Arthur rides the bus to the cemetery each day, sets up a folding chair, and shares his packed lunch with Nola's grave.

Arthur waves to a young woman in the cemetery, but she seems frightened and turns away without responding.

Maddy approaches Arthur in the cemetery after he waves again, and the two introduce themselves and begin talking.

Rain begins to fall at the cemetery, and Arthur invites Maddy to ride the bus home and have lunch.

Maddy gives Arthur the nickname Truluv after he describes how he imagines the lives of those buried near Nola.

Lucille tells Arthur she is engaged to Frank Pearson, her high school sweetheart who recently returned to town.

Maddy realizes her period is late on her eighteenth birthday and confirms she is pregnant.

Maddy tells her father she is pregnant and wants to keep the baby; he reacts poorly and she runs away from home.

Frank is rushed to the ER with a heart attack and dies before Lucille can get to his bedside.

Arthur reunites with Maddy at the cemetery after weeks apart; she reveals her pregnancy, her stay with Mr. Lyons, and her art school application.

Maddy asks Arthur if she can work as his housekeeper in exchange for room and board, and he accepts.

After Frank's death, Lucille moves into Arthur's house and the three begin living together as a chosen family.

Anderson arrives at Arthur's house demanding to speak with Maddy, and Arthur chases him away with a baseball bat.

Steven joins the household for Thanksgiving dinner and gives Maddy a photo album full of pictures she has never seen before.

Maddy gives birth to a baby girl she names Nola; years later, she brings her daughter to visit Arthur and Nola's graves.

The Story of Arthur Truluv follows three lonely people whose lives become unexpectedly intertwined in a small Missouri town. Arthur Moses, a grieving widower, meets seventeen-year-old Maddy Harris at the cemetery where he visits his late wife Nola daily and she escapes from a difficult home life. Their bond deepens as Maddy discovers she is pregnant, flees her cold and hurtful father, and asks Arthur if she can live and work with him. Meanwhile, Arthur's neighbor Lucille grieves the sudden death of her fiancé Frank and eventually moves into Arthur's home, completing their unconventional family unit. Together, the three share daily life, celebrate holidays, and support one another through health struggles and personal growth. The novel closes with Maddy naming her daughter Nola and visiting Arthur and Nola's graves, honoring the legacy of love that transformed her life.

The core story of three strangers becoming a chosen family.

Maddy skips school to visit the cemetery, photographing graves and finding the place peaceful, beautiful, and comforting.

Lucille bakes cookies and regularly invites Arthur to sit on her porch and share conversation, trying to connect with him.

Anderson breaks up with Maddy after she sneaks out late at night to meet him, telling her he has met someone else.

After the breakup, Maddy runs into the woods and sees a doe staring at her, feeling her mother's comforting presence.

Arthur takes Lucille to the Olive Garden to apologize for leaving her porch abruptly without explanation.

Arthur tells Maddy she is welcome at his house anytime and does not need to call ahead first.

Frank tells Lucille he never stopped loving her and confesses he had affairs during his marriage and stayed only for the children.

Arthur places the Mr. and Mrs. Hamburger figurine on Nola's grave after Maddy stops coming to the cemetery for several days.

Maddy calls Anderson to tell him she is pregnant; he denies responsibility and tells her to use her birthday money for an abortion.

Arthur finds Lucille's house neglected and malodorous; she confesses she baked a pill-filled cake and tried to end her life.

Arthur encourages Lucille to start teaching baking classes as a volunteer, giving her a sense of purpose and usefulness.

Lucille holds her first baking class with one attendee, who agrees to return the following week with friends.

Maddy moves into the sunny yellow upstairs room at Arthur's house and feels cared for and attended to for the first time.

Arthur visits Nola's grave for the last time, telling her he hopes she is waiting and that he is leaving everything to Maddy.

Arthur asks Maddy to believe that after he dies, two stars close together in the sky will be him and Nola.

While the main story follows three characters forming a family, the novel is equally shaped by the quieter moments and relationships surrounding them. Maddy's secret visits to the cemetery reveal her artistic spirit and the grief of growing up without a mother, while her doomed relationship with Anderson frames her deep need for connection. Arthur's neighborly bond with Lucille develops through small gestures of goodwill, including a dinner out after he embarrasses himself leaving her porch, and Lucille's budding romance with Frank takes a darker turn when he confesses a history of infidelity. Frank's sudden death triggers Lucille's shocking suicide attempt, and Arthur's encouragement helps her find new purpose in teaching baking classes. Maddy's gradual settling into life at Arthur's house, and Arthur's own quiet decline toward death, give the story its bittersweet momentum. These secondary threads make the three characters' eventual chosen family feel hard-won and deeply meaningful.

The quieter moments and relationships that give the story its emotional texture.

Maddy returns home after sneaking out to find her father waiting and reaching for her hand, but she keeps her emotional walls firmly up.

Arthur stops at Lucille's door the next morning to apologize, but she shuts the door in his face without letting him explain.

Arthur notices Lucille being picked up in a red Cadillac one evening and realizes she has an undisclosed social life.

Maddy leaves a note and a gift of fancy cat food in Arthur's mailbox on her birthday, deepening their growing friendship.

Arthur grows too ill to visit the cemetery on Maddy's birthday, and Maddy waits the entire lunch break without seeing him arrive.

Steven tells Maddy she is killing her mother twice; devastated, Maddy considers suicide but feels her mother's comforting presence stop her.

Maddy buys a pregnancy test at the drugstore and decides firmly to keep the baby, believing it is her chance to remake her world.

Arthur comforts Lucille in her yard on the night of Frank's death, staying with her and reassuring her that grief will eventually ease.

Maddy packs her belongings when she learns Lucille plans to move in but agrees to stay after Arthur explains Lucille's deep loneliness.

Maddy confesses she took the Mr. and Mrs. Hamburger figurine from Nola's grave, and Arthur reveals he had intended it as her gift.

Maddy shares with Arthur how she once told her father she wanted to die to join her mother, and he reacted with anger.

Maddy runs into Anderson at Walmart and tells him the baby is not his, firmly cutting off his attempts to re-enter her life.

Maddy and Lucille bond in Maddy's room over shared memories of building miniature dollhouses to imagine the happy lives they each wanted.

Maddy's water breaks at home while Lucille is arguing that Arthur should not go out to the cemetery in cold winter weather.

Arthur dies and leaves the house to Maddy; Lucille remains living there, calling herself a self-appointed grandmother to baby Nola.

This pool traces the moments of decision, confession, and revelation that push each character toward transformation throughout the novel. Early turning points include Maddy's father's failed attempt at connection when she returns home after sneaking out, Arthur's awkward falling-out and reconciliation with Lucille, and Maddy's courageous resolve to keep her baby despite abandonment by Anderson. A central crisis arrives when Steven's cruel words nearly destroy Maddy before her sense of her mother's presence pulls her back from the edge, while Lucille's unexpected plan to move in forces Maddy to choose between self-protection and compassion. Intimate revelations — about the Mr. and Mrs. Hamburger figurine, about the four-year-old Maddy who once told her father she wanted to die, and about the dollhouse dreams Maddy and Lucille once shared — deepen the emotional bonds among the three characters. As the story closes, Maddy's water breaking and Arthur's eventual death complete the arc of transformation, with Lucille becoming a self-appointed grandmother in the house Arthur left to Maddy. These turning points reveal how grief, honesty, and small acts of courage forge bonds strong enough to outlast loss.

The pivotal decisions, confessions, and discoveries that drive each character forward.