The Mothers

The Upper Room community gathers for Elise’s funeral. The congregation, accustomed to difficult deaths, harbors resentment toward Elise for her death by suicide. The Mothers recall finding her body in the church that morning, initially mistaking her for a vagrant. Haunted by memories of her mother, Nadia feels profoundly alone and disconnected from the community. She sits on the church steps, where she strikes up a friendship with Aubrey, who offers to share her lunch.

Aubrey reveals that she lives with her older sister, Monique, or “Mo,” and Mo’s girlfriend, Kasey, because of her difficult home situation. She tells Nadia about her transient childhood and the abuse she endured from her mother’s boyfriend, Paul. The girls find common ground in their shared secrets and the absence of their mothers. Later, Nadia celebrates the Fourth of July with Aubrey and her chosen family, envying their warmth and connection. At church, Aubrey is befriended by Mrs. Latrice Sheppard, a woman known for her ability to intuit people’s past traumas. Latrice attributes Elise’s death to spiritual weakness and warns Aubrey not to become too attached to Nadia, reminding her that Nadia will soon leave for college.