Summary
When she finds her grandmother dead, Ellen immediately
calls the undertaker, and then Nadine and Betsy, who sound put out
that their mother has died so close to the busy Christmas holiday. Nadine
comes over right away, and when she sees the frame of fake flowers
that Ellen has strewn around her grandmother, she scolds her. Ellen
has framed her grandmother's body with the flowers so that the Lord
will be more apt to welcome her into Heaven, though she thinks that
Jesus will see through the false smile she wears on her face. Betsy
and Nadine fight over which one of them is to blame for their mother's
illness, and Ellen is glad that, for once, she is not being held
responsible for another family member's death.
Ellen packs up her few belongings and moves to live with
Nadine and Dora. On the way to their house, Ellen feels lonely as
she remembers how she would spy on Mavis and take note of her family.
She wishes there were a store where she could purchase a home.
Ellen does not go to her grandmother's funeral because
she feels that she has seen enough of death. Dora warns Ellen not
to go in her room while she is at the funeral, and, thus, Ellen
spitefully hunts around in Dora's room while she is gone, though
she does not find anything surprising or scandalous. Both Dora and
Nadine treat Ellen with distance and condescension, and Ellen declares
that she will leave her room only to eat, go to school, and take
phone calls, as she is disgusted not only by their attitude towards
her, but by the convenient lies they tell themselves for comfort.
She is determined to live a better life and knows she is deserving
of it.
It pains Ellen to ask for new clothes, but she must, as
she has outgrown her wardrobe. Nadine gives her a bit of money,
and Ellen takes herself shopping. While in the store, Ellen makes
a conscious effort to look earnestly, and eventually finds a dress
she thinks is the most beautiful dress she's ever seen. When she
puts on the dress and looks at herself in the mirror, she thinks
she could fall in love with herself and takes the dress as the first
sign that her luck is changing for the better. Surely enough, the
following Sunday, during church, Ellen sets her sights on her new
mama. While everyone is praying, Ellen looks at her new mama, then
up at the Lord to thank him for sending her the dress, because in
it, she looks like she is worth something. After the service, Ellen
asks Dora about her soon-to-be new mama, and Dora tells her that
she will take in anything from "orphans to stray cats," which sounds
good to Ellen.
As expected, Ellen's new mama welcomes Starletta and even ensigns
the letter "S" on a set of towels, per Ellen's request. Ellen wants
more than anything to repay Starletta for all of the kindness she
showed her when they had been closer friends. She spreads her own
rumor in the lunchroom that Starletta is coming over to stay at her
house that night and takes special care to ensure that Dora finds out.
Analysis
Throughout the novel, Ellen has very few of her own possessions, for
each time she moves, she tosses her belongings into a cardboard box,
as she does before leaving to stay with Nadine and Dora. Material
possessions have little value and little importance to Ellen; the one
thing Ellen wants is what she cannot seem to have—a loving home.
On her way to Nadine and Dora's house, Ellen wishes that there were
a store where she could buy such a home, though she must eventually
learn that money cannot buy love. Indeed, Ellen has tried to pay
for love, first offering a dollar to Starletta's mother in exchange
for one night's stay and safety, and later, to her new mama for
her care and attention. Also, Ellen has already learned from her miserly
grandmother that wealth does not necessarily equal happiness. Despite
what she has learned in the past, Ellen's foremost need is for a
stable, loving home, and the only way she knows how to attain it
is to pay for it, as she has learned to do with everything else.
