A Handful of Stars

Lily confides in her grandmother, Mémère, about Lucky eating Salma’s sandwich. Mémère scolds Lily and instructs her to make amends by bringing Salma a pork pie. Accompanied by her grandfather, Pépère, Lily walks back to the migrant camp to find Salma. She feels out of place during her visit as workers see her and Pépère entering. Pépère reaches out to Miguel, an acquaintance, who guides them to the Santiagos’ cabin, where they meet Eduardo and Rosa, Salma’s parents. Observing the modest and empty state of Salma’s cabin, Lily realizes their gift might be impractical without an oven or refrigerator. As Lily leaves, she notices Salma’s genuine gratitude, which eases her nerves. The two exchange laughs and jokes, waving goodbye at each other as Lily and her grandfather depart.

Lily lives with her grandparents above their store, a hub for tourists, locals, and the migrant workers engaged in the blueberry harvest. The family’s income peaks during the bustling summer season, prompting them to diversify their offerings to cater to a broad clientele.

Lily assists in baking blueberry pies to sell at the shop. Mémère asks about Lily’s best friend, Hannah, noting her absence during the summer. Friends since kindergarten, Lily and Hannah recently grew apart when Hannah’s focus shifted to discussing her crush, Brandon, rather than engaging in her and Lily’s usual play.

Lily prepares to paint mason bee houses that her grandfather crafts, whose funds she saves for a cataract operation for Lucky. Salma enters the store and presents Lily with a blueberry enchilada her mother made. Lily hesitates before tasting the enchilada but finds it delightful. Salma shares with Lily the story of missing her previous dog, Luna, who ran away, and Lily empathizes, drawing parallels to her own grief after her mother’s death.

Lily explains her project of painting mason bee houses and saving money for Lucky’s operation. Salma offers to help, opting for a free-form and colorful painting style instead of using Lily’s stencils. Lily worries about the marketability of Salma’s vibrant mason bee houses, and despite planning to paint over them after Salma leaves, she agrees to let Salma assist with the project. Hannah arrives but refrains from interacting with Lily after seeing Salma.

Lily notices Salma’s mason bee house missing from the drying shelf, and Pépère informs her that a tourist bought it, praising it as art. While Lily is pleased with the sale, she is disappointed the tourist did not view her houses in the same light. Salma begins another round of painting, this time opting for pink bees, surprising Lily with the unconventional color choice. Salma uses her imagination as an escape from the arduous harvest routine and other bothersome daily tasks and encourages Lily to do the same. Moved by Salma’s optimism, Lily contemplates painting something different but ultimately decides to stick with the stencils.

Dr. Katz, the veterinarian who cares for Lily’s dog, Lucky, studied with Lily’s mother and is the only person who calls her by her full name, Tigerlily. As Lily and Lucky pass by her house, she calls them over, presenting two photos she found of Lily’s mother, Danielle. One depicts a high school field trip, while the other captures Danielle’s second victory in the Downeast Blueberry Queen Pageant, a local competition that is part of Maine’s blueberry festival, which she won three consecutive years. Lily wonders whether she falls short when compared to her mother’s strong-willed nature, wondering if Danielle would be disappointed in her.

Dr. Katz examines Lucky’s eyes, confirming his blindness’s gradual progression. She warns Lily about the uncertainties and costs associated with cataract surgery, emphasizing the cost of the procedure would amount to over $2,000.

Upon returning to the store, Mémère informs Lily that another one of Salma’s bee houses has been sold. Lily, feeling self-conscious about her bee houses compared to Salma’s, becomes discouraged and decides not to share Dr. Katz’s photos with her grandparents.

Hannah visits the store, inviting Lily to help pick sea lavender for wreaths her mother will sell at the blueberry festival. Torn between not wanting to disappoint Hannah and fearing not having time to paint with Salma, Lily leaves a note to Salma, informing her of her whereabouts, and prepares the materials in case she arrives earlier.

Lily and Hannah discuss their summer, with Hannah predominantly focusing on her crush, Brandon, and the upcoming blueberry festival pageant. Despite Lily’s desire to share about Salma, Hannah remains preoccupied with the pageant, concerned about meeting expectations as the reigning blueberry queen. Lily, disinterested in Hannah’s tales, becomes lost in her thoughts, contemplating Salma’s artistic freedom and creativity. Eventually, she makes an excuse and returns to the store.

Upon arriving at the store, Lily finds Salma engaged in painting a blueberry bee house. Due to the lack of purple paint, Salma improvises by mixing red and blue, sparking a discussion about the varied colors of wild blueberries. Salma questions the limited selection of blueberries in stores, revealing that wild blueberries exist in different colors, but only blue ones are chosen for sale. Motivated by this, she decides to represent all colors in her bee house, reflecting the true diversity of the fruit. Lily suggests adding a star atop each blueberry, inspired by the Indigenous Wabanakis, who referred to them as “star berries.” Impressed, Salma embraces the idea, expressing her love for stars as reminders of her friends in Florida, her “star friends.” Salma feels excluded and longs for her friends, while Lily shares her difficulties in connecting with Hannah as they both undergo changes.

As they discuss the upcoming blueberry festival, Salma proposes selling the bee houses at a booth to raise money for Lucky’s surgery. Lily expresses concerns but eventually agrees, thanks to Salma’s encouragement. Lily and Salma promise to collaborate in painting as many bee houses as possible. Lily, inspired by Salma, modifies her stencil, adding a star to each blueberry.