Taylor's calling her mother after leaving estevan and esperanza emphasizes the stabilizing role that her mother still plays in her life. Her mother is her refuge. Taylor feels proud as she tells her mother that she has adopted turtle. When her mother uses a phrase that alludes to a child's legitimacy, Taylor chides her, but her mother reassures Taylor that children get their traits not only from their biological parents but from "what you tell them."
The other important phone call that Taylor makes is to 1-800-THE LORD. Rather naively, she wants to thank them for being there when she needed them, which is ironic given that she's never directly relied on them before. Taylor is incredulous when she discovers that the telephone number is not a help line at all, but a number to call to donate money. However, after she hangs up, she feels joy, for she now recognizes that she has survived the recent tough times with the help of her newfound family and friends, not with 1-800-THE LORD.
In the Oklahoma City public library, Taylor and Turtle look at a horticultural encyclopedia. Once again, Kingsolver's knowledge of natural history is evident. Taylor reads about the rhizobia, microscopic bugs that live on the roots of wisteria vines. Rhizobia perform a necessary role for wisteria vines: They produce fertilizer out of nitrogen gas. Here, Taylor makes a symbolic connection between the interdependence of the rhizobia and the wisteria plants and the interdependence among people. The relationship between the rhizobia and the wisteria symbolizes Taylor's positive, life-sustaining relationships with the many people she's met. Without this network of friends and family, she would not be the more mature, nurturing woman she's become.
