The Flower Sisters

Despite Joe’s wheedling, Dash refuses to talk to Daisy, asserting his belief that the people at the dance hall deserved what happened. Joe is incredulous that his grandfather believes dancing and drinking to have been sins that deserved such a fate. Suddenly, Daisy turns up unannounced to talk to Dash. Unsettled and furious at all the memories that she evokes with her presence, Dash orders her away, thundering at her to “stop doing the devil’s work” (214).

Daisy is thrilled by the overwhelming response that her first article receives. She casts around for more people to interview for her series and eventually approaches Smiley, asking if he was around that night. Smiley confirms that he was, and Daisy is surprised when he describes helping Jimmy to find “hooch” for his date. Smiley recounts the popular belief that the incident was a form of divine retribution for the perceived immoral actions of those affected. However, Smiley believes that the explosion was “the worst sort of accident” (218). He also acknowledges that that night also marked the beginning of his photography career.

The narrative recounts Smiley’s experiences of the explosion. Smiley remembers standing in the alley and seeing a sudden flash before the building collapsed on itself. The next thing he remembers was standing blocks away, his clothes burned off, with Rose putting a blanket around his shoulders. Mrs. Flowers, Rose’s mother, took him to his father, where Smiley broke the news of the explosion. Smiley’s father immediately ordered him to pull himself together; after they settled Mrs. Flowers, now in shock, father and son headed to the hall to help.

While Smiley’s father helped pull people from the fray, Smiley encountered a reporter who asked him to help navigate the place and take pictures. Smiley led him around the entire night, watching him work. At the end of it, the man handed Smiley his camera as a thank you, asserting that he believed Smiley had a knack for photography. When the article and the accompanying pictures eventually came out, Smiley pored over every inch of them in the newspaper, moved by how they told the story of the night. He immediately went down to The Picayune with his new camera and began working as their photographer.

Daisy recounts Smiley’s experience in her second article, which is published as Part II on July 7, 1978.

Dash reads the article on Smiley and marvels to realize that both he and Smiley found their respective callings because of the explosion. However, Dash found it much tougher to embrace his calling because he did not want to be anything like his father.

Dash remembers the months that his family spent in California; they were destitute because his father was more focused on spreading God’s word than on working any paying jobs. One day, Dash’s baby sister, Ruth, fell ill, and Dash’s mother left her in Dash’s care while she headed out to look for help. She left behind some sugar, instructing Dash to use it to soothe Ruth if she cried. However, when Ruth refused to open her mouth and accept any, a hungry Dash ate the sugar himself, feeling both elated and ashamed.

Ruth eventually quieted altogether, and her body cooled down considerably. Dash fell asleep, believing his sister to be recovering, but when the doctor and his parents finally arrived, the doctor pronounced Ruth dead. Five-year-old Dash believed that his sister’s death was his fault. His heartbroken mother finally insisted that the family leave California. They moved to Missouri, where Dash’s father took up a church post that came with a house and a plot of land. Dash vowed never to become a farmer or a preacher himself, wanting to avoid his father’s failure in providing for his family, but he now believes that God’s plan eventually led him to become a preacher despite his resistance to the idea.

Daisy writes to Lettie again, worried about the lack of responses from her mother. She encloses her piece on Smiley and asks what Lettie thinks of her piece on Hazel. She also describes her work on Jimmy’s profile piece, which she is creating with the help of quotes from other people. She also details her discovery about Violet and relates Rose’s emotional reaction when Daisy first asked about her grandmother’s twin.

Daisy’s article on Jimmy is published on July 14, 1978, and includes quotes from numerous people whom Jimmy saved that day, all of whom assert that he was a hero.

Patty congratulates Daisy on the success of her piece on Jimmy. Daisy, who learned from Myra that it is Patty’s birthday, gives her a bottle of nail polish as a gift. Patty informs Daisy that her religion does not allow her to wear nail polish or celebrate birthdays, but she thanks Daisy and tells her that Smiley brings in donuts to work as a “coincidence” on her birthday anyway.

As the staff members of The Picayune celebrate Patty’s birthday and eat donuts, they are interrupted by Fence, who arrives with the news that Jimmy is dead. Fence insinuates that this is Daisy’s fault, and an upset Daisy runs home immediately.

Rose struggles to process the fact that Jimmy is dead. When she receives his body, she realizes that he died by suicide, having shot himself with his gun. As Rose works on his body, she discovers a letter in his breast pocket. In the note, Jimmy refutes the town’s belief that he is a hero. He is still too afraid to take responsibility for his past actions, but he asserts that he loves this town and does not deserve their forgiveness. A teary Rose wonders what secret Jimmy carried around with him all these years, and she is unsettled by the thought that there are others like her, who have been living a lie since the night of the explosion. Deeply shaken, she suddenly loses consciousness and collapses.

Daisy arrives home and discovers Rose lying in a pool of blood; Rose has fallen face-first and has smashed her nose and teeth. Roger ascertains that Rose is still alive and calls an ambulance. He and Daisy begin cleaning Rose up. As Daisy untangles Rose’s blood-stained braid, she catches a glimpse of the back of Rose’s neck just before her grandmother is whisked away by the ambulance. Daisy is shocked to see that a violet birthmark marks the base of her grandmother’s skull.

Dash is shaken by Jimmy’s death. Remembering Jimmy’s efforts to help so many people on the night of the explosion, Dash struggles to reconcile the thought of Jimmy facing “eternal damnation” because he died by suicide. Dash cannot understand why Jimmy would have died this way and concludes that Daisy is responsible for the tragedy because she has been unearthing the town’s “ghosts.”

Daisy waits by her grandmother’s bedside; the woman has been out of the hospital for a week. A number of people have visited, including the staff from The Picayune. Daisy learned from Patty that Dash had delivered a sermon blaming Jimmy’s death on Daisy’s efforts to dig up the past. He also insinuated that Daisy is “Satan incarnate.”

Daisy reflects that Joe’s visit was the most difficult for her to bear. Upon Joe’s arrival, Daisy collapsed into his arms, crying about everything that had happened. Joe kissed her in response, and although this thrilled Daisy, she explained her discovery that “Rose” is really Violet. Because the young Violet had been pregnant with what was presumably Dash’s child, Daisy explained to Joe that she believes herself to be his cousin. Shocked, Joe left.

Now, Daisy’s grandmother finally wakes up and asks to know what happened. Daisy recounts everything, including her realization that her grandmother is actually Violet. With her true identity revealed, Violet proceeds to tell Daisy the truth about the past and gives Daisy permission to share this news with the rest of Possum Flats.