We'll Always Have Summer

In this final installment in the Summer series, Belly must finally decide in the long-simmering love triangle between the only two boys she has ever loved: Conrad and Jeremiah. Throughout the text, Belly’s feelings for Conrad reemerge and become harder to contain, especially after Conrad confesses his love for her. She realizes that: “Conrad and I were linked. [...] [L]ove wasn’t something you could erase, no matter how hard you tried” (239). For much of Belly’s life, a confession like this from Conrad would have been earth-shattering in the best way. Her reaction to learning that Conrad loves her illustrates the extent of Belly’s personal growth. She explains why she cannot leave Jeremiah for Conrad: “It would destroy us. [...] Especially—especially with everything so fragile now that Susannah was gone [...] I couldn’t give all that up, just for this, just for Conrad. [...] I would be betting my whole life on him. And I couldn’t do it” (244-45). Although it pains her, Belly thinks about the ramifications her decision to leave Jeremiah for Conrad would have on their families. She realizes that her decision has larger implications beyond herself and therefore decides she cannot upset the fragile balance they have created in the wake of Susannah’s death, even for true love.