Between Heaven and Texas

The novel opens in 1970 in the small town of Too Much, Texas, where 19-year-old Mary Dell Templeton kneels in her wedding gown on the bathroom floor, panicking about marrying Donny Bebee, a man she has known for only four months. Her mother, Taffy Templeton, pounds on the door while the pianist cycles through her three songs for the fourth time. Mary Dell does not even know Donny's middle name and considers fleeing to Mexico.

The narrative traces the history behind this moment. Too Much was founded in 1840 when pioneer Flagadine Tudmore refused to travel any farther across the harsh Texas landscape and declared the spot her home, built on "the conviction of a strong-willed woman and the indolence of a handsome but shiftless man" (5). The Tudmore women have since passed the family ranch, the F-Bar-T, from mother to daughter upon marriage. Mary Dell and her twin sister, Lydia Dale, grow up on the ranch. Taffy, once popular with boys but resented by the women of Too Much for her flirtatious ways, is frozen out socially by Marlena Benton, the most influential woman in town, and channels her frustration into beauty pageants. Lydia Dale, petite and poised, fills a glass case with tiaras, while Mary Dell, tall and curvy, washes out of competition by 13. Mary Dell instead learns to sew from her grandmother, Silky, a master seamstress who becomes her true mother figure.

Mary Dell meets Donny at the county fair in August 1970. She enters a handmade dress in the 4-H fashion competition but receives only an honorable mention despite flawless construction. Donny, a cowboy from Lubbock, calls her dress the prettiest he has ever seen and asks her dancing. That evening they end up together at Puny Pond, and Mary Dell barely remembers what happens. Meanwhile, Lydia Dale spots Donny's brother, Graydon Bebee, a bull rider, at the Miss Limestone County pageant and deliberately loses, secretly wanting to quit pageants for good.

When Mary Dell discovers she is pregnant, Donny proposes. On her wedding day, the family crowds the bathroom with competing advice. Grandma Silky tells Mary Dell she does not have to marry unless she wants to. Lydia Dale argues for the marriage, envisioning the sisters married to brothers, living side by side on the ranch. Mary Dell applies lipstick, takes the arm of her father, Dutch Templeton, and walks down the aisle.

On the honeymoon, Mary Dell miscarries. Donny comforts her and reveals he married her because he fell in love at first sight, not because of the baby. They settle into a double-wide trailer on the ranch, and Donny transforms the struggling F-Bar-T into a profitable operation. Over 13 years, Mary Dell endures five miscarriages. Graydon, believed killed in Vietnam, returns alive to find Lydia Dale married to Jack Benny Benton, Marlena's son, and retreats heartbroken to Kansas. Lydia Dale's marriage proves miserable: Jack Benny cheats openly and eventually leaves, demanding part of the ranch before dropping the claim. Donny, insisting on a biological heir, agrees that if one more attempt fails, they will consider adoption.

At Thanksgiving 1983, the couple announces Mary Dell is five months pregnant. Donny names the baby Howard Hobart Bebee and voices towering hopes for his son. Howard arrives five weeks early in February 1984. Dr. Tibbets, a neonatologist, informs the parents that Howard has Down syndrome (trisomy 21), a chromosomal condition that affects intellectual development and may involve other health challenges. Mary Dell immediately declares they will not institutionalize Howard. The doctor notes Howard's heart is normal, a significant advantage, and urges the parents to be their son's most important teachers. That night a nurse secretly brings Howard to Mary Dell, who examines her son and pronounces him "perfect" (97).

When Taffy visits and calls Howard "a retard" (101), Mary Dell warns with unprecedented ferocity that if Taffy ever uses that word again, she will never see Howard or Mary Dell again. Back home, Mary Dell immerses herself in research while Donny withdraws emotionally. He works from dawn to dusk, tackling every deferred chore, until one morning he finds his beloved horse with a broken leg from a board he failed to repair and has to shoot her. The loss crystallizes his sense of powerlessness. That evening he tells Mary Dell he loves her and leaves, ostensibly to return a borrowed backhoe. He does not come back. In a letter from Midland, Donny writes that Mary Dell is strong enough without him, that there is "something wrong with me, I guess" (126). He encloses 25 dollars.

Mary Dell sinks into depression until Grandma Silky arrives with food and tough love: "Mommas don't lie down and die," and "when your dreams turn to dust... maybe it's time to vacuum" (132). Mary Dell emerges with Howard and resolves to lead the family. She drives to Kansas, finds Graydon living in a shed, and persuades him to return and manage the ranch. In Too Much, Graydon bonds with Lydia Dale's nine-year-old son, Jeb, and gradually reconnects with Lydia Dale.

Mary Dell has long submitted quilt designs to Quilt Treasures magazine, receiving only form rejections from editor C. J. Evard. One desperate night she writes a furious letter insulting the editor and accidentally mails it. When Mr. Waterson, owner of the local dry goods store, announces his retirement, Mary Dell envisions transforming the shop into a quilting store. The bank refuses her a loan, but Lydia Dale commits to being her partner, names it the Patchwork Palace, and secretly sells all her pageant gowns and tiaras to raise funds.

Mary Dell's angry letter prompts Evard to review her 15 previous submissions. Evard, a distinguished Texas gentleman rather than the glamorous woman Mary Dell imagined, is impressed by her techniques but notes her color choices need work. When he sees a quilt with fabrics chosen by Lydia Dale, he recognizes the sisters' complementary talents. He reveals that his own brother had Down syndrome and died young, and he offers to supply fabric on commission for the shop's opening, telling Mary Dell she is "on the verge of finding your best self" (291).

While Mary Dell is in Dallas, Marlena offers Mr. Waterson more money for the building to spite the Templetons. That same weekend, the barn catches fire. Graydon rescues the horses and most of the sheep, but Lydia Dale discovers his old whiskey bottles and, traumatized by Jack Benny's drinking, accuses him of causing the fire. She orders him off the ranch. Mary Dell later learns that Jeb started the blaze by dropping a lit match while trying to smoke a stolen cigarette after running away from Jack Benny's house.

With the family debating whether to sell land to raise cash, Graydon returns with Lydia Dale's pageant gown and first tiara, which he bought back in Fort Worth. He proposes to Lydia Dale and offers to buy 100 acres of ranch land with his savings, keeping the property in the family while providing cash for the store. Lydia Dale says yes.

The sisters open the Patchwork Palace in September 1984. Donny mails a card saying he is proud of Mary Dell. Howard spends the day charming customers, and sales exceed projections. Near closing, Marlena arrives and insults the family, using a slur against Howard. Taffy punches Marlena, drags her into the street, and warns her never to use that word again. After everyone leaves, Mary Dell surveys the near-empty shelves and full class rosters and recognizes she has found her best self: a gift for teaching and connecting with others through quilting. When Lena Brooks, who has just resigned from the Women's Club in disgust at Marlena, stops by and asks to learn to quilt, Mary Dell hands her a kit and says there is nothing she would rather do.