzzles him. Jim calls Bob.

Bob flies to New York again, but this time, Lucy is flying with him; she is going to visit her daughters. They are at the airport waiting for their plane when Bob recognizes Diana Beach getting off a plane. She sees him, her face changes, and she hurries away.

Bob gets a bad feeling and tells Lucy that he can’t go to New York. He gets a cab to Matt’s house. On the way, he calls Matt, who isn’t home. Matt uses his locator app and tells Bob that Diana is en route to his house. Bob tells Matt to wait for his call and then calls the police to Matt’s house.

Bob spends the next five nights at Matt’s house. Matt tells Bob he’s “not doing so well” (240), and Bob says that means he’s normal. The story of Diana’s death by suicide is the leading story in the local newspapers. Just before her death, the police discovered evidence that Diana was Gloria’s killer. They had been on their way to Diana’s house with an arrest warrant while she traveled to Crosby.

The first day Bob spent with Matt, the man talked about Diana, who their father sexually abused, and Gloria, who knew and resented her daughter for it. When Diana was 15, she confronted their father and told him never to touch her again. He left a few months later.

Bob and Matt figure out that Diana must’ve stolen Ashley’s identification when she was modeling for Matt. Matt confesses that as soon as they found Gloria’s body in the quarry, he’d known Diana killed her. Their father’s friend raped Diana at the quarry, and when she’d come home and told her mother, Gloria called her a “whore.” Matt gives Bob Gloria’s journals and Diana’s suicide note, in which she details Gloria’s death.

That night, Bob reads Gloria’s journals and realizes that “[t]he woman hated herself deeply” (244). As he reads, he feels grateful for his life.

Margaret brings food to Matt’s house, and after she leaves, Matt asks what it’s like being married. Bob talks about how “you get to know each other in new ways” (245), and he offers an example of the change in Margaret’s sermons.

One day, Matt acts disgusted by his paintings. Bob asks if he can take the paintings because he is worried about Matt destroying them. Matt admits he was thinking that very thing. Bob takes them home, and later, Margaret calls Matt—she has seen his paintings in their house and wants to buy one. Matt begins to believe that maybe they are good. That night, Bob and Margaret hang Matt’s painting, and Bob texts a photo to Matt.

Bob meets Lucy for a walk. He tells her about Diana Beach’s death. He also tells her that when he called Matt, he said, “Come on home, son” (253). Lucy tells him about a sweet older couple she’d seen in New York. On the way home, Bob feels sad and wishes that his feelings for Lucy would go away.

It is the end of May the next time Lucy goes to Olive’s house. Olive tells Lucy that she knows the point of her story and wonders if Lucy can guess it by the end.

Olive’s story concerns Muddy Wilson, the high school history teacher, while Olive taught math. Muddy loved history and engendered the same love in his students. When he was very young, Muddy’s mother died. He had a wife, Sally, and two daughters. Sally was beautiful. Olive says that she “had a glow” (258). However, when Olive saw her next, Sally didn’t glow anymore, and soon after, she died of cancer.

Muddy completely changed. He let his hair grow and wore sandals even in winter. A girl named Marion Tiltingham graduated high school and moved in with Muddy. Three years later, she ran away with another man. Muddy married another woman, but it only lasted a year. Muddy married again, but when it ended after three years, he went to California. When he returned to Maine, he was married again. Soon after, Muddy got cancer and refused treatment. Before he died, he wrote Olive a letter telling her that he loved her. Olive is still visibly touched by this. Olive and Lucy talk about how Muddy kept trying to find his relationship with Sally again and how it might have gone back to his mother.

Lucy tells Olive Diana Beach’s story. Lucy wonders why Diana, at age 65, suddenly decided to kill Gloria. They theorize that Diana could bear her childhood trauma until she found out that her husband was having an affair with her best friend and was going to leave her. They believe the betrayal must’ve just been “too much.”

Matt calls Bob and asks to paint him. Bob finds sitting for the sketches interesting. When Matt admits he is painting the portrait to thank Margaret, it touches Bob.

After three weeks in the hospital, Larry goes home to recuperate. Jim still cries easily and often—his grief for Helen is somehow connected to what happened to Larry. Jim apologizes to Larry for everything he can think of, and Larry seems to forgive him and is even nice to him. Jim feels like he is somehow transcending Helen’s death.

One day, Jim tells Larry how he’d let Bob take the blame for their father’s death. Larry’s manner calls Jim “evil” and asks him to leave. Jim calls Bob.

Bob visits Katherine Caskey at her office. He tells her about how both he and Jim think they were responsible for their father’s death. Katherine asks Bob what Jim remembers the weather being like that day. Bob calls Jim, who says it was raining and the wind was whipping the leaves on the trees. Bob points out that it was February, and there would have been no leaves on the trees. Bob calls Susan, who agrees with Bob that on the day their father died, it was overwhelmingly sunny. Bob realizes that they will never know the truth.

When Bob gets home, Margaret tells him that Avery Mason is dead, and her job is safe.

The next day, Bob flies to New York and goes to Larry’s house. Bob tells Larry that Jim is not evil and asks him to listen. He tells Larry about Matt’s case, Diana’s history, and Gloria’s history before that—his point is everyone is “broken,” but Larry’s life has been so fortunate that he might not have realized this.

Larry stands firm in thinking Jim is evil, and Bob gets angry. He points out that Jim is “fucked up” because he thinks he killed his father when, in fact, no one knows what happened. He also reminds Larry that Jim will die one day, and he might wish he’d had some sympathy for his father. He then realizes Larry is “pouting” and leaves.

Later, Jim thanks Bob but isn’t surprised that nothing has changed. Bob feels like he let Helen down, as she asked Bob to help Jim and Larry.

Bob admits that he is in love with Lucy. Jim cautions Bob not to tell Lucy he’s in love with her because then something will happen, and Bob’s life will “fall apart.” He tells Bob to “get over” it.

It is June, and life in Crosby goes on. Margaret’s sermons remain sincere, and the tourists return for the summer. Matt has gotten letters from two women because of his case and wants to know what to do. Bob tells him that if they seem nice, he should answer.

Charlene Bibber has found a new boyfriend from a few towns over. She is in love and tells Carl about her friendship with Lucy and meeting her at the food pantry. Carl tells her that some people who take food from the pantry don’t even need it, but she can continue to work there if she wants. Charlene slowly stops volunteering at the food pantry and stops answering Lucy’s calls.

Bob craves his walks with Lucy to the point where it makes him sick, and he resents it. She tells him the story of a college friend, Addie Beal, that she’s thinking about telling Olive. They talk about her daughters and Jim and Larry. At the end of their walk, Bob realizes that he isn’t seeing her as clearly anymore. He isn’t sleeping well and starts losing weight.

In New York, the Canadian wildfire smoke traps Pam inside. On the second day, she hears a key in the lock, and her husband, Ted, comes in. He looks terrible and admits that he misses her. Then he asks if she is having an affair, and she explodes in anger. She tells him she knows about his affair with Lydia and is ready to fight, but Ted just begins to cry.

Olive talks to her son, Christopher, on the phone while she waits for Lucy to come. This time, Lucy says that she doesn’t know what to think about the story she’s about to tell.

Addie Beal, a girl she knew in college, was an only child of a single mother, Lindsay. Lindsay was 16 when she had Addie, and they had very little money—Addie was at college on a full scholarship like Lucy. Addie was from Maine, but when she got into college in Illinois, Lindsay got an apartment in a nearby town. Addie visited Lindsay on the weekends, and sometimes Lucy went with her.

The first time she went, Addie and Lindsay showed Lucy scrapbooks filled with clippings about Addie. Another time, Addie gave Lucy a knitted scarf. Lucy gushed over it because it made Addie happy. Soon after that, Addie had Lucy take a magazine quiz, and one of the questions was about what you do when you receive a gift you don’t like. Lucy chose the answer about gushing if you don’t like it, but Addie doesn’t notice the connection.

Addie’s parents were divorced, and she would visit her father occasionally. He had an alcohol use disorder and wrote Addie letters in which he said he would die by suicide. Lucy realized much later that from some things Addie said that her father may have sexually abused Addie. By the time they graduated college, Lucy realized that Addie had an alcohol use disorder. One time, Addie visited a psychic who had told her she was going to “die young,” which Addie found romantic and exciting. At school, she was the lead in drama productions and always got a lot of attention. After college, she married and got a job at the mall. When she divorced, she moved in with her mother and then died of cancer when she was 30.

Lucy’s question for Olive is, “What was the point of her life?” (292). Olive asks Lucy if she is depressed, and Lucy admits that she is. Olive asks about Bob, and Lucy tells her that she hasn’t seen him much lately.

Ten days earlier, Bob got a bad haircut. He has been hiding in general and from Lucy in particular. Even Matt thinks it looks terrible but says that it doesn’t change the fact that he is Bob Burgess. Matt wants to ask a woman on a date but doesn’t feel ready. Bob suggests that he visit Katherine Caskey, who is a social worker. He tells Matt the story of his first encounter with Katherine. When Matt learns about Bob’s father’s death, he realizes it is the reason Bob took his case. Matt goes to Katherine’s office and, afterward, immediately signs up for two more sessions.

One day, Bob texts Lucy. She calls immediately and asks if he is mad at her. He tells her about his haircut, and she says she doesn’t care what he looks like. Bob is surprised because it is the same thing Matt said.

Bob meets Lucy for a walk. When she first sees his haircut, she laughs, and although she is kind and normal, he senses something different in her. He tells her about Matt going to Katherine Caskey and the portrait Matt is painting of him. Lucy tells him about Addie Beal’s story and again asks what life means.

The question startles Bob, and he replies, “Are you ten years old?” (301). She is hurt and says something snarky about his hair. He says that maybe life is about love. She cuts their conversation short, and he puts out his cigarette. On the way back, their conversation is stilted and tense. After they say goodbye, he wonders what happened and feels a new strain on their relationship.

That night, Bob tells Margaret about Lucy’s question about what life means. Bob thinks it is stupid, but Margaret says it is an important question. However, she does say that instead of having William and Lucy over for his birthday, they should just have a quiet dinner alone. Bob kisses Margaret.

Bob doesn’t see or speak to Lucy for three weeks. It is painful, but he also feels relieved. He has been enjoying spending more time with Margaret.

One night, Bob and Margaret go to get ice cream. He tells her he doesn’t have his wallet, but she says she has money. The drive is beautiful, and Bob is happy, but when they get to the ice cream stand, Margaret doesn’t have cash. At the ATM, she can’t remember her PIN. On the way home, Bob is sad again.

William calls Bob the day before his birthday and asks him to shop for electric cars the next day. Margaret says it’s fine and to be home by dinner. On the way to the dealership, William tells Bob that he asked Lucy to marry him again, and she said yes. Bob congratulates William, but all day, it is all he can think about.

When William takes Bob home, he realizes that there is a surprise party for him. Everyone is there, even Jim, Susie, and Pam. Pam tells Bob that she and Ted started couples therapy. Matt calls to tell Bob that he was invited to the party but was uncomfortable attending. Matt tells him he has a date.

Later, Margaret toasts Bob, and everyone cheers. A half-hour later, William announces that he and Lucy are getting married again. After an awkward silence, people clap. Jim pulls Bob aside and asks what is happening with Lucy. Bob says nothing, and he is sad but relieved. Jim says he understands now why Bob likes her but is glad they never had an affair. Jim shows Bob a letter he got from Larry. It is blank except for “Love, Larry,” which they both decide is progress.

Olive sits in the corner and watches everyone. Some people stop to talk briefly, and Margaret brings her a piece of cake. Then Jim introduces himself. When she asks how he is, he says he is “miserable,” and Olive likes him. After he leaves, Olive asks Bob to drive her home.

In the car, Olive admits that she’d thought Bob and Lucy were in love, but she now realizes it was just a crush—Margaret is his “linchpin.” Bob asks Olive the meaning of Addie’s story, and she tells him that it means that “[p]eople suffer.” Olive admits that although the world today overwhelms her sometimes, she’ll still miss it when she’s dead. Bob tells Olive that he likes her.

Bob’s feelings for Lucy don’t shrink, but he enjoys this new phase of his relationship with Margaret.

In July, Bob and Margaret go to William and Lucy’s house, where Margaret is due to perform their wedding. Although their daughters couldn’t come with their families, William and Lucy are both dressed up, which Bob finds tender. Bob feels like he is watching the ceremony through glass as they take their vows. Afterward, he congratulates Lucy, and she quietly thanks him. William and Lucy go to Italy for two weeks for their honeymoon.

Life goes on in Crosby. Bob delivers Mrs. Hasselbeck’s groceries. She gossips about her son’s marriage and talks about how she once had an affair. Bob tells her that all that is “just life.” Matt finishes Bob’s portrait, and Margaret hangs it in the living room. She continues with her more sincere sermons. When Lucy comes home, she and Bob begin walking together again. It is still hard for Bob, but it is getting easier. One day, out for a walk alone, he feels something “wonderful” surround him. Although he doesn’t tell anyone about it, he remembers it clearly.

In the late summer, Bob cleans out his law office downtown. He looks out the window and sees a happy couple, then realizes that the man is Matt. He calls Margaret to tell her about it and how “glad” it made him. She tells him that he is responsible. Although he demurs, she insists that he did it because he is “Bob Burgess.” As he is loading his car, he catches his reflection in a shop window and doesn’t recognize that “tall older man” (322). When he realizes that it is him, he gives a small nod of acceptance.

Lucy goes to Olive’s house to tell her a story, one that she says has “real beauty.” As Lucy tells the story, they both cry, and afterward, Olive says she should write it down. Lucy replies that she isn’t going to because she is giving it to Olive.

After Lucy leaves, Olive thinks about her story. Lucy had told the story of her nonexistent love affair with Bob. She loved Bob even more when she saw his terrible haircut, but it was also the moment she knew that the affair would never happen. That day was the beginning of the end of their relationship, which Bob had somehow engineered to save them both. She and William belong together, as do Bob and Margaret. She tells Olive that “love is love” (324). When Olive asks what she means, Lucy tells her, “Love comes in so many different forms, but it is always love” (325).

Later, as Olive watches Isabelle sleep, she thinks about what Lucy said.