Flight Behavior

Dovey drives Dellarobia and her children to a secondhand store in the nearby town of Cleary. On the trip, Dellarobia talks to Dovey about Ovid, her feelings for him, and his casual mention of his wife, Juliet, who is a mediocre cook. At the secondhand store, they are overwhelmed by the volume of cheap items. While shopping, Dellarobia thinks of the personal bank account she opened in her name to save her salary from the lab. She has quit smoking, and with her first paycheck from the job, she has paid the month’s mortgage. Since Cub never handles the finances, he knows nothing about her new account.

Dovey tells her about some knitting women from England who have come to visit the Turnbow butterflies. They pull apart sweaters to regather the yarn and knit small monarch butterflies out of the remnants. They do this to bring awareness to global warming. Dellarobia tells Dovey that Hester thinks God is keeping the weather seasonable this winter to protect the butterflies and that some people at church feel the same way. She questions what will happen when the weather changes and the butterflies die: Hester will be forced to admit that God allowed it to occur. Both women watch in amusement as Preston bargains with the cashier to purchase a set of encyclopedias.

While she is attempting to gather research about the butterflies, Dellarobia is interrupted by a newcomer, Leighton Atkins, who wastes her time talking about himself and distracting Dellarobia from her work. Their conversation is broken off by the arrival of Dimmit Slaughter, an overweight bully from town. Dellarobia watches without surprise as Slaughter mocks Atkins’s environmental-lifestyle-pledge flyer, which he is handing out to everyone he meets.

Walking with Ovid down the path, Dellarobia tells him about an offer from a local man, Mr. Baird, who is willing to transport the butterflies to a warm location in Florida. Ovid remarks, “It’s really quite touching, the good intentions, you know?” (436), before noting that the monarchs’ situation would not improve. They talk about what makes each creature its own being, and Dellarobia is quick to understand the concept, earning her Ovid’s valued praise.

They discuss how their previously full list of volunteers has dwindled, to which Ovid notes, “Not everyone has the stomach to watch an extinction” (439). They talk about the true purpose of science: to prove what is, not figure out what to do. This prompts the two of them to talk about the rift between the educated class and the rural class and how those socioeconomic and cultural differences impact people’s willingness to learn, listen, and believe. Dellarobia argues that tribalism prevents most people from breaking outside their comfort zones to accept something that goes against the main ideas embraced by their tribe. Despite this grim reality, Ovid says, “I like to think academics are the referees. That we can talk to every side” (446). Dellarobia points out that agreeing with the other side is something that tribes aren’t willing to forgive. Ovid states that should any butterflies survive, they will have to find a way to navigate in a “whole new earth” (448), and that new world is unlikely to be a friendly one.

As she heads home, Dellarobia again sees Atkins and looks closely at his sustainability pledge. She points out to him that almost all of the items on the list don’t apply to the poor rural folk in their town, so his pledge is worthless.

Hester and Dellarobia spend the morning vaccinating the pregnant ewes. The vaccine will protect the newborn lambs from illness and infection before they are born. Hester goes over the emergency kit, including materials to help pull a stuck lamb. She tells Dellarobia to keep an eye on the ewes in mid-March in case an ewe goes into premature labor. Dellarobia offers to sleep in the barn since her lab job will be over by then and she will be out the salary she has been earning. Hester reacts with surprise at that news, and Dellarobia realizes Cub never told his mother that Dellarobia was making money for the job.

As they work through the afternoon, Dellarobia asks Hester how she learned so much veterinary information about sheep. Hester explains that the local vets won’t make visits unless it’s a life-or-death situation. Dellarobia remarks that there should be more vets in the county, and Hester agrees. After they complete the vaccinations, Hester and Dellarobia walk up the path to search for chicken-of-the-woods mushrooms. They unexpectedly run into two of the British knitters, mother and daughter, who prove to be cheerful and connect with Hester as a fellow knitter despite their differences.

After the British women walk on, Hester tells Dellarobia that she and Cub are invited to a family prayer meeting with Pastor Bobby the next Sunday about the logging contract and the land. Their conversation moves to Hester’s assessment of Dellarobia’s character; she feels that her daughter-in-law has always looked down upon Cub. She always expected that Dellarobia would abandon Cub, take the children, and leave town. Dellarobia thought her true feelings were hidden, but it turns out that Hester saw through her all along.

Back at the lab, Dellarobia reviews the three hypotheses that Ovid has constructed to explain the butterflies being in Tennessee. First, there is the impact that climate change has had on the Mexican roost sites, which have become too warm for the butterflies. Second, an influx of parasites that has begun infecting monarchs has impacted their ability to fly great distances. The third possibility is the damage done to the “spring range,” where the male butterflies mate with the female before the females move northward to lay their eggs on the emerging milkweeds. These natural rhythms have been disrupted by firestorms, drought, and floods. Ovid warns Dellarobia that “Science as a process is never complete. It is not a foot race, with a finish line” (483). He adds that science does not provide the neat, clean closure that people crave.

Dellarobia accompanies Preston’s kindergarten class as it tours the path up to the butterflies. She argues to Ovid that this tour would be an excellent first step to educating the younger generations, and he reluctantly agrees. Dellarobia gives the information on the visit, explaining that elements such as pollution endanger the butterflies and other species. The children ask questions that Dellarobia does her best to answer. During the lunch break, Josefina shares a Mexican belief: that the butterflies contain the souls of children who have passed away, a thought that stays with Dellarobia.

Back home, Dellarobia is waiting for Dovey and the children to come home when she sees the news truck pull into her driveway and Tina Ultner on her way up the porch. Dellarobia wants to avoid another television encounter, but despite her and Dovey’s best efforts, they can’t dodge Ultner. The news reporter argues that the channel always does six-week updates on their feature stories, so Dellarobia takes Ultner and her camera crew to Ovid’s lab. When Ovid begins to explain that the root issue with the butterflies’ fate is global warming, Ultner stops the recording because it’s a depressing idea and doesn’t fit with the corporate messaging her employers want from her segments. Ovid refuses to budge, and the two get into an argument. Frustrated and angry, Ultner takes her camera crew and storms out. She doesn’t realize that the encounter, which she thinks will never make it to air, has been recorded by Dovey on her phone. Dovey then uploads the recording to YouTube.