Someone Like You

Halley and her father leave for Buffalo the next morning and arrive at the care facility where Grandma Halley is recovering. Halley feels anxious about the way she left things with Macon and upset that he did not drive by to say goodbye, even though he knew how upset Halley was about her grandmother’s condition.

When they enter Grandma Halley’s room, Halley notes that her grandmother looks small and unwell. Her mother ushers Halley and her father out of the room quickly so that Grandma Halley can rest. Julia insists that Grandma Halley is doing well, but when she wakes up and Halley visits with her, she can tell that her grandmother does not recognize her at first.

Halley and her parents stay at Grandma Halley’s house for the weekend. While there, Halley finds an old cabinet in her room that is full of photographs and letters from Grandma Halley’s youth. Halley looks through the contents and brings them downstairs to her mother, who is sitting in the kitchen. She shows her Grandma Halley’s old wedding photos and letters, and they bond momentarily. Julia apologizes again for their argument at the restaurant and reiterates that “[s]omeday [she]’ll understand” why Halley cannot see Macon anymore (195). This ends the warm feelings between them, and Halley tells her mother that she will never understand why they have forbidden her from seeing Macon.

Halley begins going upstairs to bed and stops at a framed newspaper article about the year they visited Grandma Halley to watch Halley’s Comet. Halley tells her mother that she remembers sitting in Grandma Halley’s lap, watching the comet fly overhead, and Julia disagrees, telling her that she was too young to remember and that it was a cloudy night. Halley bristles at this, thinking that this is yet another example of her mother’s need to be right.

The family gets ready to leave the next morning, visiting Grandma Halley one last time. Her grandmother is barely awake or coherent, and Halley sits with her, thinking about the vibrant young woman she saw in the photographs of her grandmother. Halley’s mother says goodbye to Grandma Halley in private, and when Halley goes back in to collect her, she finds her mother weeping while her grandmother continues to sleep.

As the holidays approach, Halley still has not decided whether or not she wants to have sex with Macon, in part because they have been seeing less of each other outside of school. Halley keeps busy with helping Scarlett prepare for the baby while Macon skips school more frequently. Halley’s mother continues to believe that Halley is no longer seeing him. Scarlett asks if Halley loves Macon. Halley admits that she does, although she has never told him. Halley says that Macon loves her too when Scarlett asks, although he has not told her either. Halley insists that they do not need to say they love each other in order to have sex, but Scarlett disagrees.

Julia insists that they all go get their Christmas tree together as a family. At the tree farm, Halley stands by the car as her mother tries to find the perfect tree, and as she waits, Elizabeth Gunderson approaches her. Elizabeth asks how things are with Macon and says that she has been seeing him out quite a bit lately without Halley. The next afternoon, Halley lies to her parents about being at work and goes to Macon’s. She asks him about the places he has been going without her, and Macon becomes defensive. Halley can feel that she is losing him and knows that she has to have sex with him soon or else their relationship will be over.

On Christmas Eve, Halley’s parents leave for a party, and Macon comes over to give Halley her present: a chunky silver ring that Halley thinks she would have never picked out for herself. Halley asks what Macon is doing the rest of the night, and he gives a vague answer, saying that he is just going out with some friends. He grows frustrated when Halley asks why Macon never takes her to any of the places he goes, and he says that she would be bored and that “[i]t’s not [her] kind of place” (213). Halley feels insulted, but instead of starting an argument, she tells Macon again that she likes her ring and that she wants to spend the night with him on New Year’s Eve, hoping that he understands the subtext that she plans to have sex with him. He agrees and then leaves Halley standing in the doorway, feeling “uneven and off-balance” after having made her decision to have sex with Macon but also feeling that it is too late to recant (215).

As soon as Macon leaves, Scarlett calls out to Halley, and she rushes over. Scarlett takes Halley’s hand and places it on her stomach, where Halley feels the first kicks of the baby. Halley is amazed and wants to share her news of her decision with Scarlett but instead just stands with her best friend, feeling the baby kick.

On New Year’s Eve, Halley’s mother spends the entire day cleaning and only asks Halley what her plans are for the evening in the late afternoon. When Halley gives a noncommittal answer, Julia suggests that she and Scarlett spend the night at the party to help out. Suddenly panicked that her mother will prevent her from going out, and therefore thwarting her plan to have sex with Macon, Halley insists that her mother cannot make her stay home. Julia begins to argue but then pauses, telling Halley that she can spend the evening at Scarlett’s and that she is trusting her.

Halley goes over to Scarlett’s before she plans to meet Macon. Scarlett tells Halley to not “give up something important to hold onto someone who can’t even say they love you” (221). Halley becomes angry, lashing out at Scarlett and telling her that she made a similar decision that resulted in mistakes. Scarlett is hurt, and the girls stand in silence, staring at each other, until Steve, now in full medieval dress, walks in to pick up Marion for a New Year’s Eve party. Scarlett leaves Halley and Steve alone to go get Marion, and Halley excuses herself before Scarlett returns.

Macon drives Halley to the party, which is at a dilapidated house outside of town. Upon entering the house, Halley cannot help but wonder immediately what her mother would think, as the house is dirty and in shambles. Macon seems to know everyone and hands Halley a beer, which she drinks quickly out of anxiety. Macon steers Halley toward a bedroom where they find a boy, Ronnie, and Elizabeth Gunderson sitting on a bed. Elizabeth is crouched down and looking for a missing earring.

Ronnie picks up a bong off the ground and offers a hit to Macon and Halley. Halley accepts, having never smoked marijuana before. Ronnie and Macon leave briefly, and Halley sits in the room with Elizabeth. Halley begins feeling the effects of the marijuana, and Elizabeth asks when Scarlett’s baby is due, stating that she had no idea she and Michael were even dating. Elizabeth says that she saw Michael a lot last summer and that he never mentioned Scarlett. Halley feels an intense loathing for Elizabeth, who often seems to sweep into her life to drop “bombs and walking off, leaving them to explode in [her] face” (227). Elizabeth gets up and leaves Halley in the room by herself for what feels like hours until Macon returns, informing her that it is not even midnight yet.

Macon pulls Halley down onto the bed with him, and they begin kissing. Halley understands that this is the moment she is going to have sex with Macon and tries to enjoy herself, but the smell and heat of the room overpower her. As things progress, Halley cannot help but admit to herself that this is not how she imagined her first time having sex, and the room begins to spin from the alcohol and marijuana. Halley stops Macon’s wandering hands and tells him that she is going to be sick and that she wants to go home. Macon is angry, telling her that she cannot go home, and tries to pull her back down onto the bed, but Halley rushes out of the house and into the nearby woods. As the clock strikes 12, Halley finds herself crying and throwing up as she thinks about how angry she is with her mother and Scarlett for being right.

On the drive home from the party, Macon does not speak to Halley, and she senses his anger toward her. He is driving too fast, and Halley worries that she is going to be sick again. She apologizes after a few miles, and Macon tells her to “[f]orget it” (232). Halley tries to assure Macon that she did want to have sex but that she just drank too much, and Macon accuses Halley of changing her mind and being a tease.

Macon continues to speed, and Halley asks him to slow down as they approach a red light at an intersection, but Macon only speeds up. He turns to Halley and begins to say something to her but does not finish his statement. Halley sees his face illuminated increasingly brightly by an oncoming car. The other car hits Halley’s side of the car and sends glass shattering around them.