The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: Chapter 55 Summary & Analysis

Evelyn arrives at the restaurant in LA to find Celia at the table already. Evelyn can see that Celia’s skin and hair are aging just as hers are. Evelyn orders wine, but Celia orders soda, saying wine no longer agrees with her. When Evelyn offers to pour her wine out, Celia says her low tolerance doesn’t need to be Evelyn’s problem, and when Evelyn says she wants everything about Celia to be her problem, Celia tells Evelyn it took her years to get over her, both times they broke up. She still hates Evelyn a bit, and Evelyn says she feels the same way, but she still wants to be with her.

Celia says she’s surprised that Evelyn didn’t call her to gloat when she won her Oscar. Evelyn tells her she was referring to her in the acceptance speech, and Celia says she thought there might’ve been another “she” that Evelyn was talking about. Evelyn tells Celia she’s the only one she’s loved, despite the men she’s been with since they broke up. She says she’s getting a divorce from Max, no matter what he says about her: she has her fame and Harry’s support, and she no longer cares what anyone thinks. She’s signed on for one last movie and then she’ll stop making them.

Celia doubts Evelyn’s sincerity, but Evelyn reassures her she means everything she’s just said. Celia hesitates before telling Evelyn she has a pulmonary disease and probably won’t live past 60. Evelyn doesn’t believe her at first. Celia tells her to do her final movie before moving to the coast of Spain with her, bringing Harry, Connor, and Celia’s brother Robert with them. Evelyn asks about the disease, and Celia explains that it’s from smoking; she can live a normal life for a while, but eventually it’ll become difficult to breathe. Evelyn starts to cry, and when she can’t calm down, Celia takes her home and sits her on the sofa.

Celia tells Evelyn that if she can handle losing her again, they can spend the rest of their lives together. Evelyn says that she can’t handle it, but she’d rather go through the pain of losing Celia than never feel it. Celia and Evelyn cry together, then have sex. In the morning, Celia describes her plan. Evelyn will leave Max and appear in public with Celia’s friend, a politician. People will be shocked to see Evelyn dating someone so young, so when Max tries to spread information about Evelyn’s relationship with Celia, it’ll seem like he’s spreading bitter rumors. Eventually, Evelyn will marry Celia’s brother, Robert, so that when Celia dies, she can inherit everything. 

Evelyn asks Celia whether they need to do all this just to hide the truth. Celia reminds her of the people afflicted with AIDS who were attacked by the media, and Evelyn thinks of Harry crying over the loss of so many of his friends. Celia says that while things have changed since the 1960s, they haven’t changed dramatically, and they need to protect each other. Evelyn says she’ll talk to Harry, but she tells Celia she’s made a good plan.

An article in Now This reports that Evelyn, who has been seen out with a young Democrat, is filing for divorce from Max, who has been spreading rumors that Evelyn’s a lesbian and a cheater. The author writes that, while Evelyn doesn’t have a “great track record” with marriage, Max’s comments “sound like sour grapes.”