The Cellar

Wednesday, July 28 continues. Violet tries to apologize quickly to Clover, but he is unforgiving this time. He produces the knife and stabs Violet in the stomach. Summer, watching, tries to tell herself it is a dream. Violet dies shockingly fast. Clover demands the Flowers clean up the mess; then he leaves. Poppy leads Summer to the sofa. Rose tells Poppy to “get the body bag” (83), and Summer realizes this scenario has played out in the past. After bagging Violet’s body, Rose and Poppy mop the floor. Rose says Violet is Clover’s eighth victim since Rose arrived.

The time note indicates a flashback to 2005. Colin Brown (Clover) purchases tulips, noting their perfect beauty, and takes them to the cemetery, where he places them on his mother’s grave. He sees a family with a young girl; at first, he smiles at the girl’s chatter, then thinks disgustedly that she will one day turn into “just another one of them” (89). Clover goes to a department store, ready to complete another piece of his plan. He purchases 12 women’s skirt-and-cardigan sets, four each of three different pastel colors, in size 10. Back home, he appreciates the care he has put into making the cellar a lovely home for his soon-to-arrive family.