Contents
CHAPTER 7
Overview
Derrick slips away from Tony and watches as Theo meets Minnette by the fountain to gift her portrait. Theo reveals his plan to return all Chalice portraits and recognizes kindness and sadness in Minnette, prompting her to share painful family history and regrets.
Theo’s empathy reframes Minnette’s identity, the couple are quietly changed, and they keep the sacred encounter private, hanging the portrait at home.
Summary
Derrick extricates himself from Tony at the Verbivore and, seeing Minnette already speaking with Theo by the fountain, chooses to observe from a distance. Concluding Theo poses no danger, Derrick watches through the water as the two talk.
Theo explains he became attached to the Chalice portraits and intends to buy and return them to their “homes,” beginning with Minnette’s. He chose her first for the kindness in her face and because her eyes reminded him of a woman he loved long ago in Spain. His attentive presence draws Minnette out, and she cautiously answers his questions about her life.
When Theo gently notes strength, bravery, kindness—and a good sadness—in her portrait, Minnette begins to cry. She confides her fractured upbringing: an absent mother, a transactional father, and a loving grandmother, Gammy, who raised her. Pressured to excel, she became an accomplished accountant but longs most to be a mother.
Minnette reveals that in college she became pregnant, planned to marry Derrick, but yielded to her father Pearce’s harsh insistence to prioritize career, a choice she regrets daily. Theo honors her trust, promises secrecy, and affirms that good sadness tries to tell us something important, restoring some dignity to her pain.
Minnette discloses that her uncle is the artist Asher Glissen; Theo links the family: Pearce and Asher as brothers, with Gammy as Minnette’s guardian. Seeking courage, Minnette says she came to do something brave. Theo ceremoniously presents the “portrait of St. Minnette,” affirming her strength, bravery, and kindness. He mentions being from Portugal and declines to intrude further.
After Theo leaves, Minnette sits quietly until Derrick joins her. They choose to keep the encounter private, feeling altered by it. At home they hang the portrait where Minnette greets it each morning, reminding herself she is strong, brave, and kind, even in sadness.