The Patron Saint of Liars

The fourth part of the novel is narrated from Sissy’s point of view.

Sissy sees a new arrival at Saint Elizabeth’s when she comes home from school. She lets the girl come in on her own time and goes inside to get her mail, which includes a letter from her Spanish pen pal. The new girl comes in, and one of the nuns goes to fetch Mother Corinne. The girl introduces herself as Lorraine, and Sissy tries to prepare her for her meeting with Mother Corinne, giving her suggestions on what to say. Lorraine asks Sissy what she said during her meeting with Mother Corinne, and Sissy is shocked to realize that Lorraine thinks she is pregnant and a resident of Saint Elizabeth’s.

Sissy is upset at the mix-up and thinks about how much of a virgin she feels like at Saint Elizabeth’s. She goes to lie down in one of the fields to sulk. Son sees her and assumes that something is wrong because she’s on the ground. He asks her what she is thinking about, but she doesn’t feel comfortable talking to him about it. She asks if they can eat at home instead of at Saint Elizabeth’s that night, and they begin to walk home together.

At home, Sissy finds a skirt that Rose has made for her. She pretends not to like it because it was made by her mother. The house has no food, so Sissy goes to Saint Elizabeth’s to get food for dinner. Before she leaves, she tries on the skirt and is upset that it fits. She looks in the mirror, trying to find hints of her mother in her appearance.

Sissy remembers when she was little and believed that her parents had adopted her. She daydreamed about her biological mother. When she confronted Rose and Son about this, Rose got her birth certificate out to prove she was their child. Sissy was angry that Rose took away her imaginary “good dead mother.”

Sissy heads up to Saint Elizabeth’s and goes into the kitchen. She sees Sister Evangeline, who guesses that she is in a bad mood because Lorraine mistook her for a pregnant girl. The two of them discuss various saints until Rose comes in. Sissy tells Rose that she plans to eat at home with Son that night, claiming that Son is tired. Rose doesn’t believe her and stares at her, something that Sissy feels she doesn’t do often.

School is out for summer, so Sissy has a lot more time on her hands. Since she and Son eat most of their meals at Saint Elizabeth’s, they don’t keep much food in the house. Sissy is hungry and goes up to get a snack at Saint Elizabeth’s after sleeping in. When she gets there, Rose announces that she plans to teach her how to drive. Sissy tries to make excuses, but Rose is adamant. She says they will use her old car and that they will start that day.

They go together to the garage Son built for Rose. Sissy backs the car up and begins driving around a field in circles. Rose talks freely when they are in the car together, telling her about her life before Saint Elizabeth’s. Sissy is amazed by this and loves it. Rose tells Sissy about how her father died in a car accident. Sissy reflects on her relationship with Rose, which has been fractured, especially since Rose moved out of June’s house when Sissy was 10.

Later that night, after dinner, Sissy asks Son about Rose’s father, but Son knows nothing about him. Sissy cannot stop thinking about her grandfather and finds herself missing him despite not knowing him.

Eventually, Sissy runs into Lorraine again, and the two girls talk. Lorraine thanks Sissy for being nice to her. Sissy asks why Lorraine didn’t go to a home like this for girls in Alabama, her home state, and Lorraine tells her that these kinds of homes don’t exist in many places anymore because it is no longer considered shocking for unmarried women to have a child.

Sissy goes to collect Rose for a second driving lesson. Sissy runs into Sister Evangeline, who is recovering from an illness and a mysterious cut on her hand. Sister Evangeline thinks it’s good that Rose and Sissy are spending time together. While driving, Sissy asks Rose more questions about her grandfather, and Rose tells her about her love of driving. They go to pick up Sister Evangeline since she never gets to go anywhere. As they drive off together, Rose exclaims that they are all going “nowhere.”

Son comes home one day covered in blood from a head injury. He calls Sissy Cecilia—which he never does—and then passes out on the front porch. Sissy attempts to help him, trying to stop the bleeding and bringing him water. When he regains consciousness, he tells her to go get Rose. Sissy runs to Saint Elizabeth’s barefoot, but when she gets there, Sister Evangeline tells her that Rose is in Owensboro, helping the nuns take some girls to the doctor. Sister Evangeline tells Sissy to call an ambulance instead. When Sissy struggles to talk on the phone, Sister Evangeline takes over, giving directions. They decide that it will be faster for Sissy to drive Son to the hospital, so she decides she will. While leaving, she runs into Lorraine, who agrees to help her. The two girls get Rose’s car and then pick up Son, putting him in the backseat.

On the way to the hospital, Son reveals that he hit his head in the basement of Saint Elizabeth’s and, not wanting to scare any of the girls, walked home. They arrive at the hospital, and Son is taken inside to be cleaned up. Sissy fell and hurt herself while running to Saint Elizabeth’s, so the doctors clean her up as well. As she waits in the waiting room, Sissy realizes that something has changed between her and Son. She now knows that he can be injured and hurt and will not always be around to protect her.

Rose and Mother Corinne arrive, confused about how the girls got to Owensboro. They are both frustrated that Lorraine is at the hospital with Sissy, so Mother Corrine drives her home. Once they leave, Rose admits that she knows it was hard for Sissy to see Son hurt but says she shouldn’t have driven him because it was dangerous. However, Sissy is furious that Rose wasn’t there—yet again—and snaps at her, telling her she doesn’t get to tell her what to do. Rose goes to visit with Son, and when she returns, she tells Sissy that there will be no fighting in front of him. The family leaves to go home, and Son tells Sissy that she did everything right and that she’s grown up to be a lot like June.

Son ends up getting 57 stitches. The family gets home, and Rose heads out to get something for dinner. While Sissy cleans up the mess from the accident, she finds Son’s chair he gave to Rose and reads the inscription for the first time. She is surprised that he wrote “friend” instead of “husband.” She assumes it’s because Son values friendship above everything else.

When Rose comes back, Sissy confronts her about her decision to move out of the family house. Rose refuses to tell her why she left, and this makes Sissy angry. Eventually, Rose admits that she thought her being around would be enough for Sissy. She says she is conflicted about her life and the fact that it hasn’t gone anywhere. Rose says she was a bad daughter, which has made her a bad mother. However, she says she doesn’t think much about the past. Content with her answer, Sissy goes inside to help Rose make dinner. Son is extremely happy to have dinner with Rose and Sissy, and Sissy remarks that it feels normal for the three of them to eat dinner together.