Turtles All the Way Down: Chapter 23 Summary & Analysis

Aza wakes up the next morning and spends much of her morning procrastinating about texting Davis. She remembers that right after her dad died, she could still think of him as though he were real. Gradually, it became harder to picture him. Aza thinks that he's still dying in her memory.

Aza finally texts Davis and asks him to come over. He agrees to come at 5:30pm. The day moves slowly, and Aza tells Mom at a quarter to five that Davis is coming over. Mom asks if Aza feels anxious, and Aza asks if it's possible for her to just say something when she's having mental health problems rather than have to answer the constant questions.

Mom goes out to run errands, and Davis knocks on the door a bit later. Aza motions for him to sit down and tells him that the jogger's mouth is the mouth of Pogue's Run tunnel. She says she thinks Mr. Pickett might be down there and that there was a bad smell. Davis looks scared and starts to cry. He collapses into Aza, and she realizes that Noah isn't the only one who misses his father. They realize that there hadn't been communication because he'd been dead the entire time.

Aza and Davis lie on the couch. Davis asks what he should do now. Aza says that he needs to keep going and has seven years until his father is legally dead. When Davis says he has nobody, Aza reminds him that he has Noah, which sends Davis sobbing again. Davis and Aza cuddle until Mom gets home, which makes them jump. Davis insists on leaving, even though both Mom and Aza say he can stay.

Later that night, Aza tries to text Davis. He doesn't reply, so she texts Daisy to come over. An hour later, the girls sit on Aza's bed. Aza reads the new Ayala story and giggles. Daisy notes that everything worked out in the end: the heroes got rich and nobody got hurt. Aza points out that she lacerated her liver, Harold died, and Mr. Pickett is also probably dead. She says that happy endings either aren't actually happy or aren't actually endings, and everyone dies anyway. Daisy insists that you get to choose your beginnings and endings, and pick how you frame your life.

Davis never texts Aza back but does update his blog. His final post says that he knows nothing lasts, but wonders why he still misses everyone.