Lemons

On a slow Sunday, Lemonade and Tobin don’t get any calls. Lemonade thinks about Miss Cotton, her teacher in San Francisco, and how she and her mother had the same infectious smile. Tobin invites Lemonade over to his house for the first time. They have ice cream, and Lemonade sees photographs of Tobin’s dad, Scotty. Tobin explains that he was drafted into the Vietnam War five years earlier and disappeared en route home. Lemonade tells Tobin that her mom died of cancer. When Tobin says that he knows his dad is coming home someday, Lemonade feels a pang of jealousy because Tobin still has that possibility. She thinks about needing her mother and wishes she would come back, too. That night, Lemonade decides to open the trunk in her room. As she processes the sight of her mother’s childhood belongings, Charlie knocks on the door.

Charlie gives Lemonade a new bike, unaware that she doesn’t know how to ride. She walks to Mrs. Dickerson’s house for lunch while Tobin is visiting his grandma. On the way, Lemonade is stopped by one of the boys who prank Tobin. He splashes mud on her with his bike and makes fun of her name, but then he abruptly invites her to play with the other kids after lunch. Lemonade is conflicted but thinks she should get to know the kids in her class.

Lemonade eats egg salad sandwiches with Mrs. Dickerson and hears more stories about her mother’s childhood. Mrs. Dickerson explains that Elizabeth once improvised during a school play when she forgot her lines, and the class joined in with her. Mrs. Dickerson reveals that Charlie tried to visit Lemonade many times, but Elizabeth refused. She tries to give Lemonade some insight into her grief, reminding her to be grateful for the time she had with her mother and adding that the weight of her grief will lessen over time. She also reminds Lemonade that she has new gifts worth appreciating, including Tobin, Charlie, and Willow Creek.

Lemonade walks back from Mrs. Dickerson’s and comes across kids playing. She stops and thinks as they call out to her. Lemonade considers her friends back home, Mrs. Dickerson’s advice, and her mother; she decides to play. She learns about each of the kids and finds one of the boys, Jorge, particularly cute. When she gets home, Tobin is waiting for her. He is upset that Lemonade left the business unattended. Lemonade says that she was at Mrs. Dickerson’s and does not mention the other kids. Tobin stomps off. After supper, Lemonade asks Charlie what happened to Tobin’s dad. Charlie explains that after Tobin’s dad was discharged, he was given a plane ticket home but never boarded, and nobody knows what happened to him. During the war, he was tortured while he was a prisoner. Lemonade asks if that’s why Tobin is so particular, and Charlie only answers that that is what makes Tobin special. Lemonade asks if she should have told Tobin about the other kids, and Charlie says that it could help Tobin branch out.

A man named Lester Harold reports a nine-foot-tall Bigfoot sighting at his ranch, and Tobin and Lemonade race to the scene. Lemonade is intrigued by Mr. Harold’s story of being stared at, attacked, and hit with rocks before the Bigfoot ran away. Lemonade asks if it could’ve been a bear, but he seems certain, even insisting there were other Bigfoot nearby. Lemonade suggests a longer expedition to Mr. Harold’s ranch, and Charlie says she seems to be settling into her role as an investigator. Lemonade thinks of staying in Willow Creek.

Tobin and Lemonade convince Charlie and Debbie to let them camp out in Mr. Harold’s backyard overnight. They set up a tent and quickly fall asleep, waking to howling in the woods. Tobin immediately runs off to investigate, despite Charlie and Debbie’s strict warning to stay in the backyard.

Tobin runs out into the pasture as rain pours down and thunder bellows overhead. Lemonade runs after him, screaming at him to come back, but she quickly loses sight of him. When she finally hears Tobin, he’s on the outside of the fence in the woods, and Lemonade cries as she once again loses track of him. She wishes her mother were there and feels certain that she’s going to get lost in the woods. Mr. Harold finds Lemonade and Tobin in the woods.

Debbie is irate and Charlie is silent as they determine how to punish Tobin and Lemonade for running into the woods. They decide that they will be banned from investigating for a week; they will instead help Charlie at the souvenir shop. Tobin complains, but Lemonade and his mother hush him. That night, Lemonade opens the trunk and takes out her mother’s old things before quickly putting them away, unready to confront her sadness.

Lemonade finds that her time in the store isn’t so bad. On the last day, the social worker shows up unannounced to check on Lemonade and tell her that Miss Cotton’s paperwork is complete. Lemonade doesn’t know what to do, and Charlie suggests that she might be better off in Willow Creek. Tobin looks like he will cry as he insists that Lemonade tell the social worker she isn’t leaving.

On the way home, Tobin probes Lemonade with questions. Lemonade doesn’t know how to answer and wishes her mother could help her. Charlie looks at Lemonade in the rearview mirror but says nothing.

That night, Lemonade can’t sleep. She wishes her mother could make her warm milk. She opens the trunk and takes everything out, including old toys and clothes. She thinks about being back in San Francisco and the comfortable life she would have with Miss Cotton. Staring at each of her mother’s items, she comes across an old, worn stuffed rabbit. She smells it, hoping to smell her mother, but she only smells the trunk. Lemonade realizes that her mother is gone, and she suddenly feels like she’s “sinking in sadness quicksand” (176). Charlie opens the door and tells Lemonade that the rabbit is named Rainbow. He offers to make her some warm milk, adding that he always did that for Elizabeth when she was little. Suddenly, Lemonade understands where her mother got the trick from, and Charlie feels like her family. She takes his hand, knowing he’s there for her if she slips into sadness again.