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This is part 16 of my review and summary of Intensely Alice for those of you who have not been able to read the book yet and are dying to know what happens.
WARNING: Please do not continue reading if you do not want to know what happens.
Chapter Eighteen- Believing. Or Not.
Liz, Gwen, Pamela, Keeno, and Alice are gathered at the Price’s house. The adults are in the dining room. Mark’s dad had briefly told Ben on the phone that a minister was at their house and Mark’s mom was sedated. When Alice called Patrick, she knew that he was crying even without asking. Patrick wanted to know the date of the funeral and Alice promised to tell him when she knew. Alice recalls in her mind the last time she saw Mark. It was only last night that the group had gone out for dinner. As the adults talk about the technical and hypothetical aspects of the accident, all Alice can think is nothing can change what happened and now Mark is dead.
On Wednesday night, Alice, Pamela, Liz, and Gwen head over to the Stedmeister’s house. There, everyone who has ever swum in their pool is gathered out front (minus Patrick). They form a semicircle around the house holding lighted candles. No one speaks. They stand in silence as a tribute to the Stedmeisters and Mark, for everything that they did and for everything Mark would now not be able to enjoy. When the door opened, both Mr. and Mrs. Stedmeister appeared and hesitantly walked out onto the porch. Mrs. Stedmeister, in a trembling voice, thanks the group of friends and asks them to sit around the pool for a while and to please accept some lemonade.
The next couple of days for Alice are slow. When Gwen drives them by to the spot where Mark died, they see a memorial of flowers and such had been set up his memory. The girls talk about what they would miss them most about Mark from his smile to his ready-to-do-anything spirit to the fact that although he was an average guy, they just needed him to be there. Gwen mentions how Mark took control when there were intruders at the party at Lester’s house and Alice mentions how even though Brian has basically left the group, Mark was becoming “more sure of himself”.
There is an article in the newspaper about the accident, but it just does not capture the severity of what happened for Alice and her friends. When Alice calls Pamela to check up on her, Pamela does not see the point in anything at all because everything feels out of anyone’s control. Alice tries to explain to her that nothing is a guarantee, but you still need to live life. When Pamela blames the truck driver, Alice tells her that Ben told her the man it was an old man who probably fell asleep at the wheel or something.
At the funeral, Patrick, who flew in for the funeral, but has to fly right back for his father’s birthday that evening, and Alice sit together with Ben, Sylvia, and Lester. It is a sad moment and Alice tries not to think about Mark’s accident and what he might have gone through. Mark’s uncle speaks on behalf of the family and shares a moment about Mark. When asked if anyone else would like to speak, Patrick gets up and speaks. Mark and him have been friends since fourth grade. He says that Mark’s death has impacted the lives of his friends in unexpected ways. They all appreciate life more as they do Mark and his parents. As Patrick ends his eulogy, everyone is crying or trying to hold back tears. Alice even sees Brian Brewster, who is trying to hold his sobs back, but cannot. After the funeral, Patrick has to leave, but Alice and the others go to the cemetery. Mark’s casket is lowered into the ground as Mrs. Stedmeister cries into her husband’s shoulder. After the burial, they each decide that each week one of them should come by and visit the Stedmeister. By the end of they day, all of them are exhausted.
At the Melody Inn, Alice tells David that she does not believe in God anymore because He lets bad things happen to innocent people. Alice then asks him how he explains it. David replies that he does not and that it makes sense to believe in God when “your faith is stronger than your doubt”. He also says he wants to believe in God and so he does. David says he understands what Alice is thinking and Alice ends the conversation by saying she does not understand anything at al.
MY TAKE: Again, another emotional chapter. I thought Mrs. Naylor did a good job handling the aftermath of Mark’s death showing the feelings and questions one has after a loss of a loved one. It just comes to show how important a character Mark was and what he meant to the Alice series. He will be deeply missed.
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