Honestly Elliott

At his session with Dr. Gilmore, Elliott is distracted with thoughts of pie. He tells Dr. Gilmore that the business project is going well and that he told Maribel about The Incident. Dr. Gilmore says that there are different types of friends—some are for talking to and some are for doing things with—and Elliott concludes that Maribel is both kinds. Elliott describes The Incident to Dr. Gilmore, finding it easier than when he told Maribel. He keeps talking, mentioning the mess he made at dinner with Kate and Mark and discussing how his new brother will share his middle name. Afterwards, Dr. Gilmore asks Elliott to identify how he feels, and Elliott says that he is tired. As he leaves, he thinks more about his feelings, noticing that he feels mad, sad, brave, and calm all at once.

Elliott feels a little better after talking to Dr. Gilmore. It reminds him of playing on a mulched playground when he was little; his shoes filled with mulch, and he didn’t notice much until after he finished playing and cleaned out his shoes.

On Thursday, Elliott goes to dinner with Mark and Kate before they take a weekend trip. Mark presses Elliott for information about Maribel, assuming that he has a crush on her, and Elliott asks Mark not to make things weird because he doesn’t have many friends. Mark realizes how hard it has been for Elliott since Malcolm left, and Elliott gets irritated because he thinks that his dad hasn’t been paying attention to his struggles that year. After a moment, Mark asks if there is anything he can do to help Elliott, and Elliott asks to play Kingdom of Krull so that he can bond with his lunch friends. At first, Mark suggests that Elliott find new friends, but he says that he will consider the request.

The week before the business project is due, Maribel has a dental appointment and misses Advisory. Ms. Choi puts Elliott with Kunal’s group, hoping that they can help each other figure out how to maximize profits. Victor snaps at Elliott for picking up and examining one of their catapults, but Kunal jumps to Elliott’s defense. Kunal asks Elliott about his project and says that they should get together at Sugar Rose again. Drew gets Kunal’s attention, and they start discussing prices, arguing about whether to charge $4 or $5 per catapult. Elliott shares that he and Maribel are planning to sell pies for $10, but Gilbert suggests that that is expensive, and Victor argues that whole pies are cumbersome to carry around a festival. Kunal suggests that they make mini pies, and the others agree. Elliott writes down the idea so that he doesn’t forget to tell Maribel. He then suggests that their group could maximize profits by selling cotton balls to launch with the catapults. They thank Elliott, and Elliott feels good having contributed to their project.

The day before the festival, Elliott and Maribel work together to make as many pies as they can at Maribel’s house. Carla arrives home with pizza, and Elliott, Maribel, and her parents eat in the kitchen. The conversation turns to Elliott’s little brother, and Gabriel and Carla reminisce about Maribel’s early childhood, remembering how serious she was even as a baby. They show Elliott pictures of her, which embarrasses her, but she laughs. Elliott is jealous, wishing that his family was more like Maribel’s. They finish baking, and Carla drives Elliott to Mark and Kate’s, explaining that they will pick Elliott up in the morning and will bring more pies to Avery Local partway through the morning.

Elliott goes inside and calls for Kate, but she doesn’t answer. He finds her on the couch. She has a headache, and her feet and ankles are severely swollen. Elliott suggests that they call Mark, and Kate agrees.

Elliott calls Mark but is sent to voicemail, and Kate remembers that Mark is giving a speech in Washington, DC, so she asks Elliott to text Mark instead. Then he tries Nina, who misses the first call but answers on the second. He explains what is going on with Kate, and Nina asks to talk to her. Nina says that they need to go to the hospital and says that she is sending a car for them. Kate has a hospital bag in her room, and Elliott helps her get ready to leave. The car arrives, and Elliott helps Kate outside. Mark calls and talks to Kate, telling her that he will be on the next flight home, but he is still hours away.

At the hospital, Kate checks in and is taken in the back, but Elliott is too young to accompany her, so he is sent to the waiting room. However, he overhears a nurse talking about preeclampsia. Elliott is scared that something might happen to his little brother, and he hopes that everything will be okay.

A large family comes into the waiting room, and Elliott jealously watches them. Nina arrives, gives Elliott a long hug, then takes him to get hot chocolate from a machine down the hall. He asks about preeclampsia, and Nina explains that it’s a medical condition that can arise during pregnancy that involves high blood pressure. Nina comforts Elliott, telling him that Kate is surrounded by medical professionals who can help her. Elliott interjects that the baby isn’t yet a watermelon, then he explains about Kate’s baby book. His concern intensifies, and he begins to cry, but not because of emotional overwhelm.

They sit back in the waiting room, and Elliott notices that Nina looks different; she is dressed up and wearing makeup. She had been out with a friend when Elliott called, and she admits that sometimes she goes on dates but that she doesn’t want to get married again. Elliott had assumed that Nina was lonely, and he thought it was unfair that Mark remarried. Nina points out the difference between “alone and lonely” arguing, “You can be lonely even if you’re with other people” (218). Elliott relates, thinking about his lunch friends and saying that he feels both lonely and alone with Malcolm away. He admits that he resented Kate because he already has a mom, and Nina says that he can have both her and Kate. Crying harder, Elliott says that he wants a family like the large family in the waiting room, but Nina argues that all families have their own problems.

Elliott keeps talking to Nina, telling her that he is worried that he hurt the baby by causing Kate stress and explaining that he was scared the baby would replace him. Nina then tells Elliott that when she was five and her little brother Greg was born, she snuck into the bathroom and cut off all her hair. She says that a lot of people have trouble when they get a new sibling, and she says that Elliott’s incident was a sign that he needed help. After talking, Elliott is tired, so he leans on Nina’s shoulder and falls asleep.

Mark gets to the hospital and Nina wakes Elliott. Kate is under observation and doing alright. Nina is going to take Elliott home so that he can sleep. Mark pulls Elliott into a long, awkward hug, and when Mark pulls away, he is crying. He thanks Nina for her help and then joins Kate. Nina says that the big family had their baby while Elliott was asleep. They leave, and Elliott goes to bed right after checking on his guinea pigs.

When he wakes in the morning, Elliott first remembers that it’s Avery Local Day, then he remembers that Kate is in the hospital and messages Mark. Mark says that Kate is in the same condition, and he wishes Elliott luck. Elliott gets up, gets ready by himself, and is outside when Maribel and Gabriel come for him. He tells them what happened, and Gabriel says that they might help Kate give birth if her blood pressure doesn’t come down.

They get to the school, check in, and carry their pies to their booth, which is out in the field. Maribel is worried, but Elliott says that people will find their booth. She is also concerned about her friends’ booth, which is nearby and looks very professional. Elliott and Maribel set up their area, and Nina texts that she is on her way, making Elliott jump. Ms. Choi comes by, purchases a pie, and loves it. She advises the students to call Gabriel and tell him that they will need the additional pies.

About an hour after the event opens, people start to come out to the booths on the field. To garner business, they cut up one of the pies and start handing out free samples. It works, and people start coming to the booth and purchasing pies. Maribel talks to the customers, and Elliott processes the transactions as quickly as he can. Although he is happy about the money they are making, Elliott is more excited about the impression the pies are making on the people eating them.

Maribel’s parents and Nina arrive with more boxes of pies, and Elliott loudly announces that Maribel will be successful in the business field, prompting a smile from Carla. Janiyah comes to the booth with Ms. Choi, and Elliott and Maribel give them free pies to repay them for their help. Maribel asks for another clipboard for people to write down their information so she can contact them for future pop-up events, and Elliott suggests that they can make pies for the Avery Market. He is surprised by his business savvy and is excited to talk to Mark about it.

The pies sell out, Elliott and Maribel collect contact information, and they divide the money, each pocketing nearly $500. They take turns walking around, and Elliott checks out the other projects and finds gifts for his family members. Kunal gives Elliott a free catapult, and Elliott invites him to make pies sometime with Maribel. When he returns to their booth, Elliott finds out that Kennedy signed up on the contact list and apologized to Maribel.

Elliott watches the booth while Maribel explores the festival. Mark calls and asks about the festival. He tells Elliott how proud he is and how he has noticed that Elliott is always looking out for people. Mark cries and talks about how he felt when Elliott was born and how he wishes that he could make life easier for Elliot. Elliott argues that life isn’t easy but says that he is doing okay, and Mark agrees.

Kate’s blood pressure does not stabilize, so the doctors help Kate give birth to Jonah, Elliott’s brother. Elliott does not get to meet Jonah right away but does see pictures. Two days later, Mark picks up Elliott, and they stop at Sugar Rose, where Mark tells Elliott that he has been seeing a therapist, which is why Elliott saw him at Dr. Gilmore’s. He blames himself for Elliott’s struggles earlier that year, and he is trying to learn how to talk about his feelings.

At the hospital, Kate is still swollen but looks much better than she did. Mark instructs Elliott on what to do so that he can hold the baby, and Elliott gets nervous. However, when he holds Jonah, Elliott is calm and amazed. Elliott asks if Jonah is okay, and Kate says, “He’s perfect […] [j]ust like his brother” (247). Unashamed, Elliott cries and revels in the intensity of the moment, thinking of everything that he will teach his new brother. Jonah makes a noise, and Mark hands him to Kate so that she can feed him. They resume the conversation about Jonah’s middle name, and Mark and Kate clarify that they want to use Elliott for Jonah’s middle name. Mark hugs Elliott, and they all cry, which Elliott attributes to the intense feelings accompanying a new baby—“[i]n fact, that’s maybe one of the best things about babies, if you want to know the truth” (250).

Elliott tells Nina that they need a larger fridge; Elliott is trying to cook and store food for two weekend events—a Watermelon Day party to celebrate Jonah’s original due date, and a dinner party with Maribel and Kunal’s families at Nina’s house. Elliott is excited to be cooking for large groups, and he still likes Griffin Connor but no longer hates recipes. Mark calls to ask Elliott to play Kingdom of Krull, but Elliott has the dinner party. The two of them still disagree sometimes, but they are growing closer, and Mark let Elliott keep all the money he saved to pay for culinary camp. Elliott has realized that it is better to make the best of your situation rather than wish for things to be different.