All the Ugly and Wonderful Things

Butch works for Liam as a drug dealer and runner but professes distress watching the way Val abuses Wavy, pulling her by the hair and shaking her. He recalls Val screaming at Wavy not to talk to people when Wavy was only three; this is why Wavy does not talk. Butch then recalls Wavy taking Kellen’s place at the poker table and winning thousands of dollars off Butch and his drug runner friends. Butch ends by describing Kellen’s interaction with Wavy during the game. He at first sympathizes with the pair as a couple of outsiders who found solace in each other. However, when Kellen removes Wavy’s boot and kisses her bare foot, Butch feels the gesture crosses a boundary. Butch identifies Wavy as “somebody else’s little girl” (124), not to be touched that way by someone unrelated.

Wavy describes waiting for Kellen in her hiding place at the ranch. She watches and listens as Dee and Lance leave, “probably going to the barracks to fuck” (125). She overhears Sandy complaining. The adults do not see her. Kellen arrives after looking for her at the house but finding Sean’s Corvette (Sean stays at the house now). Wavy takes Kellen out to the meadow, offering him two beers she stole from the car of one of the shop’s employees. They look at the stars, and Wavy describes caressing Kellen’s feet with her own. She withholds the names of stars until Kellen kisses her on the mouth.

With Wavy asleep in his arms in the meadow, Kellen hears a car accident. He tries to stop Wavy from coming with him, knowing the cars have come from the farmhouse and one of them most likely is Val’s. Wavy follows Kellen, and he finds Val’s car partially in the ditch, the engine shoved into the front seat. He sees Val behind the wheel, possibly dead. When Wavy tries to get in the car, Kellen pulls her away. They find Donal lying in the ditch, and Kellen convinces her not to move him but to run for help. He instructs her to go to the ranch, but she runs toward the farmhouse. Kellen knows she plans to call 911. He remembers the day of his accident, saying, “[Y]ou don’t call 911 if you wreck your bike a mile from a four-thousand-square-foot metal barn full of meth-making equipment” (131). Kellen can hear Donal breathing as he waits for help.

Dee, one of Liam’s girlfriends, comes to the hospital with him to see Val, who has suffered serious injuries. Both Dee and Liam smoke too much “crystal” before visiting. When Kellen arrives with Wavy, Liam accuses Kellen of trying to sleep with Val, misinterpreting Kellen’s constant presence at the house. Dee worries about Liam’s vow to “make this right” (133), concerned that if Liam focuses more on Val, her own relationship with Liam might falter. When Butch suggests that Dee leave with Wavy and spend the night with her, Dee balks, afraid to spend the night alone with “that creepy little girl” (134). Kellen agrees to take her home. Butch starts to object, but no one stops Kellen.

Kellen asks Wavy where she wants to go. Kellen agrees to stay with her at the farmhouse, knowing he will sleep in her bed and not on the couch (as he told the others he would). Before coming to the hospital, Kellen and Wavy saw the scene that now awaits them at the farmhouse: The house has been torn apart and the furniture destroyed, there is a used needle on the floor, and food and broken dishes are everywhere. Even Wavy’s and Donal’s books and toys are broken. Kellen and Wavy rest and then clean up the mess.

Donal witnessed the fight Val and Sean had before the accident—the reason for the house’s state. While he can’t remember the accident itself, he describes Val as angry, telling him to put on his shoes. He is afraid of his mother and her many moods.

After the accident, Liam sends for Donal to live with him. Donal is excited at first, thinking about the motorcycles, puppies, and firecrackers at the ranch. Sandy comes and helps Wavy and Donal pack to go to the ranch. When Liam sees that Sandy has brought Wavy, he yells at her and insists that she take Wavy back to the farmhouse. He only wanted Donal. Donal feels guilty about having any fun at the ranch after that.

Of all Liam’s abuse and transgressions, his rejection of Wavy galls Kellen the most. Kellen is at the ranch when Sandy brings Donal and Wavy to Liam, and he leaves with Wavy when Liam sends her away. She expresses unhappiness at having to ride in Old Man Cutcheon’s truck instead of Kellen’s bike. Wavy’s disappointment grows when Kellen says she cannot move in with him. When she says, “Get married” (140), Kellen worries at first that she overheard Liam at the hospital, where he accused Kellen of thinking he could lure Val away and marry her. When Kellen realizes Wavy wants him to marry her (Wavy), he laughs, mortifying her. Kellen tries to make it up to her by stopping at the hardware store and making a key to his house for her. She takes the key, which he interprets as a sign that she still cares for him. However, when Wavy gets out of the truck at the farmhouse, Kellen sees that she has written “Liar” with her finger in the dust on the truck dashboard.