The Writing Retreat

Alex feels wonderful: Her writing is finally going well, and Wren is now the subject of Roza’s criticism.

Alex decides to try and clear the air and speaks to Wren, who is defensive and dismissive. Alex reminds her of their sexual encounter, which Wren blames on alcohol. Wren suggests that Alex cannot move on due to unrequited romantic feelings. Alex responds that she has only ever loved her as a friend, and that—although their sexual liaison was confusing—she would not have walked away from their friendship because of it. Wren suggests that the two simply “ignore each other” for the rest of the retreat (102).

Alex is angry at Wren for implying that the break in their friendship was her fault. She remembers that Wren took out her bad moods on her when nobody else was around. Alex decides that she will best Wren by winning this contest.

Alex goes to the kitchen and compliments Chitra on her excellent cooking. When Alex asks how Chitra came to be Roza’s cook, Chitra says that she originally did not want to come to America but when her café in London burned down, she accepted Roza’s employment offer. Yana interrupts them, telling Alex that she is interfering with Chitra’s work.

Alex goes back upstairs, trying to listen in on Poppy and Wren’s conversation through their bedroom door. Taylor catches her and cheerfully asks what she wants to hear. Alex relays the tension between herself and Wren. Taylor tells her to let it go: Wren is in the wrong. Alex asks Taylor about the flower tattoos on her arm. Taylor says they are images of deadly wolfsbane. Taylor also wears dried wolfsbane around her neck.

Daphne convenes the Blackbriar Spiritualist Society, which is comprised of herself, Abigail, and Florence, an older town socialite. Daphne is possessed by a spirit, who compels her to write. Daphne seems scared. Abigail wants to end the ritual, but Florence urges Daphne to finish. Despite being frightened by what Daphne has written, Florence exclaims that Daphne is “a natural” (112).

The writers and Roza convene for cocktail hour. Roza suggests that all the writers tell ghost stories. The winner will be invited to Roza’s room for a nightcap. Their stories can be true or false, about their own or another’s experience: The rest of the group will guess if the story is true or fabricated. If the group guesses incorrectly, the storyteller gets a candle for the next phase; if the group guesses correctly, the storyteller must move on in darkness.

Wren volunteers to go first. To Alex’s amazement, Wren tells Alex’s own ghost story, about wandering into the woods with a friend when she was young. After they encountered something supernatural, they ran back to camp, terrified. This story, based in truth, is what earned Alex entrance into Roza’s retreat. When Roza says nothing, Alex angrily reveals to the group that this is her story. Wren protests that she has not broken any rules. Roza concurs.

Alex then tells her tale, about a girl who slowly poisons her best friend while caring for her. When everyone rightly guesses that Alex has simply made this up, Alex is sent to the basement sans candle. Before leaving, Alex picks up the hand mirror left on the table and catches a glimpse of something moving behind her. The last candle is then blown out, leaving Alex in total darkness.

Alex comes back upstairs, angry at the trick that she believes the group has played on her. Everyone protests their innocence. and Roza suggests that it was just the drafty basement. Roza then declares Taylor the winner, and the two go upstairs to Roza’s room. Wren looks disappointed.

Later that night, Alex wakes up in the dark. She hears something outside of her room, so she sneaks out to investigate. She looks over the stairs to the landing below, admiring the shapes in the marble floors. Suddenly, someone grabs her from behind: It is Wren, who starts to grope Alex’s breasts and reaches into her pajama pants. Wren pulls Alex’s hair and threatens to stop pleasuring Alex if she does not declare Wren the winner of the contest. Alex does not want her to stop and shouts “You win!” before climaxing (125). Wren then shoves her over the banister. Alex drops to the floor, landing on her back. She feels nothing in her body. Yana comes to investigate but simply walks away, muttering about the mess.

Alex realizes that the previous night’s sexual encounter was a dream. At the group’s daily meeting, she muses on the intensity of her dream and reflects that she had never considered being with another woman before her real-life encounter with Wren. Alex observes that most of her sexual activity with men was unsatisfying and predicated on imbibing lots of alcohol. Her experience with Wren was much more pleasurable. Alex thinks that she avoided her attraction to women because of cultural cues. She would have liked to further explore the possibilities, but Wren was clearly uncomfortable with the idea.

Everyone compliments Alex on her work after the group meeting. Even Alex admits that her writing is going well. She meets Roza for another private session that afternoon, and they discuss that one problematic area with her book in progress: Roza believes that the plot is rather boring. Alex counters that it is historical fiction; thus, the plot is already predetermined. Roza suggests that Alex use her imagination to fill in the relationships between the characters.

Roza again asks Alex about her own personal history, and Alex relays how her mother’s parents had survived the Holocaust before coming to the US. They both died before Alex was born, and her mother did not speak of them often. She also notes that she and her mother are distant. Her mother was busy when she was a child, and now that she is happily remarried, Alex is only a reminder of a difficult past. Roza notes that this may be why Alex has had such a hard time letting Wren go. She also says that the neglect that Alex suffered as a child may be worse than the abuse Wren herself suffered.

Roza tells Alex the story of her childhood friend, Mila, who learned that her father was actually a Nazi officer who protected Mila’s Jewish mother through the war. When Roza learned this, she ignored her friend—relishing Mila’s attempts to win back her favor—until Mila fell ill with cancer. Roza suggests that Mila’s illness was a kind of atonement for “the sins of her parents” (135). She urges Alex to embrace her own power, and promises that Wren’s misdeeds will be punished in time.

Daphne remembers her past as a waitress, flirting for tips. Her newly respectable married self is merely another role that she has learned to inhabit. She realizes that her hollowness as a person makes her a valuable conduit for energy, specifically the spiritual energies that her group tries to channel. Florence and Abigail are concerned that Daphne has taken their enterprise too far, especially with her obeisance to the demon Lamia. They urge her to stop. Daphne pledges to do so, but without any real conviction.

Alex is again startled awake by sounds in the hallway. She goes to investigate and sees a figure in one of Wren’s sweatshirts, but the figure is smaller than Wren: It is Poppy. Alex follows her down the stairs and into the kitchen, finally speaking to her. Poppy seems confused, unaware of where she is, close to the basement steps. She has been sleepwalking.

Poppy tells Alex she used to sleepwalk as a child, including to her family basement. The others find it strange that she has taken up the habit again. They suggest that the newness of Blackbriar or pressure of the contest has triggered this. Keira notes that a winter storm will come through over Valentine’s Day weekend.

The group continues with their writing and discussions, falling into a routine with the snowfall. Taylor visits Alex in her room and asks questions about Alex’s novel. She wonders if Alex believes that Daphne was a legitimate medium. Alex says that, for the purposes of her book, she believes that Daphne herself did believe in spirits. Alex also notes that Lamia was a figure in Greek mythology.

Taylor talks about how women often used spiritualism to gain social influence. Taylor had to hide her sexuality from her family while attending church and Bible camps. This shows how women still disguise themselves. Taylor then mentions to Alex that she overheard Wren talking to Roza: Wren said that she had considered taking out a restraining order on Alex. Alex thanks Taylor for sharing this information with her.

In this excerpt, Daphne manifests Lamia in the flesh.

A knock at the door interrupts Alex’s writing.

Taylor enters, shouting “Happy Valentine’s Day!” (148), with Keira and Poppy behind her. They invite Alex down to the parlor for their Valentine’s party. Wren is feeling unwell, but Taylor vows to drag her downstairs too. Everyone, it seems, must celebrate.

Hearts and red candles adorn the parlor. Punch and snacks are on a table. Wren joins them, coughing feebly. Even Roza shares in the festivities. They are all enjoying their drinks when Roza admits that she spiked the punch with LSD and cautions Taylor not to consume any more of it. Keira reacts furiously. Wren is terrified: Alex remembers that Wren’s uncle died of an overdose. Taylor, however, embraces the potential for drug-fueled fun and encourages everyone to stay positive. Keira returns to her room, determined to be alone until the drug dissipates.

Alex begins to hallucinate, imagining she hears Daphne’s laughter.

Poppy takes Alex’s hand and guides her to the basement, saying that she has something to show her. As Poppy pushes aside boxes at the far wall, someone distracts Alex by pulling her in the other direction. Initially, Alex believes it to be her friend, Christina, with whom she explored the woods as a child. Alex then decides that Lamia has manifested just for her. While the demon could easily harm her, she does not. Alex believes that Lamia loves her and, in fact, that Lamia is making love to her.

Alex feels at peace with the universe.