Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

Margaret and her parents prepare for the arrival of Mary and Paul Hutchins, and when Margaret asks why her mother is willing to host people who were so terrible to her all those years ago, her mother explains that she “want[s] to show them how well [she’s] managed for fourteen years without their help” (146). She begs Margaret and Mr. Simon to understand where she is coming from, and they realize that she desperately wants this to go well. At the airport, Margaret feels awkward and distant when her grandmother tries to kiss her. She notices that her grandmother wears a cross around her neck, “the biggest one [Margaret] ever saw” (148), and when they all arrive back home, Margaret’s father exchanges uncomfortable greetings with his in-laws. Margaret’s mother prepares an extravagant dinner, but the conversation is mostly stilted and shallow. After dinner, Margaret’s grandmother wastes no time asking Margaret about her church habits, and when she learns that Margaret doesn’t go to Sunday school, she begins to fret and says that “a person’s got to have religion” (152). A huge fight erupts among the adults as Margaret’s parents insist she has no religion, and her grandparents say that Margaret is undoubtedly Christian.