66 pages • 2 hours read
Mary Downing HahnWait Till Helen Comes
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1986A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 13-15Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 13 Summary
Molly learns that Dave and Mom have gone shopping for the day. Molly cannot find Heather and searches for her in the Harper House. A thunderstorm rapidly approaches. Molly overhears Helen and Heather talking. Though terrified, Molly feels she must save Heather even if she does not want to, and even if Heather does not want to be saved.
Helen appears more substantial and frightening. Heather wants her daddy to join them, but Helen asserts that Heather’s father has betrayed Heather just like Helen’s mother betrayed her—by loving someone else more. Helen promises to love Heather best because she knows Heather’s true self, implying that she knows a secret Heather is keeping. Helen promises they can be princesses in a world of mermaids and unicorns. She leads Heather into the pond.
Molly pursues them and dives into the pond. She pulls Heather above the water. Helen tries to stop Molly, but Molly yanks the locket from Heather’s neck, breaking the connection to Helen. Molly gets Heather to shore and resuscitates her. Heather begs to return to Helen, who calls to her but cannot reach her without the locket. The girls shelter in the ruined house, but the floorboards give way and they fall.
Chapter 14 Summary
Heather and Molly land uninjured on a dirt floor. Heather declares that Helen made them fall because Helen now hates them both. Molly suddenly realizes how unhappy Heather has been. Heather believes Dave would not love her if he knew what a bad girl she is. Molly realizes that Heather started the fire that killed her mother. Heather tearfully admits it was her fault. She hid during the fire, fearing her mother’s anger. Heather begs Molly not to tell Dave. Molly regrets her unkindness to Heather and assures Heather the fire was an accident. Helen also accidentally started the fire that killed her mother and stepfather. Molly explains that Dave loves both Heather and Jean and that they need to “learn to be a family” (165). The two agree to be sisters. Molly urges Heather to tell Dave the truth.
Molly then discovers the skeletons of Helen’s parents. They see Helen with the locket around her neck, calling for her mother. Heather no longer wants to go with Helen, and Molly vows to protect her. Helen apologizes to her mother and “Papa Robert.” The ghost of a smiling woman appears, hugs and comforts Helen, and the two vanish. Heather realizes Helen’s mother forgave her and wonders if Dave would forgive her. Molly believes he will.
Chapter 15 Summary
Michael, Dave, and Mom rescue Molly and Heather, thankful that the girls are safe. Heather explains that Molly saved her from almost drowning. Michael sees the skeletons of Helen’s parents and wishes he could keep the bones, but Heather believes a family should be buried together. Molly agrees and explains the history of Harper House. Heather apologizes for having Helen destroy Molly, Michael, and Mom’s stuff, but Molly knows she was possessed by Helen. Both girls are glad they are sisters.
Molly asks Mom if she would love her even if Molly killed someone. Confused, Mom confirms she will always love Molly. Molly shares Heather’s secret. Mom is stricken to know that Heather repressed that guilt for so long. Heather confides in Dave, who forgives Heather and assures her that he still loves her. Helen’s parents are buried next to Helen. Dave makes a stone angel for Helen’s grave.
Molly, Michael, and Heather are relaxing in the graveyard one day when Heather notices Helen’s locket in the angel’s hands. Inside is a picture of Helen and a note reading, “With love from Helen […] Do not forget me” in the same handwriting Molly saw on the bedroom wall (184). The locket is now safe to wear. Molly thinks Michael is no longer as scornful about “ghost stuff.”
Chapters 13-15 Analysis
Hahn pulls out all the supernatural stops in this section, making the most of atmosphere and mood to create a frightening climax. Molly makes the altruistic decision to aid Heather—a move that will work to repair the family. Heather’s guilty secret is revealed. Themes of family, friendship, guilt, and coping with death reach fruition.
Hahn builds tension by making use of traditional literary devices. The ominous stormy weather creates a spooky atmosphere and reflects both Molly’s inner turmoil and the dangerous threat to Heather. Molly augments the chilling mood with her descriptions of both her physical and emotional sense of terror. Goosebumps rise on Molly’s arms and she shivers, heart pounding, as she listens to Helen.
Molly questions why she bothers to find and help Heather when she and Heather patently dislike each other, but her empathy and compassion override her dislike. Molly feels compelled to save Heather from death—or worse—regardless of whether Molly or Heather wants her to. It is a weighty decision: Molly not only overcomes her significant fear of the storm, the ruined house, and the monstrous Helen, but also endangers herself. Molly’s actions allow her to at last reach past Heather’s defenses and offer Heather inclusion in the family.
Upon learning that Heather accidentally caused the fire that killed her mother, Molly realizes that Heather has been acting out of guilt and fear. Heather’s unresolved guilt causes self-loathing. She rejects Molly, Michael, and Mom because she fears they will not love her if they know how awful she is. More than anything else, Heather worries that Dave will no longer love her, believing that love is conditional and quantifiable. She turns to Helen because the two girls share similar family history and similar feelings of isolation: Heather believes that Helen truly understands her and loves her most. Molly regrets being unkind to Heather when she realizes the extent of Heather’s repressed guilt and wishes she had been nicer to Heather. She pities Heather and feels a new affection for her.
Molly therefore encourages Heather to change her negative thinking. She urges Heather to unburden herself of her guilt and affirms that Dave will love her regardless of her actions. Molly also compares Heather’s feelings of loss and disappointment over having to share Dave to those she and Michael experienced over having to share their mom. Heather learns that love does not pick favorites and that true friends have your best interest at heart.
Although Mom believes the ghost was a “projection” of Heather’s guilt, Molly and Heather know better. Their shared supernatural experience makes Heather and Molly “firmly united” in their beliefs about family sticking together and allows them to bond. The two are no longer “enemies” but, as Dave notes, “an alliance.” Heather appreciates Molly for saving her life, and Molly feels that Heather is now truly a sister.
Molly also reaches peace with her own fear of death. By novel’s end, Molly no longer fears the graveyard but sees it as a peaceful place. For Molly, seeing the forgiving ghost of Helen’s mother seems to confirm an afterlife—one that is shared with loved ones. Death loses its sting. Molly imagines that Helen, whether she can see them or not, is happy.
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By Mary Downing Hahn
