Virgil Wander

At Shad’s funeral, Virgil learns that Shad is a military veteran when several of his veteran friends arrive to help conduct the service. Nadine arrives and tells Virgil she came to visit him in the hospital, although he doesn’t remember. Seeing Nadine reminds Virgil of a mistake he made not long after Alec went missing. He and Nadine were in the post office together, holding her hand without thinking about an act he felt was “disloyal” to his friend. After the funeral, Virgil turns down offers for a ride from Rune and Nadine, preferring to walk near the water. Virgil again sees the man in the dark suit standing in the water. He knows what he’s seeing isn’t real, but it still frightens him.

Lydia is a lifelong Bob Dylan fan and asks Virgil to help her get him to perform at the Empress for the festival. When Virgil returns home, Bjorn waits for him with a cane he fashioned from a piece of driftwood. Virgil calls it a “stout quarterstaff” and treasures Bjorn’s gift. Bjorn has recently taken up surfing and has a scrape on his forehead from falling. He admires Rune’s latest kite creation, a bicycle, but Rune’s presence makes him uncomfortable, stirring up old wounds regarding his father’s disappearance. Nadine wants Bjorn to fly kites with Rune, and Bjorn wonders if Rune will then be satisfied and leave.

At Virgil’s follow-up appointment with Dr. Koskinen, the doctor notices that Virgil is losing weight. The doctor is happy to learn that he is getting back some of his memories, though his speech is slower to return. Virgil confesses to seeing the man on the water, and Dr. Koskinen says it’s normal to hallucinate and says to let him know if “he gets close” (141). While waiting for Rune to pick him up, Virgil waits at a coffee shop where he sees Adam Leer. Though Virgil hasn’t told everyone, he is selling the Empress, and Adam offers to buy it. Something about Adam’s voice makes Virgil anxious, and he suddenly flashes back to the crash. Virgil sees himself stuck inside his car at the bottom of the lake. For a moment, he believes he is dead and hallucinating that he’s in a coffee shop. Virgil overhears Adam laughing with the barista and returns to his senses. Adam asks him to consider the offer.

Virgil prepares to reopen the Empress for the first time since his accident while Rune finishes the new bicycle kite. Rune invites Virgil for a test flight, but the kite performs poorly. Rune confesses that he feels frustrated with his inability to connect with Bjorn. He worries Bjorn is disappointed that Rune isn’t more like his father. At a loss for words again, Virgil encourages Rune to take it easy on the teen, but secretly, he wonders if it would be best for Rune to abandon his quest and return to Norway.

Virgil can’t run the projector at the Empress because the volume aggravates his concussion symptoms. Rune finishes the kite’s adjustments, and they take it out to fly again. This time, the kite soars, and Virgil is swept away, feeling like he is flying above the town. Virgil never tells Rune how much he enjoys flying the kites, but it’s evident in his joyful laughter.

Virgil hires Bjorn to run the theater, and the young boy quickly learns how to maneuver the ancient equipment. Surprised by Bjorn’s enthusiasm, Virgil shows him an outtake clip from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid—one of the stolen reels in the secret closet. Virgil considers the clip his “rarest pearl” (153), and Bjorn loves it. Bjorn asks if the clip is stolen, and Virgil admits the entire cache likely is. The idea thrills Bjorn, and he calls them both “outlaws” and the clip a “holy relic” that Virgil must protect. Jerry Fandeen calls from Adam Leer’s place twice, needing help with a plumbing problem. Jerry can’t reach the plumber and asks Virgil to come, so he sends Bjorn, who enjoys helping Jerry clear the clog with blasting caps.

A record crowd of 90 people attends the Empress’s reopening. After making his traditional speech for the crowd, Virgil checks on Bjorn and finds him confidently running the film. Virgil leaves the theater just as the movie begins and walks along the lake.

Virgil lights his candle and thinks about living with Orry the year after their parents died. He attended theology school partly to make sense of the tragedy but found that most religious answers about suffering didn’t make sense or offer any true comfort. The one exception was a former Bible-professor-turned-English-literature-teacher who listened to Virgil’s questions and didn’t judge him like the others. Rufus was a huge movie buff because “the questions posed were smaller and could actually be answered” (160). The pair spent most of their time in taverns, laughing about their favorite movie lines.

Orry has been away with her husband, Dinesh, and she and Virgil reconnect via phone. He tells her about his plan to sell the theater and wants her help finding a lawyer to deal with the stolen reels. Orry worries that Virgil is overreacting to his brush with death. When he tells her about Rune, Orry remembers Nadine and asks Virgil if he still has a crush on her. Virgil evades the question, but he no longer thinks about Nadine romantically, as she still believes Alec is alive and desires to remain single.

Beeman wants to interview Rune for the newspaper, and despite Virgil worrying it’s a bad idea, he looks out the window and sees two kites flying. Virgil steals a bicycle and rides to meet Beeman and Rune, not realizing he’s still in his bathrobe and boxers. He finds Rune interviewing Beeman, sharing his favorite Alec stories, and gleefully flying a kite. Rune asks Beeman if he believes the rumors about Alec still being alive. Beeman says no but offers to show him all the articles he’s collected about Alec’s story.

The sheriff, Don Lean, comes to see Virgil about the stolen bicycle, which Virgil returns with a $20 bill taped to the seat. Don is unconcerned about the bike theft and wants to talk about Galen Pea. Virgil secretly wonders if Don had been harder on Shad about his drinking and if he’d still be around for Galen. Don offers Virgil one of his extra bikes until he can drive again.

Rune and Virgil visit Galen. Lily is exhausted from being her brother’s primary caregiver. All Galen wants to do is hunt the sturgeon. Galen regales Rune with all his knowledge of sturgeons from Norwegian myths and legends. Later, Rune helps Galen clean the theater after the nightly movie. Rune asserts the importance of Galen’s catching the sturgeon, but Virgil is certain it’s impossible since the fish is so large. Enchanted by Galen’s stories, Rune calls Virgil a “pessimist” and declares that anything is possible.

Ann Fandeen visits Virgil at his office, driving a brand-new Buick. She thanks Virgil for helping Jerry get the job at the Leer place, as Adam has become Jerry’s mentor. Ann goes on and on about how Adam has changed his ways and plans to stay in Greenstone. Reportedly, one of his famous friends is coming to Greenstone. Virgil notices that Ann is chatty and beaming, a contrast from the ordinary, and she is wearing new earrings.

Adam’s famous friend is his cousin Lucy DuFrayne, a mildly famous recording artist who used to vacation in Greenstone as a child. Rune and Virgil are on the lookout, flying Rune’s new car-shaped kite. Rune now has a pet raven. Virgil is going through his mail, which contains a letter from someone in Des Moines interested in buying the Empress. Don Lean arrives with the bicycle he promised Virgil. Don is investigating a string of robberies, including wind chimes. Don’s worried about Bjorn’s surfing and asks Virgil to encourage him to stop until spring.

Lucy drives up at the lookout and remarks on the beauty of Rune’s kite. He introduces himself and Virgil, and upon hearing his name, she says, “Wander- what a name. It’s almost a calling. You’ve had some adventures, with a name like that” (182). Lucy and Rune hit it off when she correctly identifies the kite as a Citroën. Virgil rides off the bicycle, still pondering what she said about his name. Virgil gets carried away riding the bike and crashes into a ditch. He dislocates his shoulder and can’t move. A motorist stops to offer help, but Virgil doesn’t want her to call 911. He calls Bjorn instead. The motorist brings Virgil a blanket and talks to him to keep him awake. Virgil stares up at the stars like he once did as a child.

Bjorn is too busy handling movie night at the Empress, so Nadine helps Virgil. She pops his dislocated shoulder back into place, and Virgil asks to take her to dinner at The Wise Old. At dinner, Virgil asks Nadine if she thinks Alec is still alive. Nadine confesses that for a while, she held hope since they never found any evidence of the crash. Nadine takes Virgil home, and he says he wants to ask her something else, but she says to wait for another time. She adds, “[D]on’t wait too long. It’s possible to wait too long” (193).

When Virgil returns home, it’s two o’clock in the morning. Rune bursts through the door and beckons Virgil to the roof, where he’s flying a kite in the middle of a snowstorm. The darkness and snow obscure the view, and Virgil doesn’t know which kite is in the air. Rune declares that Lucy is “a splendid woman” and that even though she’s sixty-four, she still has a lot of life to live. Rune asks Virgil if “the hour is late” (195), but he’s not speaking of the time. Virgil answers that it’s a good time. He says Nadine is a good woman, but Rune isn’t listening as he’s too caught up with his kite.