A House With Good Bones

Content Warning: This section contains mentions of anti-fat bias and mental illness.

The epigraph reads, “Peace: Most famous of the hybrid tea roses, developed by the French gardener Francis Meilland, on the eve of war with Germany” (65).

In the morning, Sam awakens to a man walking into the house. Assuming he is an intruder, she leaps from the sofa and threatens to shoot him, though she does not own a gun. Edith runs downstairs and explains that he is Phil Pressley, her handyman. He is also the grandson of Mr. Pressley, the conspiracy theorist who lives across the street. Sam apologizes to him. She and Edith tell Phil about the ladybug incident, and he offers to check the windows and siding.

That evening, Edith and Sam attend a cookout at a neighbor’s house. Edith deflects compliments about the rose garden, claiming that she has not touched them since Gran Mae died and Phil does all the work keeping them alive. Sam speaks with Phil, who reveals that he is a trained master gardener. However, when Sam compliments him on the roses, he claims that Edith manages them herself.