Middlesex: Book 3: The Gun on the Wall Summary & Analysis

Callie wakes up back at the house, feeling nauseous and disturbed by the previous night’s events. She finds the Obscure Object in the kitchen, eating breakfast. Before long, the Object accuses Callie of being a “slut” the night before, and Callie replies by accusing her of the same. Furious, the Object tells Callie to go back to Jerome and runs away, clearly on the verge of tears. Upset, Callie gets back into bed, and before long Jerome comes to find her, greeting her in a smug manner. He promises to “respect [her] and all that shit.”

Callie says nothing. Jerome gets on top of her, kissing her and feeling her up. He tells her that he really likes her, but Callie tells him to stop, explaining that she doesn’t feel the same way. Jerome immediately gets up and leaves. For the rest of the day, Callie feels sad. At one point, she stands gazing at the lake and watches as Rex drives past on a speedboat, with the Obscure Object standing beside him. They do not come back for dinner, and neither does Jerome, so Callie eats alone with the Object’s parents. As soon as she gets into bed, she continues to cry, whispering angrily as if the Object were there to hear her.

Eventually, Callie hears the Object arrive back in the bedroom and climb into the other side of the bed. Callie turns around looks at her while she sleeps. The Object’s coloring—“her pumpkin hair, her apple cider skin”—fits naturally with “the American landscape.” Very carefully, Callie inches toward the Object, and eventually puts her arm around her waist. Terrified to wake her, Callie remains completely still until her arm goes numb. Eventually, she lifts the Object’s t shirt up and kisses her stomach, then her breasts. Callie puts her hands on the Objects hips and slides off her underpants. At this moment, the Object raises her hips a little, to “make it easier” for Callie. Apart from this, she doesn’t move. 

Neither Callie nor the Obscure Object talk about what happened the next day. As talented an actress as ever, the Object treats Callie with nonchalance, as if nothing occurred between them. However, later, when they attempt to spy on Jerome filming and must both peer through a small window to do so, the Object places Callie’s hands on her stomach, holding her wrists. Eventually Jerome notices them watching and shoos them away. In the evening, Rex calls. Callie hears the Object telling him that she can’t see him, and is overcome with happiness. That night, the Object pretends to fall asleep, which is a signal to Callie that they can have sex again.

In the dark with the Obscure Object, Callie finds herself in a “fugue state.” She points out that this isn’t uncommon, particularly during adolescence when sex is about learning and experimentation. Sometimes the Object almost seems like she is going to open her eyes and admit that she’s awake, but she never does. Callie’s “crocus” is part of their sex life, and the Object clearly enjoys its presence. Sometimes, either before or after they have sex, Callie turns the light on, takes off the Object’s clothes, and gazes at her naked body. Although she notices obvious differences between the Object’s body and her own, she doesn’t necessarily know what to make of this. Loving the Object doesn’t make her feel like less of a girl.

The following Thursday, Callie and the Obscure Object lie on the porch swing together. The Object observes that Callie understands her completely, and asks why Callie can’t “be a guy.” She then tells Callie, “You have the most amazing eyes.” While they lie intertwined in one another, staring into each other’s eyes, Callie slowly shifts, slipping her hand inside the Object’s pants. They don’t look away. However, after a while the porch creaks, and Callie looks over to see Jerome. He repeats the phrase, “Carpet munchers,” then comes over and directs the insult to the Object alone. She tries to hit him, but he holds her arms. Suddenly, the Object bursts into tears and runs into the house.

Jerome assures Callie that he won’t tell anyone, and then says she should consider himself lucky that he’s “such a liberal and freethinking type of guy.” He tells Callie to leave and never touch his sister again. Fuming, Callie hits Jerome in the face. She pins him down, and does something Chapter Eleven used to do to her—spits in his face. Immediately, Callie knows she has to run. Sprinting away, Callie reaches a road, and hears Jerome shouting something inaudible. It is a warning—there is a tractor right in front of her, but when she sees it, it is too late. She collides with it. 

Callie wakes up in the back of a car. She is lying in the Obscure Object’s lap; the Object keeps urging the driver to “hurry.” The driver is the same man who was driving the tractor. Callie tells the Object that she beat up Jerome, and the Object immediately starts crying out of relief to hear Callie speak. She and Callie kiss for the first time, and the Object apologizes for her snotty face. At this moment, they arrive at the hospital, and Callie is put onto a stretcher. The Object holds her hand, walking alongside her even after she is told that she can’t come any further. It is as if the girls know that after this point, they will never see each other again. Eventually, the Object lets go.

A doctor asks Callie questions, then explains that he’s going to examine places in her body where bones might be broken. As the doctor touches her, she feels a searing pain around her pelvis. A nurse helps to remove Callie’s clothes, and Callie lifts her hips just like the Object would always do. On seeing Callie’s genitals, the nurse is so shocked that she raises a hand to her mouth, although she then pretends that she was just fixing her collar. A week later, Callie is back home in Grosse Pointe, eating mulberries. In an hour, she and her parents will leave for New York City to see “a famous doctor.” She doesn’t yet know much about her condition, only that she is not “like other girls.”