Shouting at the Rain

Delsie sits outside watching through the windows of Henry and Esme’s house. Olive approaches and tells her the history of Olive’s father growing one of the neighborhood trees and hanging Christmas lights on it. She reminisces about her parents and says that they were not demonstrative in their affection but were good people. She then says that some people “love plenty” but struggle to show their love, unlike Henry and Esme. She tells Delsie that she would “have to count all the waves in the ocean to know how much [Grammy] loves [her]” (178). Looking at the Laskos, Olive wishes she had learned to show affection freely like Esme.

Delsie realizes that both she and Olive are orphans. Delsie asks Olive about her mother, and Olive claims that Mellie was “careless.” However, Olive also tells Delsie that she has “faith” in Delsie and that she thinks one day Delsie will win the Boston Marathon. Delsie sympathizes with Olive as Olive looks up at her tree and reminisces about her deceased parents. She realizes that from now on, she will see Olive as a more complex person.

Ronan asks Delsie if she wants to go clamming, as his father got him a clamming permit. Delsie shows him how to clam. He reacts strangely when they catch some small clams and Delsie throws them back on the grounds that they aren’t worth keeping. Ronan grows impatient and uses a quicker method to collect clams. He argues with Delsie when she tells him not to store the clams in his pockets, telling her to leave him alone. He quickly apologizes and tells Delsie that he just received a letter from his mother: She is alive, but telling people she died is easier than explaining his actual situation. The family previously lived in Worcester together, until she suddenly sent Ronan to the cape to live with his father. She told him that she didn’t want him living with her anymore, calling him “trouble.” Ronan reveals that he was excited to receive her letter, hoping that she would invite him back home. Instead, she said she hoped Ronan was doing fine but that it was “for the best” that she sent him away (187). Ronan demands to know what this means.

Ronan is suddenly distracted by a horseshoe crab. Delsie explains that they shed their shells, and Ronan enthusiastically remarks that “it would be cool to just shed something and swim away” (187). As the crab begins to scurry away, two boys come up and grab it. The boys decide to pull off one of the crab’s legs, but before they can, Ronan hits the boy about to harm the crab and shoves the other. A fight starts between the three boys, and a conservation officer approaches them. The boy whom Ronan struck blames Ronan. The officer tells the boys that it is against the law to harvest horseshoe crabs. The officer calls the police, who take Ronan away. Delsie reflects that Ronan should not have started a fight but that she understands his actions; seeing the boys abuse an animal he loved right after receiving the devastating letter from his mother was the last straw.

The next morning, Delsie wakes up and immediately begins worrying about Ronan. It is “Lobster Roll Sunday,” a made-up holiday that Delsie and Grammy celebrate with the Laskos and Olive that involves going to Chatham Pier for lobster rolls. In the car, Ruby remarks that Delsie seems sad. Henry asks her what is wrong, but Delsie worries that Ronan would be upset if she told anybody what happened. She tells Henry anyway, and he reveals that he knew Ronan’s father a long time ago; when Ronan’s father was young, he had some trouble with fighting. Henry says that they need to support both Ronan and Gusty, worrying Delsie more.

Delsie and Henry go to Ronan’s house to check on him. Delsie is frightened of Gusty.

Gusty reveals that their current house is temporary lodging; he’ll find a permanent place when summer is over. When Henry reaches his hand out to shake Gusty’s hand, Gusty does not shake it until after Henry compliments Ronan on having a “good heart.” Henry reveals that he knows about Ronan’s fight, and Gusty invites them to stay. Delsie realizes that there is only one bedroom in the house. Gusty thanks Delsie for her and her grandmother’s attention to Ronan, explaining that he has struggled to get used to being a father but that he and Ronan are “doing all right now” (196). This surprises Ronan.

Henry asks for some time alone with Gusty, and Ronan and Delsie go into Ronan’s bedroom. Delsie is surprised, having thought that Ronan was the one sleeping on the couch, but Ronan explains that his father had his bedroom done for him. Delsie asks about what happened after the police took him. Ronan explains that Brandy and Tressa witnessed it. He also says that his father was not pleased, but not as angry as Ronan would have guessed; he even made him seafood stew.

Henry calls Delsie and Ronan back into the living room. Henry says that he is happy that Ronan came to the cape and tells a story from when he was 18. Henry was struggling emotionally, and he and his friends robbed some houses. He fled the scene but was sent to prison for two years. He explains that he heard a “little voice” warning him not to act that night but that he ignored it. Gusty was there too, but he was the only one of their friends who refused to join in the robbery. Henry explains that it was difficult to get a job after leaving prison; Papa Joseph was the only one who gave him a chance. Henry tells Ronan that his mistake does not define him: What matters is how he chooses to behave over time. Gusty tells Ronan that he once had a temper but that he has learned that it takes more strength to exercise self-control than to fight.

Henry comforts Ronan, sympathizing with him for feeling lost and for not always having a fair life, but tells him that he has to have courage and compassion and act like a survivor instead of a victim.

Grammy has a surprise for Delsie: She has found a woman giving away free kittens. Delsie is delighted, as she has been begging for a kitten for years. They go to the woman’s house, and Delsie picks a kitten. As Grammy and Delsie are about to leave, however, the woman says that she can’t let them take the cat because it’s not a “good match.” She takes the kitten from Delsie over Delsie’s pleas, closing the door in their faces. As Delsie and Grammy drive away, Delsie looks back and sees Tressa standing on the porch.

Ronan and Delsie are about to split some lemonade when Delsie drops the jar and breaks it. Ronan picks up the pieces. Delsie asks Ronan if he thinks a person can break like a jar and if he thinks that they are broken. She explains that for their mothers to leave them, there must be something wrong with them. Ronan replies that whatever is broken can be fixed. When Delsie replies that the glass jar cannot be fixed, Ronan points out that they can avoid stepping on the glass. He then tells Delsie to “be the egg. Not the potato” (209), saying that it is not their fault that their mothers left. When Delsie asks what he means by saying they are eggs, Ronan tells her to think of what eggs and potatoes do when placed in boiling water. Delsie replies that she thinks they are like tea bags, becoming stronger in hot water. Delsie and Ronan laugh.

Delsie is attending another neighborhood cookout. Ronan comes along. Olive approaches Ruby and gives her a battered box. Inside are two beautiful matching dresses, one for Ruby and one for a doll. Olive explains that she made them herself by hand, as Ruby had been wanting the matching dress set for months. Esme and the others are shocked by Olive’s gift.

Delsie is waiting in the parking lot for Grammy to finish cleaning the guesthouses when she runs into Brandy and Tressa. Tressa is walking a neighbor’s dog. She slips the leash of the dog under a rock, but the dog gets free and starts running after a car. The girls run after her, and Delsie manages to catch her. However, she falls on the road as she does, badly scraping her knees and elbows. A woman driving by stops and offers Delsie bandages, but Delsie lies and says she must return to her parents. She wonders why she lied about having parents when she has Grammy at home and wishes she hadn’t.

Delsie returns to Tressa and Brandy. Tressa thanks Delsie and offers her the $10 that she received for walking the dog. Delsie is shocked by Tressa’s sudden kindness and refuses it. Suddenly, Tressa returns to cruelty, telling her that she only offered the money because she does not want to owe Delsie anything. Delsie says that Tressa does not owe her and walks away.

Delsie and Ronan go running in Delsie’s neighborhood and see a police car in front of Delsie’s house. Grammy tells Delsie that they have been robbed, describing the disappearance of the jewelry and Papa’s treasures. Delsie explains that she buried the items in the backyard to keep Grammy from selling them. Delsie apologizes and acknowledges that although these possessions make Grammy sad, she held onto them because they are some of the last things she has from her mother and Papa Joseph. Grammy forgives her and says that it takes courage to feel the sadness and the joy of those possessions all at once. Delsie is content that she can share these complicated feelings with Grammy.