When We Collided

Vivi, Jonah, and Naomi attend the Verona Cove bonfire. Most bonfire-goers are high school and college-aged townies who get together to drink around the fire. Naomi is still annoyed by Vivi, but Jonah ignores it and thinks about all the progress he made working on the restaurant’s patio for Vivi’s birthday. Jonah attended the bonfire the previous year with friends he had when he played baseball, but he attends now almost as a representative for his family. Jonah gets protective of Vivi as she talks to the local drug dealer, Dane Farrow. Ellie chats with Jonah, Vivi, and Naomi, but Vivi is unnecessarily rude to her.

When Naomi and Ellie leave, Vivi tells Jonah that Naomi still has feelings for her ex-boyfriend, Adam. Vivi leaves to find a boy to set up with Naomi, and Jonah chats with his sister about Vivi. Naomi is weary and does not want to get to know Vivi, simply saying: “I’m just trying to hold it together” (107). Eventually, Vivi returns with Ethan, a junior at Stanford who is majoring in environmental engineering like Naomi. Both Ethan and Naomi leave to get food at the diner. After, Vivi goes skinny-dipping in the ocean and Jonah is mortified. He is jealous but distracted by Ellie as they discuss the financial issues the restaurant is facing. They both resolve to find ways to improve the restaurant. Vivi is doing cartwheels in her underwear and taking pictures with people, and Jonah becomes over-protective, telling her that they have to go home.

Jonah becomes possessive and commands her to get dressed and go home while Vivi acts on her jealous impulses and gets angry at Jonah for speaking with Ellie. They argue and Vivi leaves. Later that night, Vivi sneaks into Jonah’s room. Jonah tries to discuss their fight, about how Vivi is upset at Jonah for being protective when she is skinny dipping in front of other people and paradoxically furious at Jonah for speaking with Ellie. Vivi predictably does not apologize or discuss it further. Instead, Jonah and Vivi have sex together for the first time. Vivi is gone the next morning and has carved “Vivi was here” into Jonah’s headboard.

It's two weeks after the bonfire. Vivi is in a flurry of creativity, painting and hanging out with Jonah and his family. It is Vivi’s birthday and Carrie greets her in the morning with a strawberry cupcake, a gift card to an art store, and a promise for an “IOU” coupon for a gift arriving later in the week. Vivi also receives a card from her friend Ruby. It is revealed that Vivi failed to tell Ruby about her bipolar disorder. Vivi and Carrie argue about the identity of Vivi’s father, but Carrie insists that it is for her own good. After, Vivi scrolls past all the texts that Ruby sent her in an attempt to reach her and tells her that she misses her too.

Later that day, Vivi dresses Leah up as a peacock for her birthday costume party. Vivi is dressed up as a butterfly, Jonah as a penguin, Silas as a puppy, Bekah as a bumblebee, Isaac as an owl, Whitney as a sheep, Naomi as a doe, and Officer Hayashi as a bear. Officer Hayashi gives Vivi a Japanese maple seedling as a present. Vivi is overwhelmed with joy and gratitude. After the party, Jonah brings her to the top of the lighthouse where him and his dad used to go. Vivi speculates with Jonah that her dad was a musician and what she imagines he is like. She wishes that she could tell Ruby and Amala about Jonah. After, Jonah and Vivi dance to the songs from the old radio in the tower.

Jonah wakes up to a rainstorm covering Verona Cove. Rain is out of the ordinary for Verona Cove and Jonah finds his mother is awake, her hair brushed, and working on household paperwork. Mrs. Daniels reveals to her son that she enjoys numbers and accounting because there is always a right answer waiting for her. After Jonah’s conversation with his mother, he receives a text from Felix asking him to come in to the restaurant. The restaurant is busy because Tony’s has a rainy day special, selling hot soups and homemade bread. Jonah is confused by the change but discovers that this is all Ellie’s doing. Ellie has been a server at Tony’s her whole life and after her conversation with Jonah, began thinking up ideas to bring in more business.

The idea drums up quite a bit of business and the restaurant stays busy all day. Ellie and Jonah walk home together, and she shows him a sheet of paper with all of her ideas on it. Ideas include making an official kids’ menu, creating a large salad menu, and having more vegetarian and gluten-free options. Ellie also suggests calling the restaurant Tony’s Bistro, and Jonah agrees. Eventually, they begin talking about Jonah’s mother. Instead of pitying Jonah, Ellie is sympathetic and frustrated at herself for not having checked in sooner. Ellie tells Jonah about her brother, Diego, who had depression as well. Ellie offers to help with anything Jonah might need, and Jonah asks her to speak to Felix about asking for Mrs. Daniels’s help with the restaurant’s finances. Ellie agrees to talk to her dad and they part ways. Jonah feels like he’s “added another person to [their] team” (138).

Vivi ransacks her mother’s room in search of evidence about her father’s identity. Vivi reminisces about Carrie’s ex-boyfriend, Adesh, who was extremely kind, but who had to return to India. Although Carrie and Adesh exchanged letters, Adesh ultimately married another woman named Saanvi. Vivi remembers all of this and searches her mother’s underwear drawer. She finds some pictures of all of them together. Finally, Vivi uncovers an envelope in the back corner of Richard’s closet filled with important documents. There, Vivi finds her birth father’s name: James Bukowski. She discovers that he lives in Berkeley, California, and works at Berkeley College. She immediately sets off on her Vespa to find him.

Vivi does this on a whim and brings nothing with her:“I didn’t pack anything really because I won’t need anything once I get there. Either it’s not my dad, and I turn around and come home or it is my dad, and he’ll have everything else I’ll need” (144).

After a while, Vivi arrives at the suburban house. An older man greets her at the door and when James realizes who she is, he becomes enraged. James tells Vivi that she “cannot be here” (147), and he shuts the door behind him to hide her from his family and kids. Vivi discovers that James has been paying child support to hide her existence from his real family. Vivi begins crying and when James tells her to lower her voice, she shouts at him. She curses at him, telling him that he is the “biggest disappointment of [her] life” (147) and ensures that his family and wife hears it.