Cousin Lymon Timeline and Summary
MoreCousin Lymon Timeline and Summary
- Lymon Willis appears in town one evening, looking for Miss Amelia and claiming to be a relation.
- Much to everyone's surprise, Miss Amelia takes in Cousin Lymon, giving him whiskey, feeding him, bathing him, nursing him, and giving him new clothes.
- Together, Lymon and Miss Amelia begin a nightly café in Miss Amelia's general store. There, Lymon acts as a sort of mischievous host.
- For four years, Cousin Lymon lives with Miss Amelia, his every need attended to.
- A letter arrives for Henry Macy, and Lymon's curiosities are peaked, though no one will tell him about Marvin.
- Then one day, Cousin Lymon sees a red-shirted, handsome stranger dropped off in front of the café.
- Curious, Cousin Lymon follows him, from the mill, to a house, through the town, and at last, to the café, where he overhears that the stranger—known everyone in town but him—is freshly out of prison.
- Cousin Lymon is caught standing next to the stranger when Miss Amelia returns, and she seems quietly enraged.
- He's wiggling his ears at the stranger, trying to get his attention and make him laugh, then, in an overly ambitious job, falls to the floor. The stranger wants to know what's wrong with him.
- The stranger leaves, and Cousin Lymon and Miss Amelia spend the next night in the closed-up building.
- After than, Cousin Lymon is bewitched by the worldly Marvin Macy.
- Each morning he calls Marvin out from his crash pad, Mrs. Hale's house, and then follows him everywhere he goes.
- Each night he follows Marvin back to the café, giving him anything he desires.
- Miss Amelia takes Cousin Lymon on pleasure rides in her truck, to Fork Falls for a parade, but he still remains close to Marvin Macy.
- Cousin Lymon decides to invite Marvin Macy to stay at Miss Amelia's, giving him his room.
- Miss Amelia gives Lymon her own room.
- After the first snow he's ever seen, Cousin Lymon falls ill and Miss Amelia takes care of him.
- Cousin Lymon happily makes trouble between Miss Amelia and Marvin Macy, imitating Miss Amelia and making Marvin laugh.
- Things between Miss Amelia and Marvin Macy grow more heated, and when it's time to fight, Cousin Lymon climbs onto a counter above the considerable crowd to watch.
- When Miss Amelia pins Marvin, Cousin Lymon sails twelve feet from the counter to land on her back and claw at her neck until Marvin manages to win.
- With Marvin, Cousin Lymon steals all of Amelia's valuables, and destroys everything else, as she sleeps.
- They leave town before dawn.