The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree

Genevieve often goes back to Meema’s property, sneaking in by hopping over the gate and fishing at the pond that she frequently went to as a child. One day, she is visited by Bigger while at the pond and is shocked to find that Mercer is nowhere in sight. Bigger himself is unsure about how he happens to be there, but the two make conversation, and Genevieve throws rocks into the pond since Bigger cannot. When Genevieve asks Bigger why he thinks he’s still around, Bigger answers that perhaps he is afraid of death and afraid of leaving Mercer in such a state. Genevieve isn’t sure how she feels about making friends with a ghost. She gets a fish on her line, and when she turns her head back to Bigger, he’s gone.

Jezzie is terrified after her conversation with Delilah and avoids home and her father as much as possible. She feels resentful toward her mother as well, for failing to protect her and her sisters. Jezzie meets Genevieve after school one day for tutoring and asks to go somewhere private to talk. Genevieve takes her to the bayou, and they get on the boat and fish together. Jezzie confesses what Delilah told her, and Genevieve visibly fills with rage. She promises Jezzie that she will protect her at any cost, and Jezzie warns her not to tell Wreath about the “wife lessons” because Wreath may try to stop John Luther and be killed for doing so. Genevieve assures Jezzie that she will figure something out and tells Jezzie to call if John Luther does anything strange or unseemly.

Genevieve feels angry at everyone involved, including herself, because she has no clue how to help Jezzie. Jezzie seems relieved now that she has entrusted Genevieve with her problems, and it terrifies Genevieve to know that these obligations are now her own. She even thinks about just leaving everything behind without a word. When Genevieve mentions having been in the circus, Jezzie is desperately curious to know more, and Genevieve tells her about the snakes she had. Jezzie’s mood is lightened, while Genevieve is filled with dread.

The youngest Ives daughter, Leah, comes home after school and reaches for a cookie that was baked for her by her mother. Delilah is in the kitchen and snaps at Leah not to touch them. When Leah tries to leave, Delilah grabs her and slams her into the china cabinet. Several dishes break, and Delilah blames Leah for it. Wreath walks in on the scene and scolds Delilah for abusing Leah and takes Leah upstairs with her cookies to relax. When Leah wakes from a nap hours later, she finds Delilah downstairs singing about God and considers what a hypocrite her sister is.

Genevieve comes home with Jezzie, and Leah can tell that Jezzie seems happier. Leah gets into another scuffle with Delilah over dinner, and Delilah tries to grab her again. Delilah also complains when her mother decides to loan Genevieve an old quilting frame. When Delilah leaves to deliver the dinner to her father, Wreath, Genevieve, and the youngest girls enjoy time together without stress. Wreath tells the story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and Leah is surprised to hear that her mother is even laughing. When Delilah comes home later, Genevieve sees the ghost of Delilah’s deceased husband trying to strangle her. She tells Delilah, which terrifies her. She also reveals that she knows about the “wife lessons,” and Wreath overhears. She confronts Delilah, wanting to know what’s going on and whether she needs to protect Jezzie from her father. Jezzie takes Leah upstairs and reads her a story while the others deal with the situation.

Wreath demands that Delilah tell her what John Luther did to her, and Delilah implies enough to make it clear to Wreath. She can tell that Wreath is overtaken by guilt upon hearing it and feels like she is once again the one holding the power. She knows now that Wreath will want to make up for the damage done.

Genevieve drives down the road and steers to avoid a deer, which causes her to crash into the cemetery gates. She walks inside and has a sudden flashback to the day the reverend was killed by the snake. Genevieve was chased out into the woods and accused of witchcraft as she was pummeled with stones. When the flashback ends, Genevieve notices that the church light is on nearby.

She drives home to retrieve her pistol and heads back to the church with the intent of killing John Luther. Along the way, Bigger appears and tries to warn Genevieve against murdering someone, telling her that she will carry it with her forever. Genevieve tries to dismiss his concerns, but his warning gets to her enough that she hesitates. When she does arrive at the church, she sees Maylene at the door, and her plan suddenly changes.

John Luther is angry to see Maylene at his door, as his main concern is his reputation and quelling the rumors about him and Maylene. He allows her inside when she shows him the bruises on her breasts, as he cannot help his own arousal.

Inside the church, John Luther abuses Maylene and blames her for her husband’s drinking. He bites her lip so hard that it bleeds and sends her running away in terror. In the same moment, the windows start to break around the church with no apparent explanation, and John Luther starts to see angels surround him. John Luther runs after Maylene and tries to stop her, but Maylene hits him with her purse, causing his nose to break. She gets into her car and leaves.

Moments later, the sheriff appears, and John Luther makes up a story about running into a doorframe while trying to catch the miscreants who broke his church windows. When he gets in his car to leave, he sees a pile of snakes sitting on the seat and decides to walk home instead.

Maylene feels totally abandoned and alone and decides to call her mother and ask to come home. She leaves her wedding ring behind and never looks back. She doesn’t tell anyone where she is going.

Genevieve was going to shoot John Luther but worried about hitting Maylene instead. She is about to leave the church when she sees a shovel and decides to smash all the windows first. The next day, Mercer asks Genevieve if she knows anything about the snakes in John Luther’s car, but Genevieve denies it. She’s sure that he must have been seeing things.

Sometimes Genevieve feels overwhelmed by the voices and wonders if it would have been easier to let the hospital medicate her. She decides that rather than killing John Luther, she must get rid of her gun, and Mercer invites himself along for the ride. After throwing her pistol over a bridge, Genevieve and Mercer go to Cypress Lake, a place where Bigger said he used to hunt ducks.

They trudge through the muddy swamp and admire the beauty of the landscape and cypress trees that are hundreds of years old. Bigger appears and thanks Mercer and Genevieve for bringing him to one of his favorite places; he is unable to travel there on his own.