Counting by 7s

Willow explains to Mai that plants experience shock when transferred to new soil, and “[knows] from experience that some things will thrive and others will wither” (341). Lenore comes to the salon to tell Willow her hearing is tomorrow because the center has found a group foster care home for her to live in. It is on 7th Street, and Willow recognizes the irony of the number’s reappearance. She cannot imagine her life without Dell and the Nguyens. She spends some time reading at the library, which calms her down. Sitting outside on the steps, she starts to plan the logistics of how she might be able to continue spending time with them. Dell arrives to pick her up, and when he sits down next to her, he starts to sob. Willow reassures him that she will be alright.

Pattie returns from work early, reassuring her children that they will “figure it all out” (347). Quang-ha is the one to say, “We shouldn’t let her go” (347). Dell has trouble falling asleep that night, so he goes out to water Willow's garden. He notices that one of the honeysuckle buds will open soon, and “he knew for certain that it would be magnificent” (348).

The morning of the hearing, Willow thinks about the passing of time, noticing that “a second can feel like forever if what follows is heartbreak” (351). She prepares for the day, putting on her old gardening outfit, making sure to take her lucky acorn. Pattie tells her not to worry, but Willow can sense Pattie is worried too. Lenore arrives after breakfast to bring Willow to Jamison. After Willow says goodbye to everyone, she wonders if saying goodbye matters because she never got to say goodbye to her parents. The real reason Willow does not want to return to school is because it is a reminder that she did not hug her parents the morning they died, which is an unbearable memory. Soon, she finds herself worrying about her new family because “when you care about other people, it takes the spotlight off your own drama” (355).

While she waits at Jamison, Willow looks at Dell’s files, which she had transferred to her laptop when she fixed up the computer for him. She reads through his labeling system, and even though it shocks her initially, she realizes that “he’s only trying to make sense of the world” (358). She thinks he's wrong, though, because “all of us are all of those things,” and even with labels, “you can’t put people in any type of group or order. It just doesn’t work that way” (359). At the courthouse, Willow takes a moment in the bathroom to reflect on the past few months. She decides to approach today’s events with positivity and a sense of calm and to avoid “stress-induced cardiomyopathy, which is also known as broken heart syndrome” (364).

For the hearing, Dell decides to wear a red tie with his suit, and Pattie wears red slippers. Mai wants to attend the hearing, so she tells the school office there has been a family emergency and gets herself and Quang-ha signed out. On their way out, she spots a sunflower decal in a classroom window, which she believes is a good sign. 

Willow finally sees the judge, and when she enters the office, she sees Dell, Quang-ha, Pattie, Mai, and Jairo. Pattie and Jairo have filed for custody of Willow as partners. Willow feels overwhelmed and cries uncontrollably, reassuring Mai that everything “is more than alright” (371). Pattie reveals that she has been secretly saving money for many years, which is what qualifies her for guardianship. They all celebrate the good news by going out to eat. 

Back in her courtyard, Willow “[knows] that [she] will think about this day many times” (376). Pattie is considering buying the apartment building, but says that “nothing is for certain,” which Willow considers to be “the truest statement [she's] ever heard” (376). She realizes that it is the 7th day of the month, which makes her think about Newton’s seven colors of the rainbow and Dell’s seven labels for people. She “[thinks] that at every stage of living, there are 7 people who matter in your world,” which for her are her mother, father, Mai, Dell, Quang-ha, Pattie, and Jairo. She decides that in times of stress, she will start counting to the number seven. She realizes she still has her lucky acorn in her pocket, and she plants it in her garden.