Mai, Sister of the Rice, sits in the cafe with a clipboard, trying to recall her great-aunt’s life story as the rest of the sisters consider their intentions to expand into further Seven Sisters troupes. A boom of thunder sounds in the distance, and the patrons begin to search the sky for rain. Chezia, one of the group, gives Mai a talisman she has been saving to bestow on another Sister at the right moment.

Velma’s mind drifts back through her memories again: to being sick, nestled under quilts as her mother, her father, Palma, Sophie, and Smitty kept watch; to her godparents hunting for oysters on the nearby beach, dragging bush tubs along and insisting that she drop empty shells back into the water for the baby oysters to cling onto.

She drifts to an argument with Obie, as they walk down the street with their son, who wisely steps several paces ahead to give them some privacy. Velma notices the changes in the nearby store displays, which used to carry items catered to the Black community that have since disappeared. Obie insists that Velma should be home more, should participate less in activism and more in motherhood. She is spending all her energy outside the home, he argues. Velma, resistant to Obie’s gendered expectations, counters by asserting that Obie has been seeing other women. He doesn’t refute this, which she takes to mean she’s right.

The rumbling returns to the cafe, and some patrons speculate that it must be a train. The place, the Seven Sisters note as they decide what to order, is impossibly crowded.

At another table, Jan and Ruby watch three of Jan’s former students perform a mobile serenade. As the trio wanders past the cafe, the two women continue their ongoing debate.

Soon, Mai recognizes Jan and Ruby across the cafe and asks the other Sisters whether they’re friends of Palma and Velma. The group thinks she’s right and considers whether to inquire about their friends.

Velma, Jan asserts to Ruby, has worked very hard not to create a safe space for herself in this world. Poking fun at Ruby, she suggests that Velma’s astrological sign may be to blame. Ruby tells Jan once again that she’s sick of this topic and would like to move on. The conversation soon turns to Sophie Heywood, who will be on one of the parade floats in the upcoming festival, and eventually moves on to the town’s failing construction. Soon, Ruby points out that Campbell seems to be flirting with Jan.

A torrential downpour begins, and the already packed cafe becomes impossibly crowded as everybody rushes in to get under cover. Patrons huddle together in an attempt to avoid the downpour, and Campbell, penned into a corner, struggles to draw connections between some big ideas he’s been considering. Nilda, one of the Sisters, seems to have left her body entirely—she remains in the rain, thinking only of the sacred hills, the cacti, the regenerative spirits.

This moment, the narrative omnisciently reflects, will be seen by many present as a deeply significant one.