The Most Fun We Ever Had

Violet and Matt’s wedding is held in Marilyn and David’s backyard. Wendy gets drunk; she has been distancing herself from everyone since her stillbirth. David talks to Wendy in his office. They exchange heated words, with David telling her that she should be happy for Violet. She laments the unfairness of the situation and mentions a big secret Violet has. David asks Miles if he should be worried about Wendy, but Miles does not know the answer to that question.

David does not go to the hospital while Liza is in labor. Her mother is there with her. David calls and Marilyn tells him that labor is going well.

Miles develops cancer symptoms. He tries to make Wendy feel better by explaining that in the end, Wendy could die first from any number of causes. Wendy apologizes to Miles for the ways she has not been a good wife. They both express the enormous love they have for each other.

Violet tries to figure out if her post-birth feelings are normal or if they have been affected by Ivy and Jonah. Violet remembers failing to show up for Wendy during Ivy’s birth, and she feels guilty knowing that while she did not receive the call in time, she never intended on being with Wendy. She calls Wendy to tell her about Wyatt’s birth, and Wendy comes right away with flowers. Wendy holds the baby but has to leave the room to throw up. Later Wendy wishes she had the courage to ask her mother how it was “possible to love another person so much” as she considers how she has cared for Miles while he has been weeping, delirious, and “covered in his own shit” (535). She is surprised that she is not repulsed by all that caregiving requires and instead feels immense tenderness. They experience one year in which he feels better, and through it all, things are not always bad.

Wendy and Jonah drive home, and Jonah explains that he thought everybody would be better off if he didn’t return. Wendy asks how Grace is, and Jonah confesses that it was he who told Ryan about Liza’s affair. He tells Wendy that he called her when he was in trouble because he knew that she would come. She tells Jonah about what happened to Ivy, and she apologizes for sending him to her parents’ house, telling him that nobody is better off without him.

Marilyn and David come home to a quiet house after dropping Grace off at college. Matt is concerned about Violet, who has been struggling since Wyatt’s birth. At one point, she realizes that it is within her power to do anything she wants to the baby, and, scared by this thought, she calls Matt, who comes right home. She sees a doctor and is prescribed some pills. She reassures Matt that she never would have hurt the baby.

Marilyn, David, Wendy, and Jonah have dinner. Marilyn notices that her husband seems happier now that Jonah is home. Marilyn tells Jonah that his behavior was irresponsible and that Jonah was lucky that he got pulled over before something worse happened. Wendy explains that he got pulled over because she sent somebody to find him. Jonah has never been grounded before. Marilyn tells Wendy that David has not yet met Kit, Liza’s baby. David goes outside, where Jonah is playing basketball, and says he’s sorry Jonah had to witness his heart attack, but he would not have survived if Jonah hadn’t been there. Jonah confesses to stealing his own birthday present.

As Wendy considers David’s failure to meet Kit, she thinks about Violet’s refusal to “say goodbye to Miles” (558). Suddenly she realizes that Jonah’s father is actually Aaron, Wendy’s ex-boyfriend. Wendy is not that upset that Violet slept with Aaron because by then she had already met Miles, but she is upset that Violet allowed Wendy to become entangled with the fallout, her pregnancy.

After two years of relative stability, Miles develops a high fever; his cancer has progressed. Violet invites Wendy to a lake house, not thinking her sister will come, but she does. Violet tells Wendy that she is pregnant again, and Wendy tells her that her husband’s cancer is back and they have somewhere between six weeks and six months. Violet comforts her sister, who plans to go home the next day.

David has been making excuses not to meet Kit because he does not want to do so when he is feeling weak. Without consulting him, Liza brings the baby over to introduce the two. David says he knows Liza asked Gillian if they’d had an affair. Liza tells him she asked Gillian because she wanted to know if her parents’ relationship was as perfect as it seemed. He says that it isn’t perfect, but she maintains that they are happier than most couples are. She says that Ryan is going to come to meet the baby. He is on a new medication and has friends who are helping him.

Jonah, his brothers, and Violet are in the car, and they decide to stop at a park. Violet apologizes to Jonah for the way she has handled things. She explains how much Jonah impacted her life, even before he came back into it. She asks him if they can try to make things work between them, and he asks again about his father. She swears him to secrecy and tells him that his father is someone who her best friend had dated but had broken up with. She tells him that the man was kind and was an athlete but that she is not ready to share anymore at the moment. She tells him that she always thought about raising him herself.

Grace decides to return to her parents’ house. She and Ben go for a walk. He asks her if she is leaving forever, and he says that he thinks they both have feelings for each other. She tells him that he is the only part of her life that she does not currently hate. They kiss.

Wendy feels lonely as Miles’s condition deteriorates. Liza and Grace are both out of town, and Violet, who is pregnant, tells her that her obstetrician discouraged her from being in a cancer ward. Wendy knows this is a lie. She tells Miles that she doesn’t know what she will do without him and says that perhaps “[she] used up all of [her] luck when [she] met [him]” (585). She thanks him for all he has done for her. He dies as they sleep.

While Violet was lying about being told not to visit a cancer ward, she has been told by her new-age doctor that it would be unwise to be around a terminally ill person, and Violet finds this advice to be a relief. She repeatedly checks in with Wendy while Miles is dying and arrives hours after his death, but Wendy doesn’t want to see her. Violet cries to her mother, who says that Violet is doing the best she can. When Violet learns that Wendy doesn’t want to see Marilyn, she is angry, but her mother cautions mercy, saying that Violet has a good life and Wendy’s has been hard. She is offended, wondering if a good life is something she should apologize for, and when she says again that Wendy is acting unfairly, her mother reminds her that Wendy has just lost her husband.

Grace explains to Marilyn that she did not come to her in her time of trouble because she didn’t want to be a disappointment—her sisters are all messed up and Marilyn and David are the only two who are not. Marilyn considers how solid everybody believes her marriage to be. David announces that he wants to offer to be Kit’s babysitter when Liza goes back to work. He asserts that being a caregiver made Marilyn miserable, but she maintains that it did not.

Wendy arrives at Violet and Matt’s new house in Evanston. She had hoped that their new house would be more modest than it is. Wyatt has made Wendy a welcome sign. Wendy thinks Violet looks peaceful even though she surprises her by having her breast exposed while feeding her child, who Wendy thinks is too old to still be nursing. Violet tells Wendy that she wouldn’t know about nursing or weaning a child, and Wendy, hurt, wonders aloud what Violet needs an office for. Wendy feels that everything comes too easily to Violet. The baby, Eli, turns to Violet when she talks, and this hurts Wendy. She doesn’t think it’s fair that Violet has so much when she has so little.

Marilyn and David examine the dying gingko tree, and Marilyn feels sad while David is reminded of their first night under the tree. He wonders what Marilyn’s father would think of him and Marilyn today. He considers her his best friend, and she tells him she is happy they are there together.

Violet has never apologized to Wendy because that is not how their relationship works. The two have not spoken since Wendy asked Jonah to leave, but Matt convinces Violet that she needs to correct things with her sister. Even though Wendy no longer drinks during the week, she pours them both a glass of wine. Violet believes that she has a right to be angry, but Wendy does not. Wendy replies by saying she messed up once with Jonah, while Violet repeatedly messed up with him. Wendy mentions running into Aaron at the hospital and says that Jonah got his mom’s eyes, letting Violet know that she has discovered Aaron to be Jonah’s father. Wendy says Violet is never there for her when she needs her, and Violet realizes this is true. Violet does not know how she turned out like this because her mother always considered her a caregiver when she was younger. Violet says that she has nothing left to give, but Wendy considers this a cop-out. Violet says that people hurt those they love because they trust them never to leave.

Wendy insinuates that she might tell Jonah who his father is, but then she reassures Violet that she wouldn’t do that. Violet says she thinks that part of why she did not abort Jonah was to punish herself for betraying her sister. When Wendy mentions Miles, Violet finally understands that Wendy does not constantly mention her dead husband to get sympathy but rather because she still loves him so much. The two sisters decide they want to be a part of each other’s lives. Violet wants Wendy to see how hard she tries because Wendy is her best friend.

It is eight months later. The family tries to remember the details of a teacher who died. Violet realizes that it is odd that she is only around women, because in her home, she is always surrounded by men. Ben is in town, and Grace considers him her person. Ryan has spent some time with Kit, and he is in town now. Marilyn and Wendy talk to Jonah about college, but he doesn’t know if he wants to leave home. David spends some time observing the men his daughters have chosen to be with. Marilyn lures David outside, and she realizes that all her daughters are like David in different ways. The novel ends with Marilyn and David holding hands.