Chapter Twenty: The Box – Opal Revisits Her Past

⚠️ 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

After his older son Orvil survived a shooting, Opal becomes drawn back into her own history. She first finds an old flier for the Friendship Center, a place she had long forgotten, and decides to attend their elders luncheon. There she meets Frank Blanket, a retired social worker who flirts with her. A week later, Frank is absent, but another woman, Maxine, recognizes Opal and tells her she looks like her mother. Maxine reveals she was on the island during the occupation and kept a box that belonged to Opal’s mother. Opal retrieves the box from a cluttered storeroom. Later, while with her grandson Lony, Opal learns that Lony believes he may have used a superpower from dreams to save Orvil’s life. He describes a special spot between his heart and stomach, which he also demonstrates with a “diamond eye” gesture.

Key Events

Opal finds an old event flier and impulsively goes to the Friendship Center’s elders luncheon.
She plays bingo, eats, and feels a sense of belonging among other older Native women.
Frank Blanket introduces himself, flirts, and gives her his business card.
Maxine approaches Opal, identifies herself, and mentions that Opal looks like her mother (Jacquie).
Maxine reveals she has kept a box belonging to Opal’s mother since the occupation.
Opal retrieves the box from a high stack of boxes using a ladder.
Opal takes Lony for pizza and an arcade game (Street Fighter II).
Lony explains that he believes he used a dream power (from a spot near his heart and stomach) to heal Orvil or that Orvil is bulletproof.
Lony demonstrates “diamond eye” by making a diamond shape with his fingers.

Character Development

Opal Viola Bear Shield: This chapter deepens Opal’s arc as she confronts her avoidance of community and her mother’s legacy. Attending the luncheon marks a step toward reconnection, and retrieving the box signifies a willingness to face her past. Her conversation with Lony also shows her patience and openness, as she listens to his fantastical explanations without dismissing them.
Lony: Lony’s imaginative and sincere nature is highlighted. He uses make-believe as a coping mechanism, believing he has a superpower that saved Orvil. His “diamond eye” moment reveals a childlike creativity that also serves as a poignant response to trauma.
Maxine: Though minor, Maxine serves as a keeper of memory. Her decision to preserve Opal’s mother’s box for years underscores the theme of communal holding of history.
Frank Blanket: Frank is a brief but symbolic figure—representing possibility for new relationships, though Opal chooses not to pursue it.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Memory and the Past: The chapter opens with Opal “digging around in her old stuff.” The box itself is the central symbol of hidden family history and the stories that survive across generations.
Community and Isolation: Opal’s initial resistance to “community events” and her eventual reluctant return to the Friendship Center reflect her struggle between isolation and belonging.
Make-Believe and Agency: Lony’s belief in superpowers crafted from dreams suggests that imagination can provide a sense of agency in the face of helplessness. His “diamond eye” gesture is a playful yet meaningful way of seeing the world differently.
Survival and Legacy: Opal’s thoughts about whether anyone told Orvil that Jacquie saved him tie survival to the act of remembering and telling—a motif that runs through the novel.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter Twenty is a quiet pivot. It physically places Opal back in a community space she long avoided and introduces a tangible link to her mother in the form of a box. This discovery will likely pay off in later chapters as Opal opens it. The chapter also deepens the emotional aftermath of Orvil’s shooting through Lony, offering a child’s perspective on trauma and healing. Lony’s “diamond eye” and talk of superpowers provide a tender counterpoint to the violence, reinforcing the novel’s interest in how people construct meaning after loss.

Study Questions and Answers

Why does Opal decide to go to the Friendship Center after finding the old flier?
Opal is drawn by a sudden impulse to reconnect with a place that once provided social services and community. Although she dislikes thinking of herself as an elder or believing in fate, the timing of the luncheon feels meaningful. It is a rare moment where she allows herself to be among other Native elders and to confront a part of her past she had suppressed.
What does Lony’s “diamond eye” gesture symbolize in the context of the chapter?
The diamond eye represents Lony’s imaginative way of perceiving reality. By looking through a diamond shape made with his fingers, he signals that he sees the world through a lens of possibility and wonder. This aligns with his earlier claim that make-believe can shape reality, and it shows how he processes trauma not with despair but with creative, almost magical thinking.
What role does the box play in Opal’s relationship with her mother, Jacquie?
The box is a concrete object left by Jacquie, kept by Maxine for years. For Opal, it is a direct, unopened link to her mother’s past—a past she has largely avoided dealing with. By retrieving the box, Opal takes a step toward reclaiming that history, though the chapter leaves the box unopened, emphasizing that the act of recovery itself is significant.