The Revelation of Dionne Daphne

On Day Nine, Dionne wakes up alone in the motel, feeling emotionally and physically drained. In the bathroom, she reflects that she had not cried for years while with Darren, but now the tears are constant. A knock from Farrah reminds her she isn’t alone. Farrah provides coffee and gentle guidance for the morning. In Farrah’s rental car, Dionne realizes she is wearing her friend’s clothes and remembers snapping at Farrah for packing up her makeup, which Dionne still sees as necessary. Instead of driving home, Farrah takes her to a secluded lakeside cottage for a three-day retreat. Dionne’s initial protest is quieted when Farrah reminds her that she had asked for help.

At the peaceful cottage, Dionne and Farrah embrace by the lake. Dionne expresses regret for not calling sooner, and Farrah uses humor to comfort her. Farrah insists Dionne rest, tucking her into bed and expressing pride in her for seeking help. Feeling a deep sense of safety, Dionne watches Farrah in the kitchen before falling asleep. She wakes to the smell of cooking and, over a large comfort-food meal, tells Farrah everything about her childhood abuse and the recent confrontation with her mother. Farrah listens tearfully.

Dionne tells Farrah she has been a better mother to her than her own. Later, by the lake, they discuss the pressures on Dionne’s mother, including her difficult relationship with her own parents, who reluctantly returned after Dionne was born but only fully embraced her mother again after she married Richard. Back in the cottage, while Farrah sleeps, Dionne looks at the list of her past sexual partners and begins to panic, fearing her situation is a punishment for her past choices. When Farrah wakes, Dionne confesses her deepest shame: that toward the end of the abuse, her body had begun to respond sexually, which made her feel suicidal. Farrah offers comfort, and Dionne vows to get a negative test result.

On Day 11 and their third day at the cottage, Dionne and Farrah visit a nearby town to work on Dionne’s “Everyday Beauty” concept. While waiting for photographs to develop, they go for a walk. Surrounded by flowering trees and warm spring air, Dionne feels a sense of hope and renewal and is ready to face whatever awaits her back home.

Returning to her New York apartment, Dionne listens to her answering machine and realizes she is not ready for what’s next. The messages include a tearful one from Winnie, offering support; a weary call from Darren in the hospital; a curt message from her mother; and a frantic one from her boss, Joanne, demanding she bring in her concept. Not ready to talk, Dionne lets the phone ring and Dominic leaves a voicemail, admitting he got her number by watching her dial it and asking her to call him back. Saddened that her father has not called, Dionne hits Erase on the messages, but before the machine finishes, her mother calls and Dionne picks up.

Deborah focuses on her own feelings of failure and asks if Dionne is disappointed in her. She reveals she has consulted Reverend Jones, who suggested family counseling. Dionne understands her mother is seeking permission to stay with Richard. The conversation ends abruptly when Deborah says, “since you think that happened” (247), implying Dionne’s memories are unreliable. Dionne hangs up. When her mother calls back begging to be told what to do, Dionne refuses and hangs up. Later, she is startled awake at 4:44 am by the sound of the paper being delivered.

On Sunday, Day 12, Dionne dedicates the entire day to restorative sleep. She unplugs her phone, intentionally shutting out the world to recover from her emotional exhaustion after the events of the previous days.

On Monday, Day 13, Dionne sleeps through the entire day.

On Tuesday morning, Day 14 Dionne wakes up feeling restored. When she heads to her office, she first stops in payroll and gives an administrator Dominic’s name, asking the company to find and pay him for his photography work on her concept. At her desk, an inner voice encourages her to focus on her own needs. She then goes to Joanne’s office and hands over her “Everyday Beauty” portfolio. Dionne confidently states her demands for the position of beauty and style director, including a salary of $100,000, stock options, and legal representation for negotiations. Surprised but impressed, Joanne asks if Dionne will present the concept herself. Dionne declines, stating she has an unmissable doctor’s appointment. Joanne, assuming it is a tactic, agrees to champion the project in her absence.

Dionne meets Farrah at Grand Central, and they take the train to the clinic. In the quiet car, Farrah relays that Kareem tested negative for HIV but that he never wants to hear from Dionne again. Dionne is relieved, and she and Farrah cry together on the way. At the clinic, Farrah breaks the tension by confessing she got herpes from a rapper, which makes Dionne laugh. When Dionne is called in to see the nurse, Marlene, she goes alone. Dionne momentarily blacks out as Marlene reads the results and has to ask her to repeat them: Her HIV test is negative.

Outside, Dionne shares the result with Farrah, and they embrace. Farrah then admits she lied about having herpes to make Dionne feel less alone. They playfully chase each other back to the train. That evening, Dominic arrives at Dionne’s apartment with a large bouquet of daphne flowers and an apology note. He sees her without makeup and tells her she is even more beautiful. Then, he explains that delivering the bag of drugs was the final favor he owed to settle a prison debt, and he apologizes for endangering her. He tells her he is a changed person and wants to earn her trust and a place in her life.

Dionne visits Darren in the hospital, where he has been in intensive care for two weeks. His health has visibly declined, with open sores on his skin and labored breathing. His first concern is for her, and he is overcome with relief when she tells him her test was negative. They reminisce about good times, and Darren explains that some nurses are afraid to treat him because of his illness. When Dionne mentions her plan to pitch a story on HIV to Essence magazine, he urges her to tell the truth about Black men who hide their sexuality. He thanks her for not being afraid to touch him. Then, Dionne tells him she is glad he was able to experience love with other men and says she forgives him. As he faces his mortality, he jokes about becoming her guardian angel. She promises to be his “play cousin” and remain his family for the time he has left. She then gets into the hospital bed and holds him while he cries.

Months later, in the fall of 1991, Dionne is at her mother’s house with her sister, Winnie, and her two nieces. They are excitedly flipping through Dionne’s 20-page “Everyday Beauty” spread in the new issue of Essence. Dionne reveals that the issue is a bestseller and that Susan Taylor and she have been invited to appear on Oprah’s show. When they come to a photo of Dionne’s mother with her friends, her mother becomes emotional. Dionne explains that she included it to show how women often wear masks to survive. Her mother then announces her decision to sell the house in the summer, travel a little, and figure out the rest. The mood lightens when they see a photo of Dionne’s stepmother, Miriam. Dionne’s mother reports that Dionne’s father is now proudly bragging about his “harem” being featured in the magazine, and the family shares a laugh.