Small Mercies

A 1959 Ford Country Sedan, “Bess” is an unmistakable representative of its owner, Mary Pat Fennessy. Like Mary Pat, it has endured a tremendous amount of hardship in its relatively young life, but while no one is impressed with its appearance, it can still get the job done. As the narrative states, “she was a great car to transport the two kids around in, she has a 352 V8 under the hood that turns her into a rocket on the highway, and the radio works” (42-43). Bess becomes crucial as Mary Pat tracks down the people who saw Jules last and gets to the bottom of the mystery surrounding her daughter’s death. Like Mary Pat, the vehicle can be quiet and inconspicuous when it needs to be, until it explodes onto the scene with a sudden and unexpected fury. Likewise, it has just enough power left to keep up with the flashier cars it follows through the streets of Boston. The fusion of Mary Pat and Bess reaches a fitting conclusion as she flees to Castle Island with Frank Toomey in tow, and as it struggles up the hill, Bess, “bless her ancient old-lady heart, finds one last breath in her engine, one last surge” (273) before succumbing.