Delilah Green Doesn't Care

Claire, the work’s other protagonist, grew up in Bright Falls and is one of Astrid Parker’s best friends. Now a parent to her daughter, Ruby, and the owner of a bookstore founded by her grandmother, Claire struggles with coparenting with her historically unreliable ex-boyfriend, Josh, and finding time for her own personal life. In the novel’s opening chapters, Claire reveals that it has been years since her last relationship and several months since her last date, leading Iris to declare, “Just get someone’s phone number tonight and go from there” (19). This results in Claire approaching Delilah, who she does not initially recognize but is immediately drawn to. Claire realizes early on in the story that the younger Delilah was simply introverted and sensitive, traits she recognizes in her own child. She is grateful to Delilah for helping her daughter refashion her dress at Astrid’s wedding brunch. Later, at Wisteria House, Claire notices Delilah’s anxiety in her childhood home, admitting that “it [i]s fascinating to see this bold, brash woman look like a deer wandering in the woods” (111). Claire’s interest in Delilah and her observant nature lay the foundation for their eventual relationship.

Claire’s attraction to Delilah becomes a kind of liberation and self-discovery, a return to her sensual and romantic side. She realizes that “not even Josh [makes] her feel this crazed, this desperate just to brush her fingers over the pulse in another person’s ear” (209). For Claire, Delilah brings her back to a less inhibited self, epitomized by their easy evening of roller skating together. Where Delilah fears rejection, Claire’s greatest anxiety is abandonment, in no small part due to her history with Josh. Claire faces both realities when Delilah flees Bright Falls rather than explain her feelings or justify her attachment to Claire in the face of Astrid’s ire, just as Josh appears to have left once more. Delilah’s return and willingness to address this wound brings Claire to a more secure sense of herself and their future as a couple.

Astrid, Delilah’s stepsister, is introduced as strident, demanding, and sometimes unwittingly cruel to Delilah. This is apparent early on, as Astrid refers to herself as Isabel’s “only daughter” and quietly curses when she realizes that she has ignored Delilah’s place in the family, “her tone regretful and irritated at the same time” (9). Astrid is incensed by Delilah’s casual interest in Claire, which Delilah sees as snobbery and judgment rather than a sign of Astrid’s loyalty to a vulnerable friend.

Astrid is more sensitive and open than she appears, as Delilah inadvertently reveals when she reminds Astrid that, in her youth, her ideal romantic partner was Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables. Astrid tells Delilah, “Even you have to admit that’s romantic” (144), in reference to Gilbert’s proposals to Anne Shirley. Astrid seems crestfallen when Claire and Iris remind her that they know little about her love for her narcissistic fiancé, Spencer, or how he brings romance into her life. This hints that she is conflicted about her wedding and truly loyal to her friends. Astrid demonstrates her sense of family further when she goes camping to support Claire’s anxieties about Ruby and Josh in the woods unsupervised. Astrid surprises Delilah by truly admiring her photographs, revealing that she chose Delilah to photograph her wedding because of her work on Instagram, not merely their ties to one another. Astrid, like Delilah, keeps her more vulnerable and sensitive side hidden, though she chooses high standards and reticence over biting sarcasm.

Astrid ends her relationship with Spencer when she learns that he bought a house in Seattle without consulting her. She confesses to Claire and Iris that Isabel’s demands have left her without a firm sense of self. When she learns of Delilah and Claire’s relationship, Astrid accuses Delilah of working to “steal [her] best friend, just to what? Get back at [her]?” (323). This reveals that Astrid’s deepest emotional concern is the loss of her chosen family, not her canceled wedding. Astrid comes to Delilah’s art show and helps stage the photographic display for Claire, demonstrating the power of their reconciliation and Delilah’s new chance for a life of her own in Bright Falls. Astrid’s journey toward emotional independence from her mother and a partnership of her own is the subject of the second novel in the Bright Falls series, Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail.

Iris, Astrid’s other best friend, designs custom planners and runs a paper shop in Bright Falls. Brash, opinionated, and sarcastic, Iris has no hesitation in announcing to the entire bar that Claire is eager for a date. She is sharply critical of Delilah’s distance from Astrid and frequently assures Claire that she is a fantastic mother to Ruby, who deserves better than Josh’s inconsistency and unreliability. She proves this by immediately punching Josh as punishment for abandoning Claire and Ruby.

Iris’s loyalty and strong opinions reach a new height when she is fully incensed by the pompous misogyny of Astrid’s fiancé, as she declares, “I’m going to need a good lawyer in about two point four seconds, because I’m going to murder that shit boot” (119). Iris comes to reluctantly admire Delilah’s willingness to make a scene, seeing it as key to ending the engagement with Spencer. As this unlikely partnership develops, Delilah gradually admits to herself that she is fond of Iris and that the two of them might readily be friends in other circumstances. In her own way, Iris is as shocked at the idea that Delilah was manipulating Claire as Claire herself, and this demonstrates that the bonds Delilah forms are not merely romantic ones. By the novel’s end, Iris has taken credit for bringing Claire and Delilah together. Iris is the protagonist of the third novel in the series, Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date, which delves further into her insecurities about finding a partner as a woman who does not want children or marriage.

Ruby, Claire’s 11-year-old daughter, is a precocious adolescent who is closely bonded to her mother and deeply affected by the complex co-parenting relationship between Claire and Josh. Ruby resents Claire’s efforts to impose regular routine when Josh is in town, leaving Claire resentful of her role as the “wet blanket thrown over all the glitter and fairy lights of Ruby’s time with her dad” (48).

Ruby is immediately drawn to Delilah, who reshapes her party dress for Astrid’s engagement tea into something Ruby feels more comfortable in. Delilah does this in part because of memories of her own childhood, foreshadowing that her bond with Ruby will help her face her past. This is cemented further when Ruby embraces her after their photography lesson, a hug that Delilah recognizes is her first genuine embrace in many years. These scenes underscore that Delilah understands and values Ruby’s presence in Claire’s life, truly wanting to become part of their family and not merely Claire’s new partner.