Boy, Snow, Bird

Charlie, having just found out about Boy’s engagement, shows up in Flax Hill. After he asks if she’s really getting married, Boy notes that his gaze keeps shifting between her eyes; she believes he’s thinking that there are two of her, a rationale she had also applied to her father, the first time he hit her. Charlie is flabbergasted and insists he’ll do anything for her. Boy replies that she loves him, and Charlie asks her not to marry Arturo. They kiss; Mia interrupts, Charlie departs, and Mia and Boy go to lunch.

Webster and Ted get married; their ceremony is elaborate and romantic. While they’re away on honeymoon, Boy and Arturo marry at the Worcester City Hall with only five guests in attendance: “Becoming Mrs. Whitman was a quiet affair that I didn’t have to diet for” (117).

Boy receives congratulatory flowers from her sister-in-law Clara, heretofore unmentioned. She recalls an odd comment of Vivian’s: that Boy marrying Arturo gives Olivia the daughter she’d always actually wanted. Boy mentions to Snow that it’s from her aunt Clara, but Snow doesn’t recognize the name; Arturo explains that Clara is estranged from their parents and is vague on the details.

Neither Mia nor Webster has heard of Clara.