Middlesex: Book 4: Air-Ride Summary & Analysis

In Berlin, Cal goes to the opening of an Andy Warhol exhibition at the Neue Nationalgalerie. He is hoping to see Julie there, and is disappointed when he can’t find her in the crowd. However, before long, she taps him on the shoulder. They smoke a cigar together, and lean in to kiss. However, before they do, Cal says there’s something he needs to tell her about himself. 

In 1975, the U.S. is gripped by an oil crisis and an economic recession. Yet Milton still drives a “gas-guzzling” Cadillac. It is two a.m., and Milton is experiencing a last surge of hope long after Tessie has given up. After receiving the first phone call, he’d gotten a second. This time, the voice told him that Callie was with him. To test if this is true, Milton asks the name of the village his family comes from; after pausing to ask Callie, the voice replies, “Bithynios.” The voice demands a ransom of $25,000, but strangely, after Milton agrees to pay it immediately, the voice then insists on haggling. They land on $18,500, but the voice then goes back to the original amount.

The next time the voice calls, he asks Milton to meet him the following night, explaining where to leave the money. Now, on the night itself, Milton pulls up to an old, dilapidated train station that is barely in use anymore. He stops the car and gets out the briefcase full of cash. He would never admit that he was afraid, although his body is showing signs of fear. He avoids any thought that hurts him, and this is what has led him to make the foolish decision of coming out to the train platform alone at night, without telling anyone.

Milton easily finds the trash can marked with chalk where he is supposed to leave the money. However, as he goes to put the briefcase in it, he hesitates. Repressing his own doubts, he drops the briefcase in there, then runs back to his car. Yet once he is in there, Milton is suddenly seized with a refusal to cooperate. He decides to insist on only paying half the money now, and half later. Milton heads back to the trash can, yet when he does so he sees there is a person standing by it, retrieving the briefcase. To his astonishment, it is Father Mike. Milton is in a state of disbelief. He thinks about all the years when Zoë has asked why Father Mike wasn’t more like Milton, investing and saving money as Milton did.

The more Milton thinks about it, the more it makes sense that Father Mike is there. Beaten by Milton all those years ago, Mike is seeking revenge. Milton shouts at him, but Mike only smiles and backs away into his car. Milton gets into the Cadillac and begins to follow him. Cal reminds the reader that this is “a car chase between a Greek Orthodox priest and a middle-aged Republican.” As Milton chases his brother-in-law, he feels sure of himself, and even turns on the radio. However, when Milton arrives at the Ambassador Bridge, his heart sinks. He realizes that Mike is planning on fleeing to Canada. Despondent, Milton falls into traffic and loses sight of Mike’s car. 

Waiting in line at border control, Milton tries to get the attention of the officers, shouting that Mike has stolen his money. However, he then sees Mike being waved through the barrier. He is furious, imagining Mike disappearing into the unknown, “foreign” world of Canada. He is especially horrified on Zoë’s behalf, fuming at Mike for abandoning his sister. When Milton himself finally gets to the border, he tries to explain what has happened to the officers, but they tell him to pull over. Milton starts doing so, but then accelerates. Now a real car chase begins, with Milton driving so fast that before long Father Mike is back in view. Looking into Mike’s eyes, Milton feels as if he is asking for forgiveness. 

In reality, Father Mike was never the man he seemed. He is a frightened, greedy, and desperate person who never felt close to God. Tormented by his own low social status, he decided to run away from his marriage. Lost in thought, Mike suddenly realizes that there is a red brake light ahead of him, and slams the brakes, but it is too late—he crashes into the car in front. Milton expects to smash into Mike’s car, but instead, the Cadillac flies right over Mike and into the air, then begins to fall into the Detroit River. However, in that moment, Milton feels the Cadillac leveling itself—it’s flying! He says to himself, “Now, this is what I call an Air-Ride.”

Cruising along, Milton gradually learns to gain control of the flying car. He gazes over the parts of the city he knows, including those that used to exist but no longer do. (Cal notes that at this point, Milton no longer has any “brain waves.”) Suddenly, Milton starts to cry, not over his imminent death, but over the fact that he didn’t manage to get Callie back. Now the car tips, and begins to nosedive toward the water. Milton suddenly realizes how foolish he’s been, and uses his last word to call himself a “Birdbrain.” Although Milton meets a tragic end, in a way it was fortunate that he dies before he can see Chapter Eleven run Hercules Hotdogs into bankruptcy and Tessie sell Middlesex. In a way, Cal is also grateful that Milton never saw him again, so that in Milton’s mind, Cal remained Callie—his little girl.