The Dead Romantics

Florence doesn’t want to, but she goes to the Ridge, a steep hill outside of town, to look for wildflowers. She hates the Ridge because she found Harry O’Neal’s body there; Harry led her there when he remembered that his father murdered him.

Ben joins her, and as they survey a field of dandelions, Ben says, that’s a lot of wishes. Florence asks him what he would wish for—for her to turn in the manuscript? Ben says he has faith in her and Florence should have more faith in herself. He asks what she would wish for, and looking at him, Florence begins to think maybe love isn’t dead. Just as Ben is about to tell her what he would wish for, a wind comes and blows him away.

Carver picks up Florence and shows her the cage he built to catch a murder of crows for their dad’s funeral. He compliments Florence on the obituary, but when he mentions the imaginary friend Florence is talking to, she gets angry. He retaliates by accusing her of keeping everything to herself: “Florence, the lonely island” (237). She’s angry that the town is gossiping about her again but reminds herself she is out of high school now, and she is going to be okay.

Florence arrives at her father’s wake to find that Heather took up donations and paid for 1000 wildflowers. The whole town of Mairmont comes to the viewing. Florence feels better when she sees Ben. He says it’s hard to see her hurting. He lost his parents in a car crash when he was 13, and his grandmother raised him. He wears his father’s wedding ring to have a piece of him, so he doesn’t feel alone.

In memory of Xavier, Florence plays his music while they clean up after the wake and prepare for the funeral the next day. She feels, finally, like she is back home. Ben joins her as the family dances in the parlor, just like Xavier used to do. Florence feels a moment of bright happiness, something she hasn’t felt since Lee broke her heart.

The family orders pizza for dinner and plays the card game Spades. Florence admits she is talking to a ghost named Ben, and the family tells her Ben can help her play but can’t cheat. Florence still loses so has to do the dishes. As she talks with Alice, they cry and console each other over losing their father.

Ben walks Florence home and understands what’s causing her exhaustion, as he says: “Pretending to be okay while the world changes around you and leaves you behind to sit with whatever loss you found” (261). Ben has a bad moment when he thinks he hears something and grows agitated. Florence invites him upstairs to sleep in her room. He stays.

Florence wakes with Ben in bed with her. He admits he was attracted to her the moment she walked into his office. He reveals that he saw Florence in the library where she was hiding at that long-ago party and wanted to talk to her, but Lee approached her first. He says he wouldn’t have been good for her, and she tells him his worth doesn’t depend on someone else’s love or usefulness. He deserves the best.

Florence feels like she’s no longer broken when she’s with Ben. He asks how she began ghostwriting for Annie. She relays how she was writing a sex scene in a coffee shop five years ago when a woman approached, read her work, and offered her the job. She tells Ben she wishes she could touch him, and she asks how he would write the scene. He asks her to unbutton her shirt, and she does, and he whispers how he would touch her. He asks if he can stay with her, and she says she would like that.

The murder of crows follows Ben as Florence joins her family for the walk to the funeral. Florence realizes she will always have part of her dad with her in her memories, in the wisdom he taught her. Rose shows up at the funeral parlor, and Florence is glad she is there.

Elvis sings at the funeral, there are wildflowers everywhere, and everything is decorated with festive party balloons. Florence reads their dad’s letter, which is a loving goodbye to his family. He writes that love is a celebration of life, and it lingers long after death. Florence whispers goodbye to her father.

Florence’s family teases her; they can tell she likes her ghost friend. Florence approaches Ben. He says it’s getting harder to stay and he needs to tell her something. Ann Nichols was his grandmother, and she died five and a half years ago. She left Ben in charge of finding a ghostwriter to write the last four books on her contract. Florence realizes she was approached by the ghost of Ann Nichols. In the last year of Ann’s life, Ben read Florence’s book Ardently Yours, and it helped him through his grief. He tells her he hopes she will never stop giving the world her words. He wishes he could stay, but he disappears before her eyes.