Three Wishes

Gemma takes her grandmother, Nana Kettle, to Sunday Mass and then gives her a manicure afterward. Neither one is particularly religious, but this is a ritual they’ve developed over time. One of the men in church reminds Gemma of her fiancé, Marcus, and she flashes back to the day he got killed. Gemma had stooped to pick up a stray wedding invitation from the sidewalk just as Marcus was struck by a car. Gemma was paralyzed at first and didn’t know what to do. She thought, “This was something quite big. This was something for grown-ups to fix. This was something for strong, fatherly men and efficient, motherly women. Capable people” (94).

At the time, Gemma was teaching second grade. When she returned to work after the funeral, she was a changed woman. She was overwhelmed by grief and couldn’t focus: “She was twenty-two and she felt all used up, a dried-out old husk, a dirty old rag” (95). At this point, Gemma began to drift through life with no particular goal. Gemma’s flashback ends as the church service concludes. Back at Nana’s house, they chat over the manicure. Gemma is shocked when Nana casually remarks that her husband, Pop, disapproved of Marcus. Before Gemma can get an explanation, Nana’s mind wanders to another topic.

The chapter ends with an observer’s anecdote. A girl of nine is vacationing with her family in Australia. They board a ferry, and she notices a man and three girls her own age having a wonderful time together. She thinks they must lead dream lives and resolves that she will someday move to Australia, which she does in later years.

Gemma is due to meet Lyn and Cat at a mall coffee shop, and she’s determined not to be late. Lyn arrives second, surprised that Gemma is on time. While they wait for Cat, Lyn admits that she had sex with Dan during their brief relationship and, in fact, lost her virginity to him. She never told Cat any of this. Gemma is so shocked by the disclosure that she can’t hide her reaction when Cat finally shows up. Before long, the secret is out, and Cat is, once again, not speaking to Lyn. Lyn had planned to host Christmas lunch at her house and invite Nana, the parents, and Gemma’s new boyfriend Charlie. Cat declares she won’t be attending the festivities.

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, Gemma becomes more deeply involved with Charlie. They’ve grown more intimate and had sex together, which turned out to be quite pleasant from Gemma’s perspective. Charlie has started referring to her as “my girlfriend.” One night, while Charlie is sleeping over, Gemma has a nightmare in which the two of them have a baby but have forgotten about it. Still asleep, Gemma begins rummaging through bureau drawers looking for the neglected baby’s corpse. Charlie wakes Gemma up, and she tells him about her recurring nightmares. Gently steering her back to bed, Charlie asks, “Just as a matter of interest, how often do you have them?” (114). 

Cat recalls Dan’s reaction when she accuses him of sleeping with Lyn. He admits that he completely forgot about it. Cat believes him but says that she would never have dated him if she’d known. On some level, she’s upset that she got involved with her sister’s leftovers. Cat speculates about the difference between identical twins: Are they fated to live the same lives? Were she and Lyn meant to both sleep with Dan? How did the addition of a fraternal twin alter the dynamic between the two of them?

Her thoughts are interrupted by the arrival of Gemma. She’s brought a bottle of wine and intends to make peace with Cat on Lyn’s behalf. While they’re talking, it occurs to Cat that her period is three weeks late. She was expecting it the night Dan confessed his infidelity. Gemma offers to help Cat use a pregnancy test to find out the truth. While they wait, Cat attempts to suppress her anticipation. She’s been trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant for months. Cat secretly envies Lyn for having gotten pregnant so quickly with Maddie. She thinks, “Sometimes just looking at Maddie twisted Cat’s heart. She was the one thing Lyn had that Cat couldn’t even pretend not to want” (121). After a few tense moments waiting for the test to work. Gemma announces happily that Cat is indeed pregnant.

The chapter ends with an observer’s anecdote. A sad old man who has just lost his wife is seated in a McDonald’s near three teenage girls. One of them is moping over a lost boyfriend. Another brings a caramel sundae to the table and says it has magical healing properties. After forcing the sad one to take a bite, the other girl smacks her on the forehead to exorcise the demon of sadness. The sight cheers the old man so much that he says the sundae really did have healing properties.

Cat makes a marketing presentation at work that her nemesis, Rob, criticizes. The product is Hollingdale Chocolates, and the ad shows a woman in a bathtub enjoying a chocolate break. Rob makes disparaging comments about the pitch. Despite his criticism, the company president approves of Cat’s campaign and gives Rob another reason to hate her. Later that day, at their therapy session with Annie, Cat announces that she and Dan are expecting. Cat insists that the couple needs to wrap up their issues before the baby arrives.

On Christmas Eve, Cat volunteers to babysit Maddie while Lyn and Maxine go food shopping. Lyn urges Cat to tell her mother about the pregnancy because everybody else in the family already knows. Maxine receives the news coolly. Cat bitterly remembers how proud Maxine was when Lyn was expecting Maddie. On Christmas Day morning, Cat and Dan achieve a small degree of reconciliation and then head over to Lyn’s house for the family’s big celebration. Everyone is getting along relatively well as Gemma waits anxiously for the arrival of her new boyfriend, Charlie. When he does appear, he explains that he needs to drive his sister to their own family feast. His sister turns out to be none other than Angela.