Flora and Ulysses Chapter 41 Summary

I Promise

  • In the car, Flora, her dad, and Ulysses are all on their way back to her mom's pad; Flora's ticked because she doesn't want her mom to try to kill her new BFF again. 
  • But her dad says they've got to act as normally as possible if they don't want her mom to suspect anything, which means they must return at the normal time they're supposed to. 
  • Flora thinks about what Dr. M said to her when they said goodbye. 
  • When Dr. M was a little girl, life was so uncertain because of the trolls and magic everywhere, so people said goodbye to each other in different ways. 
  • One of these ways was to say: "I promise to always turn back toward you." Dr. M says this to Flora now, and asks her to say it to her, too. 
  • Back in the car, Flora says the same thing to Ulysses. 
  • As she does, she feels the heartbeat in her chest; it sounds like "I promise, I promise." 
  • Then she has an idea. Remember how Dr. M said Flora's dad has a big heart? 
  • Flora decides she wants to touch her dad's heartbeat, too, so she asks him if she can, and she feels it thumping inside his chest. 
  • Her dad reaches down and hugs her, and it's a super tender moment between them; her dad never takes his hands off the wheel when driving, so she knows this is special. 
  • Flora hears her dad's heart again, and feels happy.