The Great Believers

Yale and Charlie are going through a sexual dry spell in their relationship. In addition to confusion over Charlie’s jealousy, Yale now wonders why he seems reluctant to engage physically. Meanwhile, Asher and Teddy report that Julian is engaging in random sexual encounters with other infected men. Teddy says Julian refers to his sex practices as a kind of “Russian roulette.” Teddy also shares that he recently tested negative for the virus, much to Yale’s relief. Yale is distressed to learn, however, that the hospital is discharging Terrence (because Terrence is still very weak).

Yale, Bill, and Roman go to Wisconsin to visit Nora. Yale receives a stand-offish greeting from Nora’s son, Frank, who vocally disapproves of her donation and claims that the three of them are trespassing. They manage to get into the house by slyly leaving a letter for Nora in her mailbox. Frank hovers over them throughout the visit, however, and the atmosphere is tense. When Yale attempts to use Nora’s restroom, Frank forbids him, revealing his homophobia. 

Nora tells Yale that even though she feels fine from day to day, she is dying from congestive heart failure. Thus, she is eager to move the gallery donation and authentication process along as swiftly as possible. She tells them she would love to see the gallery open while she is still living, if possible. The three Brigg employees feel cautiously optimistic about Nora’s continued enthusiasm.

Debra also reveals that Ranko Novak was Nora’s lover, suggesting that this is the reason she is so attached to his work.

Fiona goes on a long, fruitless search for Claire. She contemplates the grief of her own mother, who became an alcoholic after Nico’s death. Fiona never forgave her mother, firmly convinced that she and her father were responsible for her brother’s demise. Eventually, Fiona grows tired, and returns to the warm comfort of Richard’s apartment (to her chosen family).

Yale, Bill, and Roman go back to Nora’s house. Frank is gone, and Nora gleefully reveals that she has “bought off” Debra with the promise of valuable jewelry. In the midst of looking through jewelry, Nora notices Yale eyeing an emerald pendant, and tells him to give it to Fiona.

Nora then unrolls the sketches and paintings she is giving over to the Brigg. Everything proves to be as wonderful as they’d hoped. As they look through Ranko Novak’s work, Bill fails to fully conceal his disdain for it. Debra confidentially asks Yale how much he thinks Nora’s pieces are worth altogether, and he manages to reassure her with vague suggestions that they’re only sketches and therefore not tremendously valuable. He feels guilty doing this, however.

Back in Chicago, Yale continues to battle his feelings of guilt. Bill justifies their actions, saying Frank would’ve handled Nora’s estate poorly because he has no understanding of art. Yale still marvels, however, over the generosity of Fiona, knowing a single sketch could pay for her college education.

When Fiona returns to Richard’s apartment, she finds Serge chatting with Jake. Jake asks how Fiona’s search for Claire is going, and Fiona feels anxious that Jake has gained a more intimate understanding of her trip to Paris.

Fiona calls her ex-husband, Damian. Damian tells her she should retrace Nora’s life in Paris and find Ranko Novak’s grave. After the call, Fiona distracts herself by getting ready for Corinne’s party, dreading the call she must make to Cecily (Kurt’s mother).

At the party, Fiona gets drunk. While she and Jake view a picture featuring her and Julian (when he was ill), she pours out her conflicted feelings about Nico’s death. In the midst of her outpouring, she gets so emotional that she fails to notice she’s broken her champagne flute in her hand. Corinne and her husband help clean and dress Fiona’s injured hand. They also promise to help Fiona track down Ranko Novak’s information through a friend at the Academic des Beaux-Arts.

Jake takes Fiona back to Richard’s apartment, and they have sex there. Afterward, Jake asks Fiona to tell him more about her gay friends in Chicago. Fiona tells him that Julian died, but she has no idea when or where. When Fiona wakes up in the middle of the night, Jake is gone.

Yale comes home from work to find a distraught Charlie with his mother, Teresa. She reveals that Charlie has just tested HIV positive, and encourages Yale to take the test. Yale realizes that Charlie must have had sex with Julian, and that this was the reason he reacted so strongly when Julian received his positive test result. Yale refuses to take the test because it takes three months (from one’s last exposure) to be sure of the result.

Feeling deeply upset and betrayed, Yale flees the apartment. He takes shelter with Terrence, whose apartment has fallen into disarray because he’s been too weak to clean it. Yale tries to help Terrence, cleaning Roscoe’s litter box. Roscoe used to be Nico’s cat, and Terrence adopted him after Nico’s death.

Terrence confesses that he knew that Julian and Charlie had sex. After Nico’s memorial, Charlie drunkenly shut himself in Nico’s bathroom. Julian went to console him, and ended up having sex with him. Terrence believed it was a one-time mistake, and he is surprised to learn that Charlie has the virus. He apologizes for not telling Yale. Yale forgives him, musing, “If it weren’t for the test, we wouldn’t even know. We’d be out to dinner right now” (179). Yale also ironically reflects that “Until about one o’clock, this was the best day of my life” (180). 

Fiona reflects on old memories, including Nora’s ghostly statement: “For us, Paris wasn’t even Paris. It was all a projection. It was whatever we needed it to be” (183).

She looks through Richard’s old photos and recalls the early days of Nico’s infection, when she’d worried about the red bumps on his skin (not yet knowing what caused them). She feels alone in her grief for Nico and his friends because so few people she knows have shared her experience.

Arnaud calls her to come to Kurt’s apartment, and she leaves Richard’s apartment with an unsettled feeling.

Yale goes to work in a distracted haze, wondering where he will spend the night, reluctant to put Terrence out a second time. He half-heartedly hopes that the test numbers may have been mixed up, or that conspiracy theories suggesting not everyone with HIV gets AIDS may prove to be true.

Richard Campo has been hired to take photos of Nora’s artwork, and he comes to Yale’s office with Bill and the Sharps. The Sharps are greatly impressed with the collection, enthusing over the photos as Richard shows them. When Richard reaches for the Ranko Novak photos, however, Bill whispers, “Not those” (190). Yale is privately distressed that Nora’s wishes won’t be fulfilled.

The Sharps agree to finance the authentication of Nora’s art, and Yale offers to name the gallery the Lerner-Sharp Collection. Before leaving, Richard pulls Yale aside and tells him that, years ago, he used to see Bill at a gay club he used to frequent. Yale asks Richard if he can stay at his apartment that night—claiming that Charlie’s mother is in town, and she snores—but Richard says he has a date and plans to make “a lot more noise than Charlie’s mother” (192).

Cecily comes by Yale’s office. She tells Yale that Chuck Donovan is furious, and that his anger may lead to professional consequences for her. During the conversation, she observes that Yale seems upset, and Yale confesses that he has nowhere to stay. Cecily takes Yale back to her apartment, where she lives as a single parent with her son, Kurt. When Yale expresses concerns about staying with them, knowing he may have been exposed to the virus, Cecily explains that she is well-educated on the ways the virus can spread, and that she trusts Yale. 

Arnaud buys Fiona a whiskey at a cafe near Kurt’s apartment, insisting that she needs to calm her nerves. While Arnaud is calling the landlady, Fiona observes a man and a woman arguing at the cafe. The man seems very controlling, and his behavior triggers Fiona’s anxieties about Kurt and Claire’s relationship.

At the apartment, Fiona and Arnaud find very little evidence that suggests Claire and her daughter are still living with Kurt. She does, however, see a photo of the daughter in Kurt’s kitchen. Fiona is struck by how closely the little girl’s eyes resemble Nico’s.

On Sunday, Kurt’s father comes by Cecily’s apartment. He whispers to Cecily, presumably concerned about Yale’s presence.

Yale goes to Charlie’s apartment, knowing he will be wrapping up the paper. Charlie responds to Yale’s presence with anger, claiming he didn’t know how to reach him. Charlie tells Yale that Terrence died on Friday, and his funeral service is at 3 pm. Yale is shocked because he stayed with Terrence on Thursday.

Yale realizes that Charlie expects him to show sympathy for him, now that he’s infected. Teresa also pressure’s Yale to stay and comfort her son. Yale initially feels conflicted, but resolves to stick up for himself and stay true to his own feelings. He packs up his few personal belongings and leaves. On the way to Terrence’s funeral service, Yale passes the house he admired and its for sale sign. He feels strange about how much his life has changed since he thought about buying it.

After the funeral, Charlie confronts Yale and offers numerous justifications for cheating on him, claiming he was drunk, he was high, he was trying to contract the virus so he wouldn’t be scared anymore, that the condom Julian used was defective. Yale is disgusted by the ways Charlie deflects blame from himself. He is particularly irritated by the defective condom defense, retorting, “Tell the Republicans! They’ll love you!” (214).

Back at Cecily’s apartment, she sadly tells Yale that he can’t stay with her anymore. Her ex-husband has threatened to sue for custody of Kurt if Yale doesn’t leave. 

Fiona convinces Jake to accompany her (as “backup”) to revisit Kurt’s apartment. There, Fiona confronts Kurt and demands to know what happened to Claire. Kurt explains that they broke up, he married someone else, and that both of them are no longer part of the cult. He also explains that Claire was the one who originally wanted to join the cult, and that he only joined to be close to her. Throughout the conversation, Fiona begins to realize that Kurt did not control or manipulate her daughter. In fact, he defended Fiona to Claire, believing “she was way too harsh” and that Fiona “did the best [she] could” (219).

Kurt tells Fiona that he believes Claire’s bitterness derives from something Damian told her in the wake of the divorce: That Fiona felt the day of her birth was the worst day of her life. Fiona explains that the pregnancy was unplanned and initially unwanted, but “it didn’t change the way [she] raised” (222) her daughter.

Emotionally overwhelmed, Fiona goes to a restaurant Ranko Novak used to frequent. She finds the restaurant filled with English speakers, greatly gentrified, and very different from its original clientele. She orders a bowl of onion soup. When the waitress offers dessert, she orders a second bowl of soup. 

Bill runs into Yale as he leaves the office. He shows Yale a picture he found of Nora that is located in the Musee d’Orsay and speculates that the museum might have an interest in taking Nora’s matching Pascin portrait “on loan.” Bill emphasizes the importance of establishing a timeline with Nora the next time he visits (rather than recording her stories). Yale feels uneasy about Bill’s (money-driven) priorities.

With nowhere to stay, Yale goes to an all-night bar. Richard comes over to talk to Yale, and learns what’s really happening between him and Charlie. He gets Yale a room in a hotel his friend owns, and Yale continues to reserve his room for the rest of the week. On Friday, he sees Teddy at the laundromat. Teddy confronts Yale about the “awful state” (229) Charlie was in after Terrence’s funeral. When Yale tries to explain that Charlie contracted the virus while cheating on him, Teddy responds that he doesn’t want to hear the full story: “That’s where judgment and blame come in, and I want no part of it. […] Everyone got it from someone. We all got it from Reagan, right?” (229).

Teddy explains that he doesn’t judge Julian (even though Julian was his on-and-off lover). In fact, Julian is staying at his place, and he is taking care of him. Yale replies that Teddy must be a better person than he is. 

Arnaud calls Fiona and reports that he found Claire. He gives Fiona the address of a bar in Saint-Denis where Claire works. He tells Fiona that she can visit the bar tomorrow. Claire claimed she needed some time to emotionally prepare for Fiona’s visit.

Trembling with emotion, Fiona calls Cecily and tells her she found Kurt and Claire, and that they “have a granddaughter” (233). Fiona begs Cecily to come to Paris and help her. Cecily is initially hesitant, explaining that she loves her son, but doesn’t consider herself a mother anymore, “not in the same way” (233).

Roman accompanies Yale to visit Nora. In the car, Roman asks Yale what made Nora trust him, and Yale tells him the story of Nico and his death.

When they arrive, Yale tries to stick to Bill’s goal of establishing a timeline, but Nora insists on telling the story of Ranko Novak. They met in art school, and she was immediately struck by his dark curls and enigmatic appearance. She explains that she wanted to paint him and possess him. Reflecting on the ways men like Nico and Richard capture beauty with their art, Yale responds that he understands. Debra tells Yale that Nora’s obsession with Ranko is “the entire reason” she donated her art collection: “[…] he’s been dead forever, and she’s still choosing him over her family” (239).

Nora explains that Ranko was an eccentric artist, and that he struggled between his impulse to create wild, vibrant works, and his need to “tamp down” (241) his oddness for the establishment. The year they were engaged to marry, Ranko won the Prix de Rome. Ironically, Ranko only won because the prize was not awarded the year before, and three people received the award that year. The prize required that Ranko sequester himself and paint in a chateau for three years. Nora was not allowed to come with him, and she was devastated. That summer, World War I broke out, and Ranko was sent off to fight. Nora had to return home to the United States (though she eventually returned to Paris). At this point in her story, Nora begins to cough, and Debra ushers Roman and Yale from the house.

Back at the motel where Roman and Yale are staying, they learn that the Challenger space shuttle has exploded. Roman asks Yale to come to his room and watch the news with him. In the room, they somberly sip from a bottle of bad fruit wine, processing the magnitude of the story. Roman reflects, “When I think about death, I start questioning everything” (246). Roman draws closer and closer to Yale, clearly trying to initiate sexual contact. Though Yale hesitates—feeling strange about his recently ended relationship, the possibility of his infection, and the age gap between him and Roman—he doesn’t want Roman to feel ashamed of his sexuality. He gives Roman a hand job (with the assumption that this is one of Roman’s first sexual experiences with a man).

The next day, Roman and Yale return to Nora’s. Yale feels foggy from the wine and the previous night’s encounter. Nora tells the story of her return to Paris, explaining that she didn’t know who was alive or dead, thanks to both the war and the Spanish Flu. She muses that in this respect, her experiences mirrored what Yale must be feeling amidst the AIDS epidemic. She tells him:

That’s why I picked you, why I wanted you to have all this! […] Because you’ll understand […] Some of those boys were dear friends. […] I could tell you their names, but it wouldn’t mean a thing to you. If I told you Picasso died in the war, you’d understand. Poof, there goes Guernica. But I tell you Jacques Weiss died at the Somme, and you don’t know what to miss (252).

Nora began to model, hoping to be a muse, and met Modigliani this way.

As Nora begins to tell the story of her modeling days, Roman sees a mouse and screams. While Yale helps Debra apprehend the mouse, he accidentally muses that it’s a good thing the mice can’t get into 2 million dollars’ worth of art (still foggy and distracted by the last night with Roman). Debra becomes furious after hearing the amount of money Nora is denying her family. She demands that Yale and Roman leave, coldly summarizing the “ending” of Ranko’s story: “He showed back up, and his hand didn’t work right, and he killed himself” (255).