62 pages • 2-hour read
Clock Dance
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Part 2, Chapters 9-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 2, Chapter 9 Summary
Denise makes progress in getting around. She asks Willa to drive her to work, and Willa agrees. Several of the neighbors help Willa and Cheryl as they maneuver Denise into the car. Willa finds her way easily to the school, passing the stuffed rabbit at the corner again.
The one time Peter called since he left, he spent the entire time complaining about the trip and then excused himself for a golf game.
Later, Erland comes over to see if Willa needs any help returning to get Denise. Willa wonders if Erland has a crush on Denise. Peter calls, and he and Willa exchange small talk about dinner and the state of their house in Arizona. Willa doesn’t tell Peter about Denise’s progress. When Willa hangs up, Erland asks about Peter’s work as a lawyer. As he fidgets nervously, Willa asks Erland what’s wrong. Erland confesses to shooting Denise.
Erland is not popular at school, so when given the opportunity to impress one of the cool kids in his grade, he showed the boy, Magnus, Sir Joe’s gun. Magnus picked up the gun and tried to leave the house with it. When Erland ran to take the gun back, it accidentally went off and shot Denise in the leg. Cheryl saw the entire thing. She and Erland have been keeping it a secret. Erland is scared Sir Joe will kick him out. Sir Joe is his only relative, and Erland doesn’t want to be sent away. Willa encourages Erland to tell Sir Joe the truth.
When Cheryl enters with her friends Patty and Laurie, Erland confesses to Cheryl that he told Willa about “you-know-what” (239). Patty and Laurie reveal that Cheryl told them, too. When the girls leave, Willa reminds Erland that everything will get easier once he talks to Sir Joe.
That evening, Willa, Denise, Cheryl, and Hal, who has been visiting more recently, watch Space Junk. In the show, the aliens are oblivious to the different races, ages, and languages of the humans. Willa enjoys this because the television show has no subtitles, leaving the audience to fill in linguistic gaps. Willa comments on how wonderful it would be if everyone understood every language. Hal asks Denise out to the movies. Dr. Ben Gold comes over and watches some of Space Junk. When he learns of Willa’s linguistic prowess and ESL background, he invites her to volunteer at his church, which services many immigrants.
Part 2, Chapter 10 Summary
Erland tells Willa that she is right about needing to tell Sir Joe, but he’s still nervous. Willa reassures him and offers to be there when he confesses.
On Saturday morning, Erland retrieves Willa. Willa can tell he’s stressed. She’s nervous too. In Sir Joe’s house, Sir Joe greets Willa. Erland struggles to talk but manages to explain that he showed a friend Sir Joe’s gun. Sir Joe scolds him, saying someone could’ve gotten shot. When Erland and Willa remain silent, Sir Joe realizes that Erland shot Denise. Sir Joe is angry and worries Willa and Denise will sue him. Willa assures Sir Joe that she only wants Erland to be okay. Sir Joe agrees to not call the police because he’s not entirely sure his gun is legal. Willa adds that Erland is worried about being able to stay in Sir Joe’s home. Sir Joe pretends to think about it and then allows Erland to stay. He warns Erland and Willa not to tell Denise, worried she’ll go to the cops.
Willa and Cheryl take Denise to her orthopedist appointment. Denise hopes to get a walking cast. Willa realizes she’s not ready for Denise to not need her anymore. They’ve grown close like old friends, completing each other’s sentences. Willa has gotten to know the neighborhood quite well, and she’s feeling more comfortable driving places. The stuffed rabbit on the corner is gone. When Peter calls, he’s terse and annoyed, but she doesn’t acknowledge it. She tells him about Cheryl’s baking and Airplane’s antics. She leaves out how much progress Denise has made, though she does tell him that Denise now has a walking cast. Willa tells Peter that the end is in sight, but she refuses to make flight reservations now.
Richard and Barry come over to measure Denise’s bathroom. Mrs. Minton’s house has the same floor plan as Denise’s, but without a downstairs powder room. Richard and Barry plan to install one for her before she sells the house. She’s moving to New Jersey to live with her daughter, who has built a guest cottage in her backyard so Mrs. Minton will have her own space. Cheryl will miss Mrs. Minton—another grandmother figure. This makes Willa feel guilty. Mrs. Minton and Ben join the group. Willa says she wishes she had a daughter, and Denise replies that she’ll be Willa’s daughter. Cheryl hugs Willa and asks if she’s rich—maybe they could afford to build a guest cottage for Willa in Denise’s backyard.
Mrs. Minton has loved her independence for a long time, but now she’s wondering what to live for. Ben asks Willa what she lives for. Willa says she lives for herself. Ben has thought about Willa’s father’s advice to break the day into moments. He’s done the opposite, comforted by the vastness of the world and the insignificance of his presence in it. Willa and Ben share a smile.
Peter calls after dinner while Willa is playing cards with Denise and Cheryl. Peter is upset that Willa didn’t answer her phone earlier and rants about being alone in his house without a wife to spend time with. Peter feels Willa isn’t paying attention to him. He’s right: She’s concerned with getting back to the card game.
Part 2, Chapter 11 Summary
It rains on Thursday, so Denise decides not to go to work. When the weather clears that afternoon, Denise practices driving, but it’s clear she’s not fully ready to drive with her foot in the boot. Willa resumes driving Denise to work the next day.
Willa realizes her time in Baltimore is ending soon, so she feels sad when she interacts with the neighbors and feels extra affectionate toward Denise and Cheryl. The next time she speaks to Peter, she makes excuses about delaying returning home. Peter calls her “little one” and attempts to entice her to fly home, offering to pick her up from the airport. They fail to come to an agreement.
Willa receives a call from Elaine. Elaine is in Phoenix and wants to see Willa. When Willa explains that she is in Baltimore, Elaine is sorry she missed Willa. Willa realizes she misses her sister from when they were kids, but not really the adult version of Elaine.
On Sunday, Denise gets a call from Patty and Laurie’s mom, who overheard the girls talking about how Erland shot Denise. Denise confronts Willa and Cheryl, angry that they didn’t tell her. She accuses Willa of meddling in their lives and storms out. Willa suggests Cheryl talk to Denise alone.
Willa feels terrible. She wants to call Peter, but he’ll only make her feel worse. She schedules a flight home for the next morning and leaves a voicemail for Peter with the details in case he wants to pick her up. Over dinner, Willa announces that she’s leaving in the morning. Cheryl becomes distraught, and Denise says Willa doesn’t have to go. Denise feels Willa is overreacting to their conflict earlier. Cheryl begs Willa to stay longer. Willa admires Cheryl and feels sad that they are parting.
Willa takes Airplane out before going to bed. On the walk, Willa acknowledges that this is a neighborhood she’d have loved to live in as a kid because there are sidewalks. She imagines that her own clock dance would involve running back and forth while spinning around in a blur until she’s disappeared completely. Willa spots Ben’s cat Robert and brings Robert to Ben. He thanks Willa and invites her in, but Willa declines. Ben is sad to hear Willa is leaving and offers to drive her to the airport. He says it was nice of Willa to come to Baltimore, but Willa disagrees. She feels it was selfish. Ben has hoped Willa would buy Mrs. Minton’s house, move here, and help Ben communicate with his immigrant patients. Willa is intrigued, but they settle on a time for Ben to pick her up in the morning.
When Willa returns to the house, Willa visits Cheryl’s room to say goodbye. Cheryl hugs Willa tightly and cries. Willa reassures Cheryl and asks her to take care of the baby saguaro for her. Cheryl asks how. Willa tells her to just water it occasionally. The cactus can withstand a lot and doesn’t need to be pampered. Cheryl asks if Willa will come back to check on it. Willa says yes, but she has no intention of returning.
Willa decides not to call Sean to let him know she’s leaving. She doesn’t call Peter, either.
Part 2, Chapter 12 Summary
Ben picks Willa up the next morning. Denise wakes up to see Willa off. She tells Willa that she doesn’t have to go. She asks Willa to see her side of the conflict yesterday: Denise can’t stand when people keep secrets from her, especially Sean. Denise imagined Willa staying in their guest room forever. Willa apologizes for hurting Denise and hugs her goodbye.
As Willa and Ben drive, Willa thinks of how she’ll miss neighbors like Callie and Hal. Ben suggests that Willa can still change her mind. Willa isn’t sure Denise would want her back, but Ben insists she would. He thinks Willa is acting “all meek and wronged” (284), when she could just say sorry and move on. His wife used to say that hell would be marrying Gandhi: Because Gandhi would always be calm and good, everyone else would look bad by comparison. Willa muses that her mother was married to Gandhi and describes her father’s mild-mannered, good-guy demeanor. Willa figured she’d either marry someone like him or be someone like him. Ben tells her she has more than just those two choices.
Ben drops Willa off and helps her get her suitcases. He likes the way she looks at people with affection and respect. When they part, Willa regrets not telling Ben that she likes the way he looks at people too.
When Willa makes it through security, she has a voicemail from Peter tersely telling her to get home on her own. Willa calls back and leaves a cheery message, assuring him she’ll find her way home.
On the plane, Willa sleeps and dreams of a little girl walking in front of her. She feels the girl would be happy to learn that Willa is there with her, but when Willa tries to get the girl’s attention, she wakes up. When the plane lands, Willa checks her messages, but no one has contacted her. She feels relieved.
While walking through the terminal, Willa sharply veers back toward the ticket counter. She imagines a new life in Baltimore, buying Mrs. Minton’s house or finding an apartment with a pool so Cheryl can swim. She imagines teaching English to Ben’s patients. She feels limitless in the possibilities of where her life can go from here.
Part 2, Chapters 9-12 Analysis
The final four chapters of the novel focus on Willa’s time in Baltimore without Peter and the growing closeness of Willa to Denise, Cheryl, and the rest of the neighborhood. These chapters develop the main themes of the novel and feature several symbols. These chapters also close the mystery of who shot Denise and bring the novel’s plot to a resolution.
The theme of The Importance of Community continues to be developed by the closeness of the people of Dorcas Road and the way the narrative positions Willa to slot into this group of people in a fairytale way, as the novel slightly slips away from its domestic realism genre. As the neighbors look for Ben’s missing cat, it is important that Willa is the one who spies it during her last walk with Airplane—she is completing the task of the community and thus becoming an indelible part of it. A similar closing of the circle happens with Mrs. Minton’s house. When Mrs. Minton, Cheryl’s other grandmother figure, decides to move away, the novel refuses to imagine a newcomer moving to Dorcas Road (say, one of the immigrants Ben works with). Instead, Ben suggests that Willa should “buy Lucinda Minton’s house and come help out with our immigrants” (276), slotting the aging female protagonist in for another elderly woman. However negatively the novel has presented heterosexual marriage and relationships so far, we even get the suggestion that if Willa moves to Baltimore, she could strike up a romance with Ben, who admires how she looks at people and is admired by Willa in return. The completeness of this new future is so perfectly tailored to Willa that it has the feel of wish fulfillment for the reader.
Willa’s passivity almost derails this happily-ever-after scenario. After Denise learns that Willa and Cheryl kept the shooter secret from her, the ensuing disagreement leads Willa to decide she’s no longer welcome. Willa has never learned how to have productive fights in closer relationships—in conflicts, she shuts down and acquiesces, the way she did when her mother and Derek fought over his treatment of her. Denise insults Willa’s stuffy and polite demeanor, which hurts Willa. Later, Denise, Ben, and Cheryl all make efforts to convince Willa to stay, but Willa cannot get over her guilt and feels they’re better off without her. Ben points out that Willa’s inability to let the fight end is selfish: She “can creep away, all meek and wronged, or you can say, ‘You’re right, Denise. I should have been more forthcoming, and I promise this won’t happen again’” (284). Ben’s comment highlights the way Willa’s passivity has a self-serving, self-flagellating component that keeps others at arm’s length. Willa flying back to Arizona demonstrates The Drawbacks of Passivity by showing that she’s not mature enough to accept her mistakes and commit to her new life in Baltimore.
Ultimately, the novel comes down on the side of found family, giving Willa the chance to start over with the people of Dorcas Road rather than attempting to rebuild the relationships of her past. Ben’s comment about the infuriating nature of a passive person for those around them explains not only Willa’s parents’ relationship but also the reason why Willa is estranged from her sons and sister. Having never asked them for the emotional closeness that comes with need, Willa has unintentionally created one-sided, non-intimate bonds that are easily ignored. Willa eventually understands that “the sister she missed was a six-year-old sitting at a long-ago breakfast table” (265)—a time when she and her sister were close and cared for one another. Her family of origin’s disregard contrasts with the love, closeness, and appreciation Willa has gotten from Cheryl and Denise.
As has been the case throughout the novel, the saguaro and lost stuffed rabbit continue their symbolic functions. In Chapter 10, Willa notices that the stuffed rabbit has “been claimed at last, or else discreetly discarded” (251). This duality of what could’ve happened to the lost rabbit represents the crossroads Willa faces. While she feels “claimed” by Denise and Cheryl and at home with them, she could just as easily end up “discarded” by Peter by returning to a man who sees her as just a placeholder between golf games. In the end, Willa chooses to go with the people who have claimed her. The thriving and hardy saguaro represents a more long-term Willa. When Cheryl asks how to care for the saguaro, Willa says, “Just water it from time to time, but not too much. It can stand a lot, remember; it doesn’t need to be pampered” (278). Willa’s nature is now similarly resilient. The conversation about the baby saguaro has an undertone of attachment. Cheryl wants to care for the saguaro, and she wants Willa to return to make sure the saguaro is okay.
Overall, Clock Dance is a book about choice. After years of passivity and making choices for others, Willa finds her voice. She creates a found family in Cheryl and Denise, discarding her estranged related family for people who appreciate what she gives to others. Willa’s journey shows how appreciation and community can make all the difference in the pursuit of happiness and self-fulfillment.
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