The Summer I Turned Pretty, #3
We'll Always Have Summer
by Jenny Han
Contents
Chapter Twenty-Two
Overview
Belly and Laurel endure a week of silence until Belly’s father arrives to discuss the engagement. He offers a compromise—living together instead of marrying—but Laurel refuses to support or attend the wedding. Hurt yet resolute, Belly rejects postponement and chooses to move forward, convinced Laurel is bluffing.
Summary
Belly and Laurel avoid each other for a week. Belly keeps busy with work and stays at Taylor’s to dodge confrontation. One night, Belly nearly abandons the engagement after hearing Laurel cry, but when the sobbing stops, she withdraws to her room and weeps alone.
The next morning, Belly finds her father visiting. He and Laurel stage a talk: her father proposes allowing Belly and Jeremiah to live together in an apartment instead of marrying. Belly refuses, insisting love and lifelong history justify marriage.
Laurel challenges the practicality of the engagement, questioning the ring’s cost and Jeremiah’s finances, then warns that love alone couldn’t sustain her own marriage. When pressed, Laurel declares she won’t support the wedding and won’t attend. Belly pleads, but Laurel holds firm.
Shaken, Belly calls Jeremiah. He suggests talking to Laurel or postponing; Belly refuses both. She concludes Laurel is bluffing and resolves to push forward with planning the August wedding regardless of her mother’s stance.
Who Appears
- Belly (Isabel)Protagonist; resists Laurel’s opposition, rejects postponement, and decides to proceed with the August wedding.
- LaurelBelly’s mother; refuses to support or attend the teenage wedding, intensifying the family rift.
- Belly’s fatherVisits to mediate; proposes cohabitation as a compromise, then defers to Laurel’s decision.
- JeremiahFiancé; offers to talk to Laurel and suggests postponing, but agrees to proceed when Belly insists.
- TaylorFriend; provides Belly a place to stay as she avoids home during the conflict.