Buckeye Chapter Twenty-Five: Summary and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Becky and Cal Jenkins have traveled over the years to Niagara Falls, Lookout Mountain, and Florida to visit Ida, but they never flew until Ida was dying. For Becky’s sixtieth birthday in May 1981, she wants to revisit the spot of their postponed honeymoon in Huron, Ohio. The original hotel is now a gated community, so Cal books another room with a lake view. During the drive, they recall their parents’ flaws and their own losses, especially the death of their son Skip. They learn that Tom and Kathy plan to adopt a child rather than have biological children, giving them hope for a grandchild. Becky has not conducted a séance since Skip’s death, but six months later she hears his voice clearly in the laundry room. He tells her to “let go,” then moves through her like a wriggling fish. She realizes that messages of love and forgiveness are constantly exchanged between the living and dead. Later, Cal gives her the letter she wrote to herself at age eight, sealed and unread for over fifty years. The letter expresses simple hopes: a happy marriage, a house full of children, straight teeth, shiny hair. After reading it, Becky and Cal enjoy a ride on the double Ferris wheel at Cedar Point, rocking the car together as the wheel turns.

Key Events

Cal and Becky drive to Huron for her surprise sixtieth-birthday trip.
During the drive, they share memories of their parents’ troubling actions.
They learn from Tom and Kathy that adoption is likely, offering a path to grandparenthood.
Six months after Skip’s death, Becky hears his voice in the laundry room; she feels his presence and understands his message as love and forgiveness.
Cal presents Becky with the letter she wrote to her eight-year-old self, which she had sealed and asked him to hold.
She reads the letter aloud after fifty-two years; it is a simple list of hopes, not a prediction.
At Cedar Point, Becky rides the Gemini roller coaster with a little girl; Cal reads the letter while waiting.
They share a funnel cake on the Ferris wheel and deliberately rock the car together.

Character Development

Becky Jenkins: Her mediumship ceases after Skip’s death until she hears his voice. She frames her talent as training for grieving and accepting death. The encounter solidifies her belief that love and forgiveness are the ultimate messages crossing the divide. Reading her childhood letter shows how her life has diverged from her youthful hopes, yet she embraces the present.
Cal Jenkins: He reflects on his life’s work as “trying to make right what I’d gotten wrong.” He considers his determination to rebuild his life after his affair as his defining quality. His fear of heights on the Ferris wheel is overcome by Becky’s playful challenge, symbolizing his willingness to follow her trust.
Skip Jenkins: Though dead, Skip’s spirit communicates love and release, urging his mother to “let go.” His voice sounds as it did when he was young.
Tom and Kathy: They reveal their plan to adopt, showing a generational shift away from biological reproduction while still seeking family.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Love and Forgiveness as the Ultimate Messages: Becky concludes that what the dead most often convey are love and forgiveness, and that these feelings are sent back and forth between worlds to counterbalance human hardship.
The Past Living in Us: Cal observes that old people are not living in the past; rather, the past lives inside them. He hears voices from his childhood, feels the touch of Skip’s neck, and carries all his memories into every new place.
The Letter as a Symbol of Hope Unrealized and Yet Fulfilled: The eight-year-old Becky’s letter asks whether she is famous, has a library of a thousand books, and married Sticky Wilson. None of these came true, but she gained something deeper: a lasting partnership with Cal and a message from her son beyond the grave.
The Ferris Wheel as a Cycle of Relationship: The orange car they sat in years ago is now green. Rocking the car together on the Ferris wheel at the highest point represents mutual trust and vulnerability, mirroring how they have steadied each other through grief.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter Twenty-Five is the emotional capstone of Becky and Cal’s arc in the novel. It brings together the major threads of Becky’s mediumship, the loss of Skip, and the couple’s long marriage. The scene where Becky hears Skip’s voice finally validates her spiritual experiences as genuine, not wishful thinking. Cal’s reflection on his life’s work—repairing his own mistakes—offers a quiet but profound definition of character. The chapter also resolves the question of grandchildren through adoption, suggesting that family can be built without biology. By ending with the two of them rocking the Ferris wheel car, the chapter shows that despite all they have lost, they remain willing to be playful and to trust each other fully.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Becky stop conducting séances after Skip’s death, and what prompts her to hear his voice again?
She stops because the spirits seem to accept her retirement, and she later understands that her mediumship was training for accepting death and learning to grieve. Six months after Skip’s death, she hears his voice in the laundry room—not inside her head like other spirits, but audibly in the room. The timing suggests she has finally processed her grief enough to receive his message of love and release.

2. How does the letter Becky wrote at age eight differ from what Cal expects it to contain, and what does that reveal about her character?
Cal expects a prediction with dates and diagrams, but the letter is simply an eight-year-old’s hopeful wishes: that she be happy, have a wonderful husband and children, straight teeth and shiny hair. It reveals that even as a child, Becky focused on emotional fulfillment rather than concrete achievements. The letter’s innocence also contrasts with the tragedies she has since experienced, highlighting her resilience.

3. What does Cal mean when he says “the past is living in us,” and how does this idea connect to the chapter’s ending?
Cal reflects that old people seem distant because the past lives inside them, speaking through memories and voices. He vividly recalls his father holding Skip, the boys’ bicycle races, and the last hug he gave Skip. This idea connects to the Ferris wheel ending because, as they rock the car, they are simultaneously present in the moment and carrying all their shared history. They do not escape the past but integrate it into their current joy.