The Bad Weather Friend

The narrative reverts to the past. The young Benny lives with Dr. Liebhaber for five years, and his mother never returns from Italy. Dr. Liebhaber is a bitter, retired child psychologist. Benny has permission to read any book in the house, but she has no wish to speak with him. She has no doubt that he is a good child, but she has had her fill of children and refuses to deal with them anymore. She therefore leaves Benny to educate himself from her library and keep his own company.

Days before Benny turns 18, Dr. Liebhaber announces that her agreement with Naomi has ended and that he is required to leave her home on his birthday. She is glad to be rid of him. At first, she suspected that his niceness was an act to hide something more complex, but eventually, she realized that he really was as nice as he seemed, and she believes this to be far worse because nice people always suffer. As she explains, she feared that his niceness would infect her and lead to her suffering as well.

The next day, a lawyer arrives with a check for $206,000, along with legal notices from Benny’s mother, telling him that he must sign to receive the money. By signing, he acknowledges that his mother’s estate is now worth $95 million, but he will never receive any more of it during her lifetime or after her death. He is forbidden from requesting more money, and he is also barred from contacting her or speaking negatively of her in public. Benny readily agrees, shocking the lawyer. Benny then asks if his mother is healthy. The lawyer says that she is perfectly healthy, and Benny is relieved. Benny signs the papers, deposits the money in a new bank account, and leaves. The first thing he does is return to Briarbush Academy.

The narrative returns to the present. Urnfield explains how much she hates Benny and his kind. She says that her wealth is genetic and deserved; even if she had not inherited millions from her family, she would have earned such money easily anyway. Her wealth now allows her to devote her time and energy to the betterment of society rather than to fulfilling her everyday needs. She lives in a humble house because she does not care what others think of her. In her mind, the point of money is not to be ostentatious but to “set the world right, reset it, remake it so that what we create can never be unmade or in any way altered” (336). Finally, she speaks to Spike.

Spike explains his mission to protect good people from evil ones. Urnfield scoffs, dismissing good and evil as meaningless concepts. She is clearly unimpressed, so Spike pulls out his heart to scare her. In response, Urnfield wields a pistol and shoots Harper.

In the past, a young Benny returns to Briarbush in hopes of finding out what became of his friends. However, when he arrives, he discovers that the school is abandoned. As he wanders the grounds, a man in a white tunic greets him and explains that the Internal Security Agency left him to guard the area in case the aliens from Regulus were to return. He was chosen for this position because he is “insane but capable of doing [his] job” (344-45). Now, he has ordained himself as Brother Sunshine, founder and pope of the Church of Earth.

Brother Sunshine says that Mrs. Baneberry-Smith accidentally triggered an explosion in an experiment gone wrong, causing her death and the deaths of seven students. The school was shut down four years ago. It is at this point that Benny learns that Mengistu and Jurgen went missing on the day he left and were never found.

The narrative returns to the present. Urnfield believes in “nothing but herself and her power” (347), and she therefore does not believe in the supernatural. For this reason, she concludes that Spike’s demonstration is merely a trick, and she feels no fear when she shoots Harper.

Benny hears the gunshot and then realizes that everything is frozen; Spike has stopped time for everyone except Benny and himself. The bullet is frozen in midair, heading for Harper. Spike says that he cannot fix this problem. Craggles cannot move a person who is frozen; they can only move objects. Moreover, Spike cannot kill a human being. Therefore, it is up to Benny to save the day.

Benny considers holding his hand up to block the bullet, but Spike warns him that even if he manages to deflect the bullet, Urnfield still holds the pistol and will simply keep shooting. Benny realizes that the only viable option is to turn the bullet around in the air. He does so, trembling. Though Urnfield is evil, Benny does not want to harm anyone. Finally, he tells Spike to unfreeze time. The bullet strikes Urnfield as Harper looks around in confusion.

The narrative reverts to the past. At Briarbush, storm clouds and thunder roll overhead, and Benny thinks that this might be what Armageddon looks like. Brother Sunshine chants and waves a staff, explaining that he prevents the lightning from striking because sometimes “they” can reach through the lightning. Benny asks who “they” are. Brother Sunshine says that Mrs. Baneberry-Smith opened a gate to the aliens of Regulus. Though they cannot reach through, they sometimes manifest as spirits.

Benny, whose life has been an endless train of “eccentrics, cranks, freaks, sociopaths, and maniacs” (355), is not as concerned as Brother Sunshine thinks he should be. Brother Sunshine shouts at Benny to leave and “sell [his] soul, sell guns to babies, sell real estate [to] monsters” (356). Benny drives away as quickly as he can. He considers what to do with his life and his new money. He does not want to sell his soul or sell guns to babies, but he decides that real estate is not a bad idea. Seven months later, he has an apartment, a real-estate license, and a job under the mentorship of Handy Duroc. In a few more weeks, he will meet Jill Swift and start his new path toward prosperity, believing that “all [is] for the best in this best of all possible worlds” (357).

In the present, Spike drives to Benny’s house. Harper now sits in the back seat of the Explorer with their new rabbit and Urnfield’s dog. This battle is over, and Spike does not believe that the Better Kind will bother Benny again anytime soon. They will eventually regroup, but Spike will be there when that happens. Benny wonders what to do with the rest of his life.

Back at Benny’s house, Spike asks what they should do about Bob. Benny and Harper agree that Bob is their friend and can be trusted, so Spike lets him keep his memory and explains his own nature as a craggle.

Later, Bob helps Benny choose an engagement ring for Harper. Spike plans the engagement party at a restaurant in Arizona. They arrive to find four people waiting. Benny recognizes them instantly: Jurgen and Mengistu, each with his own craggle bodyguard. They did, in fact, escape to Arizona with the help of Jurgen’s uncle, who raised them as his own and helped them set up this restaurant, which they own.

On the day of Benny and Harper’s wedding, Spike is the best man. Bob holds the rabbit. The event is beautiful, except for the bogadril that appears just after the vows. Spike alone might have had difficulty fighting it off, but because Mengistu and Jurgen are there with their own craggles, they all defeat the bogadril in three minutes.

During the reception, a local band performs. The lead singer is a man named Tyler. He invites Benny to play the piano with him, and although Benny has not touched a piano in 11 years, he plays perfectly. When Harper sings along, everyone is surprised to discover that she is a skilled performer as well.

Within months, Benny and Harper have officially joined the band, bonding over their shared talent and their experiences with touring. The narrator adds that it should not surprise the reader that Benny and Harper are successful and happy, as this is a fantasy, where anything can become a reality. The narrator then concludes by noting that just as a reader and author collaborate to create a story, all people collaborate with an “author unknown” to create the world both as it is and as it has the potential to be (370). Therefore, people have a responsibility to be nice but wise and to use their free will to help rather than oppress.