Heaven

Marley wakes to find a storage box at her feet and wonders if Momma or Pops put it there. Marley has been sleeping late recently. She admits that she wants to avoid her family so that she can avoid yelling at them or calling them liars. Marley is angry that no one can tell her the truth about what happened; she still does not understand what killed her birth mother or why Uncle Jack “wasn’t able to take care of [her]” (76). Marley feels dissatisfied with Momma and Pops’s explanation that Uncle Jack had “too much sorrow in his soul” (76) and had to give Marley away as a result. Marley thinks about everyone she knows who has sorrow, like Ma and her nephew, Chuck, who helps her to run the store.

Lying on her bed, Marley looks up at the glow-in-the-dark stars and moon that Pops put on her ceiling when they first moved to Heaven. She remembers how Pops would replace them each year. She resolves to recall this fond memory the next time she wants to scream at Pops, Momma, and Uncle Jack.

Marley takes the box into the kitchen, and Butchy asks her what it contains. The box is labeled with the words “Baby Monna.” Marley refuses to open the box. She explains that everything has changed and that while she still loves him, he is not her brother. She is resentful that Butchy knew about her birth parents before Marley did. Butchy tells her, “We’ll always be who we were to each other” (80).

Later that day, Marley walks around town and marvels at the fact that nothing looks as vibrant as it once did, and nothing is as clear as it once was. She watches Chuck make tomato deliveries for Ma and notices his wide smile. Marley can tell that Chuck grew these tomatoes himself. Chuck walks toward Marley and hands her a huge tomato. She puts it down next to her, on top of the box, and thinks about Chuck and Ma. When she looks at the tomato again, it is the most vibrant tomato she has ever seen.

This chapter consists of a letter to Marley from Uncle Jack. He tells her about finding a beautiful lake after driving through “miles of wheat” (82). He and Boy stop at the lake and admire how happy everyone seems.

When he and Boy sit on the beach, Boy begins following a group of children around. They enjoy Boy’s company, and Boy becomes particularly attached to a baby girl. The scene reminds Jack of something from “a long time ago” (84). Boy cries when it is time to leave, and as they drive away from Starlight Beach, Uncle Jack wonders if he is being unfair to Boy by forcing the dog to live a nomadic lifestyle. He wonders whether Boy might need a place to settle down “where he always knows where his water dish will be” (84). Uncle Jack thinks that maybe he would like the same thing.

Uncle Jack closes by sending peace and love to Marley and her family. He thanks her for the dog drawings she recently sent. He tells her that he has covered the interior of the truck with the drawings she has sent him over the years.

Marley looks at Momma and wishes that Momma were her birth mother. She misses the relationship they had before Marley knew the full truth about her family. However, she cannot bring herself to go to Momma and tell her this. Marley adds Uncle Jack’s latest letter to the countless others she has received over the years. Marley puts the still-unopened box in her letter drawer as well. She contemplates throwing the box away, reasoning that if she gets rid of it, everything will go back to the way it was before.

She takes the box to Bobby’s house. Bobby offers to sit with Marley while she opens it, but she declines. Marley does not know if she will ever open it. She admits that she does not know how to feel about her parents now. She thinks that Momma and Pops understand this and are leaving her alone to come to terms with things in her own way. Marley watches Bobby with Feather and wonders whether Uncle Jack ever held her in the same way.

Bobby advises Marley not to say anything to her parents, lest she say something that she will regret. Marley wonders about Bobby’s past, about which she knows so little. Bobby does not talk about his past, even though Marley can tell that he misses his life in Brooklyn, nor does he talk about Feather’s mother, though he misses her, too. Bobby tells Marley that he will be there for her when she is ready to “open the next door to [her] life” (89). She leans against him, staring at the box out of the corner of her eye.

When Marley gets home, Shoogy is in her room. Shoogy tells Marley that she likes the stars. Shoogy wanted stars in her room, but her mother refused and designed the room’s decor herself. When Shoogy takes off her boots, Marley notices more scars around her friend’s ankles, matching the ones on her thigh. Shoogy says that Marley is lucky because her parents pretty much leave her alone. Marley reminds Shoogy that her parents kept the truth about who she was a secret from her. The girls stop talking, looking up at the stars.

Marley remembers that the stars are a “good thing” (91). She appreciates the other good things in her room that remind her of her closeness with her parents. While Shoogy hurts herself because of some unseen struggle, Marley has never felt that way with her own parents. She only feels pain over the truth about her own identity.

When Marley and Shoogy first met, Shoogy told her that she harmed herself to “block out pain” (93). Now, Marley struggles to understand this. Shoogy admits that she could not cut deep enough to block out the pain, and this idea makes Marley cry . She wonders what could have hurt her friend so much.

With Shoogy sitting next to her, Marley opens the box and uncovers its contents. The box contains a baby shoe, a white sweater with pink-stitched roses, and a baby hat. She also finds a hospital bracelet bearing the names “Monna Floyd” and “Christine Floyd.” Marley cannot bring herself to look at the rest of the box’s contents. She holds the bracelet and lies down on her bed. 

Marley wakes up that evening, realizing that both she and Shoogy have fallen asleep. Momma’s perfume lingers in the air, and Marley and Shoogy are now covered with blankets. Marley still holds the bracelet and clothes.

Marley begins walking Shoogy home, and they come across the community center’s “Halloween in July” celebration. Shoogy exclaims that it feels “just like Christmas!” (94) and decides to join the festivities. Marley continues on, twirling the baby bracelet in her pocket and feeling better than she has in weeks.

When she returns home, Pops is sitting in the driveway in his work clothes. He asks her if she wants to get ice cream, and Marley stops to consider before agreeing. They get into the Impala and begin driving, listening to music. Marley asks Pops if he looks like “[her] father” (96), and Pops stops to consider before responding that the last time he saw his brother, they did look alike, although Jack was taller with bigger ears.

Marley asks Pops why all of this is happening and why no one told her before now. She believes that he and Momma should have told her the truth when she was younger. Pops says that they should have told her when she was younger “but not the things you think we should have” (96). Marley retorts that “the one big lie makes everything a lie” (97). Pops agrees that perhaps it does.

Marley and Pops arrive at a Tastee-Freeze. Pops orders ice cream but does not eat it when it arrives. They begin driving home and continue in silence until they reach the sign welcoming them back to Heaven. When Marley admits that she often feels like she does not know where she is, Pops tells her to notice the people who have “always been there for [her]” (98), and follow them.