Summary

Ironically, the riots pull the Stephanides’ clan back from the brink of bankruptcy. Milton uses the insurance payout to buy a 1967 Cadillac Fleetwood, the first in a succession of new cars that mirrors the changing times and Cal’s internal life. Next, Milton buys a house in the upscale suburban neighborhood of Grosse Pointe, despite the endeavors of the real estate agents to keep out non-WASPs. He pays cash for an unsellable, modern house that has a separate bath house and guest house for Lefty and Desdemona.

Lefty cleans the glass walls of the new house and takes walks with Callie, but he has an undetected stroke and his sense of time and space start to come apart. Callie befriends a pale blonde girl named Clementine Stark, who teaches Callie to kiss, stirring feelings that Callie doesn’t understand. The little girls...