Summary and Analysis
Chapter 37 - Ronnie
Summary
Ronnie is unable to talk about her father's death less than a week later, but she is able to share details about her recital. Steve's body is cremated, and the sparsely-attended funeral takes place at Pastor Harris' recently reopened church. After the service ends, Ronnie waits in the pew until the sunlight comes through the stained-glass window.
When Ronnie turns to leave the church, she sees Mr. and Mrs. Blakelee waiting for her. She embarrasses Mr. Blakelee by thanking him for his donation to the church. The Blakelees tell Ronnie that someone is here to see her. She exits the church and sees Will talking with Galadriel.
Ronnie is not exactly sure what she wants to say to Will. Will reveals that he is off to Europe and Ronnie announces that she is going to audition at Juilliard. Ronnie apologizes to Will for what she said at the end of the summer, and he surprises her by explaining that the reason he remained distant was to give her time with her father — time that he was not able to have with his brother.
Will then notices that Ronnie is wearing the macramé bracelet, and he tells her that he will call her when he returns from Europe, where he will be spending the Christmas holidays. Ronnie nods in agreement, convinced that he is walking out of her life forever.
Analysis
There are not many people at the funeral, but almost all of the important people from Ronnie's summer are there.
This shows that it does not matter how many people one touches in one's life — what is important is the depth of one's relationship with those people.
For Ronnie, "IMTF" now can refer to Mikey, Steve, and perhaps even Will, although it seems unlikely that she will actually never see him again.
From Nicholas
Will doesn't call Ronnie more than twice because, as he says, "I knew your dad needed you, and I wanted you to concentrate on him, not me." What elements in The Last Song prepared readers for this comment and enabled them to find it consistent with Will's character?
Will knew he'd been wrong in covering up his friends' crime and that Ronnie was right to have called him on it. At the same time, she said she couldn't trust him — and part of him believed that, too. Ronnie needed time with her father, she needed time to heal, and Will knew those things as well. Will was what you might consider, "an old soul" in a teen's body. All teenagers know such a person, so again, he feels real.