About midway through the film, Lily learns that her ex-husband is marrying his girlfriend and they’re going to have a baby. The sisters find her crying on the floor of the flower shop. They rally around her, much like Robbie’s penguins. And that was the heart of the film. This was a story about women whosupported one another through good and bad times, without judgment.
They all sat down on the floor next to Lily, letting her cry, holding her close. Not trying to fix anything but just reassuring her that she was loved. That she was a wonderful mother and sister. How proud their mother would have been of her for being so tough even when she was hurting.
“Listen here now,” Dahlia said. “Mama didn’t raise us to sit around crying. She taught us to get back up and take care of what needs taking care of. We’ve got kids who need us.”
“That’s right,” Rose said. “We’re all they’ve got in a big old cruel world.”
“They have all five of us,” Eliza said. “Aunties who would do anything for them.”
“We don’t need men,” Rose said. “Which is a good thing, because there ain’t one in sight worth a darn.”
“And we’ve got to be mothers and fathers,” Eliza said. “But we’re doing it. Every day we’re doing it.”
“Which means we’re all going to be all right,” Lily said. “Right?”
“Heck yeah, that’s what it means,” Dahlia said. “Now let’s get off this floor and put our big girl boots on and head to The Boar. They’ve got a live band, and we’re all going to dance, you hear me? And pretend, just for a night, that we know exactly what to do next.”
“Even if we’re not really sure?” Lily asked.
“But what about babysitters?” Eliza asked. “We’ll never find one for tonight.”
They all started laughing.
“So much for our big night out,” Rose said.
Dahlia got to her feet, offering her hand to Lily. “Okay, well, instead, we’ll order pizza and crank up the music and dance in Eliza’s kitchen with the kids.”
The last shot was the five of them in the kitchen, country music playing as they danced with the kids and one another. The camera drew away until it showed the scene from outside the kitchen window. Then, the screen went dark.
I looked down the row to see that all four of the women were crying, as was the one next to me.
For a moment, the theater was silent. Then the audience broke out in thunderous applause. There were cheers. A few women stood up and lifted their glass to the screen.
When the applause died down and people started to stand, we all remained where we were. The ladies were looking at each other across the darkened theater, their love and devotion to one another as palpable as anything else in the theatre.The Bellflower Girlswasn’t just a movie. It was Seraphina’s love letter to her friends and their children.
“I wasn’t prepared to see us on the screen,” Esme said, wiping her eyes. “I mean, I was, but wow.”
“It’s … astonishing, really. So beautiful,” Lila said. “I’m just in awe.”
“Truly,” Delphine said. “And the film—the actors—the directing and adaptation were exquisite. Even though they told it in a different way than the books.”
“I don’t even know what to say. It was all so lovely and sad and joyful and everything,” Gillian said, then started crying again.
“I wrote those books when the kids were nine years old,” Seraphina said. “After we’d had a really hard year.”
“When I was left,” Lila said.
“And we lost Jon,” Delphine said.
“And I kicked Jeff out,” Esme said.
“And I’d gotten that terrible flu and had to close the studio for a month and wasn’t sure how I was going to pay all the bills,” Gillian said.
“I was heartsick over all of it,” Seraphina said. “The only thing I could think to do was write about us. About all of you. Your grit and strength. And how much we love one another. How full you’ve made my life.”
Other than for Delphine, circumstances had changed for them over the last year, thanks to the kids pushing them a little. But this was about their life before a second chance. This was about the time before, when they only had one another. And it had been enough.
Down the row, the older kids had gone quiet. Tyler was looking at his lap. Annie had her arm around Grace, who was crying. Peter and Bella sat shoulder to shoulder, unusually still. Robbie was scribbling something in a notebook.
