Louisiana's Way Home

The story is narrated by Louisiana Elefante, who writes down everything that happens to her so that anyone who wonders where she went will have an answer.

Louisiana begins by explaining the key facts of her life as she understands them. Her great-grandfather was a magician who set a terrible curse into motion: a curse of sundering, meaning a tearing apart, that has been passed down through generations and now rests on her head. Her parents were famous trapeze artists called the Flying Elefantes, and they are dead. The only family she has ever known is Granny. One night in October 1977, Granny wakes Louisiana at three a.m., declares that "the day of reckoning has arrived" (2), and insists they must leave their home in Florida immediately. Louisiana assumes Granny will abandon the plan by morning, but she wakes to find them approaching the Georgia state line, with Granny insisting they are never going back. Louisiana asks about her cat, Archie, but Granny claims only that "provisions have been made" (5). At the state line, Louisiana demands Granny stop, but Granny refuses. The car then runs out of gas, stranding them in Georgia.

An old man named George LaTrell gives them a ride to a gas station, where Granny charms him into paying for gas. Louisiana notices a phone inside but fails to ask to use it, a decision she later regrets deeply, realizing she could have called her best friend Beverly Tapinski to come rescue her. Back on the road, Granny's toothache worsens until she collapses in the back seat. Louisiana, who has never driven before, slides behind the wheel and heads for the next town, Richford, Georgia. During a terrifying moment when she nearly loses control, her life flashes before her: winning the Little Miss Central Florida Tire pageant, almost drowning before her other best friend Raymie Clarke saved her, and the story of the family curse. Her great-grandfather sawed his wife in half onstage in Elf Ear, Nebraska, refused to put her back together, and walked away forever.

At a dental office in Richford, Louisiana engages in a "battle of the wills" (42) with the receptionist, Mrs. Ivy, who refuses to see them without an appointment. When Granny staggers in howling, the dentist, Dr. Fox, takes her immediately and extracts every one of her teeth. Louisiana invents a fake name and address to avoid the bill. Granny drives them to a motel called the Good Night, Sleep Tight, pays for one night, and retreats to bed. The motel is run by Bernice, a blunt woman who refuses Louisiana any sympathy or access to a phone. Outside, Louisiana spots a barefoot boy on the roof with a crow named Clarence on his shoulder. He offers to get her anything from the motel's vending machine before Bernice chases him away. Louisiana feels hopeful for the first time since leaving Florida.

The next morning, Bernice demands payment or departure. Granny, feverish and trembling, proposes that Louisiana's singing can earn their keep. Bernice takes Louisiana to the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, where she sings "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" for Miss Lulu, the church organist. Miss Lulu stops playing to listen, and Bernice cries. They arrange for Louisiana to sing at an upcoming funeral. While the women discuss payment, Louisiana slips into the office of Reverend Frank Obertask, whose door advertises "healing words" (76), and calls directory assistance, but there are no listings for Raymie or Beverly. Louisiana realizes she is alone and must rescue herself.

The boy from the roof reappears and introduces himself as Burke Allen, one in a long line of Burke Allens. He produces snacks from the vending machine using handmade metal slugs, and Bernice chases them into the woods. At Burke's family home, a pink house, Louisiana tells him the story of the curse. Burke suggests it could be undone with a different kind of magic. He makes her three bologna sandwiches and tells her about an upcoming church carnival.

When Louisiana returns to the motel, she finds the room empty. Granny, her suitcase, and the car are gone. An envelope on the bed contains a letter. Granny recounts the night of the curse: Her father looked up at her in a hotel window, then turned and walked away, which she identifies as the true moment of sundering. She explains that her father has appeared in her dreams, summoning her to Elf Ear to confront the curse. The letter then delivers a devastating revelation: Louisiana's parents were never the Flying Elefantes. Granny found Louisiana as a baby abandoned in an alley behind the Louisiana Five-and-Dime in New Orleans, wrapped in a flowered blanket, picked her up, named her, and raised her. Louisiana's true parents are unknown. Granny writes that she is old and unwell and begs Louisiana not to follow. She closes: "Perhaps what matters when all is said and done is not who puts us down but who picks us up" (123).

Devastated, Louisiana staggers into the dark woods carrying the letter and the sandwiches. She falls into a hole, and the wind blows the letter away. A man from the Allen family finds her and carries her to the pink house. She wakes on a flowered couch surrounded by three generations of Burke Allens and Burke's mother, Betty Allen, who is baking 17 cakes for the church carnival. Betty Allen places a comforting hand on Louisiana's head.

Burke skips school to accompany Louisiana to the church. Reverend Obertask admits he cannot undo curses; his only magic is listening. Louisiana tells him she was abandoned in an alley and her parents are unknown. He calls it "a terrible thing" (161) and encourages her to tell her story to someone she trusts. In the woods afterward, Burke points out that if Granny is not her real grandmother, then the curse is not hers, either. Louisiana is stunned: Without the curse, the Flying Elefantes, or Granny, she does not know who she is. Burke insists she exists and offers to help her get home to Florida by bus.

Bernice refuses to return Louisiana's suitcase until she sings at the funeral. Louisiana stays with the Allens, where Grandfather Burke shares his ice-cream sundae and holds her hand, moving her to tears. At the funeral, she sings "Amazing Grace" but begins hallucinating, seeing Granny smiling with all her teeth and saying "provisions have been made" (189). She faints midsong. She wakes in Reverend Obertask's office. He tells her she must decide who she wants to be, adding that she may need to forgive her unknown parents without ever understanding what they did.

Betty Allen invites Louisiana to help bake the last cake. In the warm kitchen, she gently asks if Granny is gone, and Louisiana breaks down crying. Betty Allen tells her she can have a home with the Allens and knows someone in Family Services who can make it work, but the choice is Louisiana's. Later, Burke coaxes Louisiana up a tall live oak tree. At the top, she realizes she is not afraid and perhaps never truly was, that her fear was another of Granny's lies. She sings in the treetop with Burke and Clarence. Burke shows her that what she has always called the Pinocchio constellation is actually the Big Dipper and points out the North Star.

At the church carnival, Grandfather Burke gives Louisiana five dollars for raffle tickets. She does not win any cakes, but watching the fishbowl glitter, she remembers Grandfather Burke sliding his ice-cream bowl to her and saying, "Take what is offered to you" (179). She realizes she wants to sit at the Allen family table. She decides to stay.

In the final section, Louisiana addresses her account directly to Granny. Reverend Obertask helps her reach Raymie by phone; Raymie reports that Archie showed up at her door on his own. Raymie, Beverly, Buddy the dog, and Archie all visit Georgia soon after. Louisiana reveals she has honored Granny's wish and not searched for her, though she looks for Granny every time she crosses the state line. She thanks Granny for picking her up in the alley and teaching her to sing. She declares there is no curse of sundering on her head. She tells Granny she loves her and forgives her.