Witchcraft for Wayward Girls
by Grady Hendrix
Contents
Chapter 13
Overview
At the moonlit river, Fern, Zinnia, Rose, and Holly swim and briefly find relief and intimacy as they talk about their pregnancies and futures. Their fragile sense of freedom is shattered when Miss Parcae confronts them, admits she knows they used her spellbook, and offers deeper power in exchange for total obedience. The girls refuse and are threatened by Miss Parcae’s unnerving black dogs. The chapter ends with Holly breaking ranks, begging Miss Parcae for help because she believes she is carrying God’s baby.
Summary
Fern, Zinnia, Rose, and Holly follow the huge black dog to the warm moonlit river and, one by one, strip and wade in. Fern and Zinnia swim together, feeling briefly weightless and free from Wellwood House, while the dog watches from shore.
Resting on the bank, the girls talk about their pregnancies and plans. Rose insists she will keep her baby, Blossom, and eventually confront Carlton Sinclair III in San Francisco to force financial support; Zinnia admits she thought stolen birth-control pills would work when taken only during sex and describes her mother’s brutal Lysol douching, which leaves Zinnia afraid her baby might be harmed.
The mood lifts when Zinnia feels her baby move; Fern feels it too, and then the girls compare the kicks across their bellies, awed by the sense of life and connection. Their shared joy briefly erases Rose’s bitterness and all of Wellwood’s pressure.
Miss Parcae, the librarian, appears on the riverbank with two identical black dogs. She reveals she knows they used her witchcraft paperback and claims the book is about forcing the world to bend to their will; she offers to “help” them understand it, but demands “eternal loyalty and complete obedience” as her price.
Rose rejects Miss Parcae’s pitch and leads the others away. The dogs move to block them, snarling, but Rose walks between them and the others follow. As they escape up the bank, Holly suddenly stays behind with Miss Parcae and begs for help, insisting she is carrying “God’s baby.”
Who Appears
- Fern (Neva)Swims with the others, listens to their stories, questions Miss Parcae, and follows Rose away.
- ZinniaShares how she got pregnant, fears harm to her baby, bonds with Fern over fetal movement.
- RoseDominant voice; vows to keep Blossom and confront Carlton Sinclair III; defies Miss Parcae and leads escape.
- HollySwims quietly; is praised for silence; ultimately stays with Miss Parcae, insisting her baby is God’s.
- Miss ParcaeThe librarian; confronts the girls about the spellbook and offers instruction for “eternal loyalty and complete obedience.”
- The two black dogsMenacing, identical dogs accompanying Miss Parcae; block the girls’ exit and growl threateningly.
- PaulZinnia’s boyfriend and baby’s father; plays jazz piano; Zinnia hopes he will still support her.
- CeceZinnia’s girlfriend who stole birth-control pills from her mother.
- Carlton Sinclair IIIRose’s baby’s father; abandoned Rose after promising a future; moved to San Francisco with family money.
- Carlton Sinclair IICarlton III’s father; paid to remove his son and warned Rose away, reducing her to a “worth” amount.
- PennyRose’s friend who revealed Rose’s location to Rose’s family, leading to Rose’s capture.
- GuyFern’s baby’s father; mentioned only as a comparison Fern can’t romanticize like Zinnia does Paul.