Summary
Chapter Five
The families gather for dinner together on their first night in the summer house, and Belly notices that Conrad pulls away from Susannah as she reaches out to hold his hand. Belly also notices Jeremiah has been working out over the school year and has become muscular. She’s surprised to discover that Conrad has quit the football team, and he offers no clear explanation as to why. He has also decided to bus tables at the buffet for the country club in town, rather than working as a lifeguard with Jeremiah as the boys had planned.
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Chapter Six
The next chapter provides a flashback to the summer Belly was ten years old. Conrad decides that he, Steven, and Jeremiah should have a sleepover on the beach. Belly asks if she can join them, but the boys quickly rebuff her. Her brother and Jeremiah tease and taunt her, but Conrad defends her and sweetly says goodbye as the boys head out for the beach. It’s at this moment that Belly’s crush on Conrad begins.
Chapter Seven
Although the Fishers are wealthy, their summer house is not fancy. Instead, the home is comfortable and relaxed. Belly’s bedroom is on one wing of the house, which also has rooms for Jeremiah and Conrad. Steven and the parents sleep in the other wing. The teenagers all share a bathroom.
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Chapter Eight
After dinner, Belly asks Conrad about his girlfriend Aubrey. She heard from Steven that the relationship was growing serious. Conrad informs her that Aubrey broke up with him because she felt he’d changed. When Belly asks how he has changed, Conrad shrugs off the question and responds that everyone changes over time.
Chapter Nine
The same night as her conversation with Conrad, Belly goes for a swim alone. While doing laps, Belly is surprised to discover Conrad sitting and smoking at the edge of the pool. She tells him that he should stop smoking, and he asks what she would give him in return for quitting. There’s tension between them for a moment, before Conrad leaves Belly alone in the pool.
Chapter Ten
Laurel later tells Belly that she should call her father, but after her mother leaves the room, Belly puts down the phone and doesn’t make the call. Her parents recently divorced, and Belly feels that he should be the one to reach out to her, not the other way around. She also believes that although her father and Mr. Fisher would visit Cousins Beach house from time to time, the summers truly belong to the mothers and the kids who spend their entire summers here.
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Chapter Eleven
The plot flashes back to the summer when Belly is nine, and the mothers and children are playing cards on the porch. Jeremiah asks Laurel why she calls Susannah the nickname “Beck”, which Laurel explains is Susannah’s maiden name. Laurel suggests a round of go fish, but Belly remarks that Laurel tries to cheat whenever they play. Susannah laughs and comments that Belly is just like her mother, but Laurel replies that Belly is more like her father.
Analysis
From the beginning of the novel, Conrad’s behavior foreshadows turbulent times ahead. He is withdrawn and distant, and during dinner with Belly, Laurel, and Steven, he jerks his hand away when Susannah reaches for it. The lack of explanation for the behavior reveals Conrad’s tendency to isolate himself when troubled, alienating his friends and family in return.
The weathered but beloved beach house symbolizes the closeness between Susannah and Laurel, who have been friends since childhood. Although the Fishers have more money than the Conklins, the summer house is not ostentatious, but instead familiar and worn. The home feels lived in, rather than stuffy or expensive.
The familiarity and laid-back nature of the house combined with the yearly summer-long visits create the cozy feeling of a family home rather than a multi-family vacation spot. Although both Susannah and Laurel are married to their husbands for most of the teenagers’ lives, the fathers spend limited time at the summer house. The house is a space for the two women and their children, and the men do not fit into their lives there. Both couples have separated, and the wives and children have created a separate family of their own. The cozy summer house symbolizes the comfort Susannah and Laurel have always provided each other throughout their lives.
Several motifs run through the novel, helping to create the feeling of passing time and growing up. Music set the tone of different eras such as when Conrad teaches Belly about Pearl Jam. Music becomes something to bond over between Conrad and Belly. One of Conrad’s hobbies is playing acoustic guitar and he is a connoisseur of listening to music. The hobby is symbolic of his solitary, introspective nature because he often disengages with the others to practice guitar. Belly learns to play the piano with the intention of playing with Conrad one day. Changes in the appearance of the house often help to tell the story through time as well. The description of the bathroom shared by Belly and the boys reflects how much the kids have changed over time. In the past, the boys left water on the bathroom counter and floor from water fights. In the present, they leave behind chin hairs after shaving. Also, the bathroom counter is crowded with the different products the boys use as they have grown older, such as shaving cream, deodorant, and cologne.
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Category: WHY
