Chapter 90: Heaven

Later that night, August wakes up and goes to his parents’ bedroom, where he quietly wakes up Mom. Mom makes room for him in her and Dad’s bed, and August asks Mom if her hand is hurt from when Daisy bit her. After Mom assures him that she’s okay, August starts to cry and apologizes for what he said to her and Via. Mom tells him he has nothing to apologize for. “Is Via ashamed of me?” August asks. Mom gently reminds August that he already knows Via isn’t ashamed of him; she’s just having a hard time with her new school.

Mom tells August that she loves him and to go to sleep, but first, August wants to know if Daisy is in heaven with Grans. When Mom says yes, August asks if people look the same in heaven as they did on earth. Mom says she doesn’t think so. If they don’t look the same, August wonders, how will people recognize each other? Mom tells him, “They just feel it. You don’t need your eyes to love, right? You just feel it inside you. That’s how it is in heaven. It’s just love, and no one forgets who they love.”

After Mom goes to sleep, August lies awake, wondering if Daisy is asleep and dreaming of him in heaven. He imagines being in heaven one day, too, where his looks won’t matter any more than they did to Daisy.

Understudy

The night of Via’s school play arrives. August and Via haven’t spoken about their fight, but before she leaves for her school, Via hugs August, telling him she loves him and is proud to be his sister.

Via’s school is much bigger than August’s. As he follows his parents through the halls with his head down, August wishes he could still wear a baseball cap, or his old astronaut helmet, to hide his face, but his new hearing aids make wearing a hat impossible.

August and his parents take their seats in the auditorium and look at the program, which has pictures of Justin and Miranda but not of Via. When August asks why, Dad tells him it’s because Via is an understudy—she’ll act Miranda’s part in the play if Miranda is unable to perform. August wants to know where the word “understudy” comes from, but he has a hard time voicing his question over his parents’ conversation about Miranda’s father’s remarriage. Finally, calling him “Auggie Doggie,” Dad tells August he doesn’t know. August asks him not to use the nickname anymore, and Dad gives him a thumbs-up.

The play, Our Town, begins. August immediately likes this play, which seems much more grown-up than the others he’s seen. When Emily, the character Miranda is supposed to play, enters the stage, August and his parents are excited to see not Miranda, but Via.

The Ending

Via gives an impressive performance as Emily, and when the play is over, August joins the rest of the crowd in giving Via and Justin a standing ovation.

August and his parents go backstage, where they hug Via and enthusiastically congratulate her and Justin on their performances. Via explains that Miranda started feeling sick just before the show, so Via took her place at the last minute. August asks if Miranda is okay, but just then, Justin and Via’s teacher, Mr. Davenport, comes over to congratulate the actors and introduce himself. When Via introduces him to August, Mr. Davenport freezes, and Justin quickly leads the teacher away to meet his mother.

Before long, August is standing by himself in the middle of the crowd, being buffeted and glanced at by strangers. His vision starts to blur, and he feels dizzy and confused; when he tries to turn the volume down on his hearing aids, he accidentally turns it up instead. When he realizes he can’t see his parents, he tries to make his way through the crowd, calling for Mom and Via. But before he can find his family, August is found by Miranda, who picks him up and says, “Hey, Major Tom!” August gives her “the tightest hug” he can.