Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.: Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis

Dad buys a lawnmower at the hardware store the next day, and after supper, he goes out to mow the lawn. Suddenly, Dad yells that he’s had an accident, runs into the house, and wraps his hand in a towel. Margaret runs outside to look for the limb Dad cut off; she knows that sometimes doctors can sew them back on. When she doesn’t find anything, she heads back inside. The police are there, and Dad is lying with his head in Mom’s lap.

Margaret accompanies her parents to the hospital and in the car, she talks to God. She explains that Dad had an accident and that Dad is really nice—he’s a good father, even if he doesn’t have a relationship with God. She offers to do anything if God helps Dad’s hand. Fortunately, Dad didn’t cut anything off; Dr. Potter just has to give Dad eight stitches. When Dad is all fixed, Dr. Potter tells Margaret that he has a daughter who’s also almost 12, Gretchen. He promises to ask Gretchen to look for Margaret at school. When Margaret’s family gets home, Mom and Dad hire Moose to mow their lawn.

Margaret gets up early on Labor Day so she can arrange her desk before school starts. As she puts things away, she hears someone knocking at the door. Mom and Dad are still asleep, so she goes downstairs to answer the door (if it is a kidnapper, Margaret can just scream and Dad will save her). But it turns out to be Grandma and a bunch of shopping bags.

Grandma comes inside, smiles at Margaret, and then unloads bags and bags of food into the fridge—she insists that there’s no food like New York delicatessen food. Margaret doesn’t argue. Then, as Grandma makes coffee, Margaret asks how she got here. Grandma explains she took a taxi and a train—she’s “washable.” Grandma asks for a tour of the house, so Margaret shows her around. But Grandma shakes her head; she doesn’t understand why Mom and Dad decided to move to the country. Margaret insists it’s not really the country, but Grandma disagrees.

Hearing water running upstairs, Margaret runs up to tell Mom and Dad about Grandma. Very excited, she asks her parents to guess who’s here, but Mom and Dad don’t sound excited when Margaret tells them. They come downstairs 10 minutes later, but they don’t seem angry and they praise Grandma for figuring out how to get to Farbrook.

Grandma follows Margaret upstairs after breakfast and comments that Margaret could use some new curtains and a bedspread. With a sigh, she says that Mom probably wants to design it herself. Sitting down, Grandma says that she and Margaret will be just as close as they’ve always been, even if she can’t visit every day anymore. She suggests that she’ll call every night, and she tells Margaret to answer the phone—Mom and Dad might not like all the calls. For the rest of the day, everyone lounges around the house. After supper, they drive Grandma back to the train station. Grandma promises that she’ll only come a couple times per month, just to check on Margaret.