48 pages • 1 hour read
If It Makes You Happy
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Part 4-EpilogueChapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes sexual content and death.
Part 4: “December 1997”
Part 4, Chapter 35 Summary: “Michelle”
Over the following week, Michelle and Cliff spend all of their time together. They keep their new relationship a secret but Michelle revels in each moment. She and Cliff know she will be leaving soon and are trying to enjoy their time together while they can. Meanwhile, Brittany and Rocket have reunited and the inn is thriving. Michelle wonders why her job in Seattle hasn’t called to congratulate her on her success but decides she doesn’t care. However, she is now curious about what Birdie wrote in her note to Sara. (She still hasn’t read the full letter.)
One day, Cheryl from Topsy’s Travel Agency calls to offer Michelle a job. Topsy’s is a client from Seattle who Michelle transferred to her coworker Mark. Dissatisfied with Mark’s performance, Cheryl wants to bring Michelle onto Topsy’s team. Michelle agrees to return to Seattle early for an interview. This is her dream job but she can’t ignore the “sudden pool of unease” (391) she feels. When she tells Cliff the news, he is thrilled for her.
Part 4, Chapter 36 Summary: “Cliff”
The week before Christmas, Cliff spends time at the inn with his girls helping Michelle with holiday preparations. One day, he and Michelle sneak into a guestroom to chat. Michelle confesses she is worried about the future but Cliff assures her they will stay in touch despite the distance. They start kissing but Emily knocks on the door. She tells Michelle she needs to talk because she might be pregnant, unaware that Cliff is in the room, too.
Part 4, Chapter 37 Summary: “Cliff”
Michelle and Cliff swing the door open. Seeing Emily’s scared face, Cliff feels only concern for his daughter. He and Michelle reassure her and make a plan. They buy a pregnancy test and lie in bed together while waiting for the results. The test is negative. The relieved family hugs and expresses their love for each other.
Part 4, Chapter 38 Summary: “Cliff”
Tracy comes to town for the holidays. Cliff reminds Emily to be nice to her. Then they introduce Tracy to Michelle. Cliff watches them together, noting their differences and similarities.
Part 4, Chapter 39 Summary: “Michelle”
Paulie and Sara return to Copper Run for Christmas. Sara comes with all of her bags as she plans to take over the inn after the holidays. The realization hits Michelle. Meanwhile, she spends time with Cliff and his family, realizing Tracy doesn’t like her being around Cliff even though they’re divorced. At the park one day, Paulie and Sara join Michelle and the Burkes. In a private conversation, Paulie suggests Michelle stay in Copper Run. She hears herself saying she belongs in Seattle.
Part 4, Chapter 40 Summary: “Cliff”
On Christmas morning, Emily and Brittany beg Cliff to invite Michelle over. Tracy gives in. Michelle is surprised by the invitation but joins the family. Things devolve when Tracy alludes to Emily and Josh’s relationship. Emily accuses Michelle and Cliff of breaking their promise and telling Tracy about the pregnancy scare. They didn’t tell Tracy, who now demands to know what’s going on. Michelle excuses herself as an argument breaks out between family members.
Part 4, Chapter 41 Summary: “Michelle”
Michelle blames herself for what happened. Later, Tracy comes to see her and they have an honest conversation. Michelle assures Tracy that her girls are happy in Copper Run. Uncomfortable, she reminds herself that she’ll “be across the country” (440) in a few days.
Part 4, Chapter 42 Summary: “Cliff”
Cliff finds Emily sitting outside in the cold alone. They chat about Tracy and Michelle. Emily urges Cliff to own his feelings for Michelle. She wants Cliff to convince Michelle to stay in Copper Run, but Cliff doesn’t want to impede Michelle’s dreams. They agree they’re going to miss her when she leaves.
Cliff, Emily, Tracy, and Brittany have a heart-to-heart conversation before Tracy returns to New York. Cliff reminds Tracy that it’s okay for her to be happy in New York. He assures her that he and the girls are well and that the girls love Copper Run. They part amicably.
Part 4, Chapter 43 Summary: “Michelle”
Michelle has a snowball fight with Cliff and the girls. She is so happy she wishes she could make the moment last.
That evening, Michelle shows Sara the binder and letter Birdie left for her. Sara urges her to read the letter, which tasks Sara with looking out for Michelle. Then Sara confesses her trepidations about taking over the inn. She says Michelle can have the business if she wants it, particularly because she is in love with Cliff. When Michelle mentions her life in Seattle, Sara urges her to follow her heart.
Michelle sneaks over to Cliff’s house that evening. Cliff makes her pastries and they talk about their relationship. Then they kiss and have sex. At midnight, Michelle realizes today is the day she leaves Vermont.
Part 4, Chapter 44 Summary: “Michelle”
Michelle packs her things and says her goodbyes. She decides to leave Rocket with the Burkes because Brittany loves him so much. Then Cliff drives her to the airport.
Part 4, Chapter 45 Summary: “Cliff”
Cliff and Michelle chat the whole way to the airport. At the terminal, they sit in the car and continue talking. Cliff assures her she is going to do well at her new job. He considers professing his love but decides not to. They say goodbye and he drives away. Overwhelmed by emotion, he pulls the car over to look for tissues and discovers a photo of him and Michelle from Halloween in the glove compartment. He realizes how much he loves her and turns the car around.
Part 4, Chapter 46 Summary: “Michelle”
Michelle sits at the gate, replaying everything that’s happened. Then she pulls out the letter Birdie wrote her before her death. The letter urges Michelle to follow her dreams and seek happiness; it also mentions her and Paulie’s distaste for Allen and suggests Michelle get to know Cliff. Michelle can’t understand why Birdie didn’t mail the letter before her death. She starts to cry as the plane begins boarding. Suddenly, Cliff and Rocket appear behind her. Cliff professes his love and begs her not to leave. Michelle reciprocates and agrees to stay.
Part 4, Chapter 47 Summary: “Michelle”
Michelle celebrates New Year’s with Cliff and his family back in Copper Run. She and Sara agreed that she will take over the inn so Sara can focus on her artistic career. Michelle doesn’t know what the future will bring but she is happy to be with Cliff.
Epilogue Summary: “Rocket; Eight Years Later”
Rocket is living in Copper Run with Michelle, Cliff, Brittany, and the couple’s new baby boy. Michelle is happier than Rocket has seen her since he first met her. He is happy she is happy with Cliff.
Part 4-Epilogue Analysis
The final section of the novel resolves Michelle and Cliff’s relational and circumstantial conflicts and grants them a happy ending, or happily ever after (called HEA in the romance genre). Throughout Part 4, the couple embraces their time together without projecting into an uncertain future. Michelle’s “natural inclination is to have a plan, but Cliff says we’ll make one when we cross that bridge. Normally, I’d fight him on it, but the alternative is to face the inevitable” (386). Michelle’s imminent departure thus looms over the couple until Chapter 46 when Michelle decides not to “get on the plane” (479). This scene recreates a common trope in romantic fiction—the grand gesture of running through the airport to confess love occurs in everything from the 1934 screwball romance It Happened One Night (1934), to the sitcom Friends, to the 2003 movie Love Actually. After the early 2000s, the trope stopped being used as airports no longer allowed non-ticketed passengers to go through security after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Olivia is able to pay homage to this romance mainstay by setting her novel in the1990s.
Michelle’s decision to stay in Copper Run settles the Conflict Between Ambition and Rootedness. At the start of Part 4, Michelle is offered her dream job. Michelle has a physiological response to this offer, as it represents everything she has been working toward and wanted for herself up until this point: “If my heart wasn’t already on the ground, it’d be burrowing beneath, swallowed up in molten lava. I can’t catch my breath” (390). The only trouble is that her three-month stay in Copper Run has altered her lifelong dreams and her definition of happiness and success. In the past, she was certain that “Starting a new advertising department” (390) with a company like Topsy’s was her dream; in light of her time in Vermont, she is no longer certain if this is what she wants. Her longing for vocational success conflicts with her longing for romance, home, and belonging. “This is perfect,” she thinks of the job offer, “So…why doesn’t it feel as good as it should?” (391). Michelle’s vision of a secure and stable future has changed. Copper Run has shown her the beauty and power of love, family, and community. Leaving Vermont means forsaking the relationships she has built. When she gives up her advertising ambitions to create a life with Cliff and to continue running the inn, she is choosing to follow her heart.
The romantic ending underscores the importance of Friendship as Scaffolding for Romantic Trust. When they begin dating in December, Michelle acknowledges that while “[f]riendship with Cliff Burke was fun,” friendship “with benefits is even better” (385). The characters have nurtured their platonic connection. They have allowed their friendship to grow and deepen over time. The more they care for and rely on each other, the more “words like best friend or girlfriend” (429) fail to fully sum up their connection, built upon a shared personal history and mutual investment. The Epilogue conveys the long-lasting nature of their bond. Eight years after they decide to make a life together, the image of the couple’s fulfilling and happy life speaks to how their original friendship has fostered an indelible, healthy bond to withstand the test of time.
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