How It All Goes Down
- Coming back home for Dinah is a huge relief. But she can't take lying to everyone any longer, so she tells Meryt and Benia everything about her past. They are totally understanding, and they comfort her, which is a relief.
- But as the years goes on, Meryt starts getting really old (she is much older than Dinah), and eventually she passes away.
- Meryt's family and Dinah bury Meryt with sorrow but also with joy and laughter because of the life Meryt lived.
- One morning, Joseph shows up at the door of Dinah's house. Ruh roh: Joseph means trouble.
- Well, apparently, Jacob is dying, and Joseph feels compelled to go to him before he dies so that Jacob can bless Joseph's two sons.
- By the way, Joseph has had a second son.
- After a long night of Joseph talking and pleading with Dinah to go with him, she agrees, very reluctantly. Luckily, Benia gets to go with them.
- On the trip, Joseph and Dinah don't talk much.
- But it isn't an awkward trip, because Dinah has tons of fun with Benia. He teaches her how to swim, which is something she had always wanted to learn.
- This Benia guy is awesome.
- Anyway, when the trio finally reaches Jacob, they are greeted by Judah. Everyone looks so much older, and Dinah can barely make out the faces of many of her brothers.
- None of Dinah's brothers recognize her, which kinds of irks her.
- Then again, Dinah isn't on the trip as Dinah; she's officially there as just a nurse who's working for Joseph.
- So Joseph ends up visiting Jacob, who is mad with illness. At first he doesn't recognize Joseph; he just names his brothers, then curses, then blesses them.
- Jacob is cuckoo bananas at this point.
- Eventually, Jacob ends up blessing Joseph's two boys, though he never mentions Dinah.
- Dinah is forgotten in the house of Jacob.
- On the second day of Jacob's deathwatch, Dinah was approached by Gera, the daughter of Benjamin, who is the last son of the family and was born to Rachel.
- Gera goes on to talk about the family's history—which Dinah already knows, but she wants to hear it from someone else.
- Dinah learns that Reuben has died, and Simon and Levi were murdered. She also learns that Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin.
- Gera then goes on to tell the story of Dinah: she is said to have died of grief.
- Yeah, well, nope: Dinah is standing right there listening to Gera.
- Jacob ends up dying that night, and when everyone is set to leave, Judah approaches Dinah and gives her a lapis ring of Rachel's. It was a gift from Leah.
- So Judah knows it was Dinah all along.
- Eventually, Dinah arrives home and says goodbye to Joseph.
- The years fast-forward quickly now, and Dinah becomes really old and sick.
- Then Dinah dies.
- Yeah, it happens.
- But Dinah's still talking in the first person right now, which is kind of creepy.
- Hello, our narrator's been dead this whole time.
- Ugh, now things are uncomfortable.
- But we still learn a few more things: Gera names her baby Dinah, and Re-mose ends up marrying and living a happy life.
- Then, at the very end of the book, Dinah addresses a "you." She blesses this "you" and this you's children.
- And so the book ends.