Caterpillar Summer

The next morning, Macon tells Cat that he is not going on his walk, as he plans to work on a project instead. Cat is certain that, in truth, he does not wish to spend time with her.

Cat accompanies Chicken to the park and becomes fearful when the siblings from the library, Harriet and Neddie, are there. Harriet and Cat talk while the boys play and Harriet apologizes for yelling at Cat. Harriet suggests the two might get ice cream some day and Cat marvels at the idea of being away from Chicken.

Upon returning, a shiny yellow bike with a license plate bearing Cat’s mother’s name stands outside Macon and Lily’s house. Cat realizes that Macon has repaired the bike for her to ride in lieu of going on his morning walk. When Cat speaks to him about this, Macon assures Cat that she is always welcome to join him on the morning walks.

The next morning, Cat asks Macon about fishing, mentioning the contest. Cat is certain that through the contest she can bring Mom and Macon together. After breakfast, Cat rides the bike to Harriet’s block, then the two ride to Willis’ General Store where Cat enters the contest.

As she browses through the store, Cat has a run-in with John Harvey, one of the boys who was climbing the sand dune. He is angry to learn that Cat has entered the contest and brags of winning the past four contests. Cat retorts as the girls leave the store. John Harvey’s bragging makes Cat determined to prove him wrong. Harriet knows little of how to fish, but says her garage is filled with equipment that Cat can use.

That evening, Cat meets Harriet on the pier after giving instructions on Chicken’s care to Lily. Neither girl is sure how to cast a line. Even worse, John Harvey arrives to jeer at them while catching several fish of his own, while Cat only loses her bait.

Cat returns to find Chicken asleep and Lily instructs her to return a call from Mom. Mom explains that she cannot visit that weekend after all. Cat is upset and worried about having to braid her hair herself. Macon later advises Cat not to be upset but to be proud of Mom because of the good job she has.

Cat falls asleep in the bed alone while Chicken spends the entire night asleep in the guest room.

On their walk the next morning, Macon and Cat discuss Cat’s disappointment over Mom’s canceling her visit. Macon wants Cat to be proud of Mom’s work, but Cat is tired of Mom’s work coming first.

Macon shares that, as a surgeon, he often worked many hours, and, as a result, had to break promises to Cat’s mom. Cat reaches for Macon’s hand as the two continue their walk in silence.

Cat and Chicken are eating dinner with Lily and Macon when Harriet arrives, armed with fishing nets and flashlights. She invites Cat to go “ghost crabbing”—searching for tiny crabs that only come out at night—in hopes that catching some will turn Cat’s unlucky fishing streak around.

Chicken, Lily, and Macon join Cat and Harriet, and together they catch 23 ghost crabs. At the end of the hunt, they release them, then walk Harriet home.

Cat and Harriet head to the pier early the next morning, but John Harvey is already there. He catches numerous fish, jeering at the girls as he pulls them in. Harriet suggests they visit the bait shop to ask the owner for advice. The owner, a man named Dean, remembers Cat’s mother. He gives the girls free bait, and they head out to try again.

Despite the bait, the girls are unsuccessful. They make jokes about John Harvey, but then Cat begins to feel guilty, worried he may have overheard them. She thinks of her Mom, determined to learn to fish successfully so that she can surprise her.

It is a rainy day, so Macon suggests they get ice cream. Lily and Chicken opt to read instead, but Cat accompanies him. She still feels awkward around Macon at times and is unable to decipher what he is feeling.

As they walk, Macon ducks into a store to make a purchase and suggests Cat continue to the ice cream shop, Miss Sunshine’s, and try some samples. The ice cream shop is empty when Cat arrives, save the owner, but she does not receive any service. Macon arrives then, and the owner gushes over him, as if he were a celebrity, Cat notes. She does not realize that Cat is his granddaughter until Macon informs her. Cat sees that Macon is angry, though she is confused as to why. Macon instructs the owner to give Cat a sample of every one of the ice cream flavors.

Cat chooses a flavor, and she and Macon talk about fishing as they each eat their cones. Macon admits that though he has not fished in some time, he would like to fish with Cat after all.

Cat and Macon rise early the next morning and bike to the bait shop. They chat with Dean, and Macon buys bait. Back at the pier, Macon teaches Cat how to properly bait the shrimp and to study the birds to know where the fish might be. Before long, Cat catches her first fish, then another, and they decide to keep one to eat lunch.

Back at home, Lily asks Cat to buy some cornmeal for the fish. Cat invites Chicken, but he prefers to stay with Lily. At the general store, Cat tells Mr. Willis of her catch as she pays him. When she exits the store, however, her bike is covered in mud, with the license plate missing. Cat walks up the block a bit, then runs into Harriet. Together, they inspect the bike, discovering footprints of John Harvey’s dog in the mud. Cat vows to beat him in the fishing contest.

Before lunch, Cat cleans the mud from the bike. Macon comments on the mud, but neither of them mentions the missing license plate.

Macon and Cat fish all the next morning, releasing everything they catch. When Cat returns, Chicken is eager for her to read Mom’s new book, which has just arrived. The story tells of Cat buying a new hat, and Cat is happy that she, rather than Chicken, is the focus. But the story turns when Cat gives up her new hat to Chicken to keep him warm. Chicken is pleased by the story, but Cat is upset, worried that Mom believes Cat’s only purpose is to care for Chicken.

Macon and Cat continue to fish each morning. One day, Cat asks about the rift between Macon and Mom. Macon is hesitant, but then explains to Cat how he disapproved of Mom’s decision to pursue art rather than medicine, then of her decision to marry Cat’s father at a young age because Mom was expecting Cat.

Macon and Cat discuss Mom and Macon’s disapproval, and Macon admits to the wrong aspects of his way of thinking. They return to the house to find Lily and Chicken making biscuits, Chicken insisting it is cookie cutter sharks they are making.