The Nickel Boys: Chapter Fifteen Summary & Analysis

After years of living alone in New York City, Elwood marries Millie. She doesn’t know about his past at Nickel Academy, but she’s a supportive and wonderful person. One night, she insists that they meet at a new restaurant in Harlem, saying that they haven’t been on a date in a long time. He’s hesitant, since the restaurant seems like the kind of place designed to attract the white people who have taken over the neighborhood and dubbed it “Hamilton Heights” to make it sound fancy and new. He sees the area’s gentrification as a reverse version of “white flight,” since so many white people left this area years ago and are taking it over again now that it’s considered safe.

As Elwood waits for Millie outside the restaurant, he thinks about his time working as a mover in Harlem, remembering what it felt like to schlep furniture out of a dead person’s apartment. This experience made him fear the idea of dying alone, especially since he knows his last thoughts would be of Nickel Academy—something he doesn’t want to endure on his own. Standing on the street, he decides to buy flowers for Millie, whom he met at a fundraiser. This, he thinks, must be what a “normal” husband would do. He, for his part, still thinks about Nickel on a daily basis, wondering how it has prevented him from having a regular life. Just as Elwood goes to buy flowers, he sees Millie approaching him and affectionally calling him handsome.