Three Times Lucky

Dale is Mo’s best friend. Despite being a static character who doesn’t change throughout the course of the story, Dale has good instincts, provides comic relief, and is an important source of emotional support for Mo. He is always there for every adventure and happily takes risks to solve Mr. Jesse’s murder or just have fun. Dale is also a morally flawed character. He is introduced alongside his decision to take Mr. Jesse’s boat without permission. He then scams Mr. Jesse into paying him for getting the boat back, which Mo feels guilty about but Dale never seems to.

Despite his flaws, Dale is a loyal friend and a hard worker and is always willing to help Mo run the café when he’s needed. In turn, Mo helps Dale with his chores when he gets grounded for sneaking out. Dale reminds Mo of the fact that both he and the rest of the town are there to support her and that she is therefore never alone. 

Dale ends up being a murder suspect, and his letter to his mother on the night he sneaks out speaks volumes about his overall persona: “Mama, I am a murder suspect over at Mo’s if you need me. Please do not worry. Your loving son, Dale” (116). He is extremely matter-of-fact, doesn’t understand hypotheticals and rhetorical questions, and relishes the opportunity to become famous when he is handcuffed and paraded around by Detective Starr. Dale is also brave and stands up to his father by pointing a gun at him. He also helps Mo take down Slate when they find him at Mr. Jesse’s house.

The Colonel and Miss Lana are an unconventional couple born out of the same hurricane that brought Mo into Tupelo Landing on a bulletin board. They spend a great deal of time apart, as they have little in common and often push one another’s buttons, but there is an underlying sense of love and devotion between them. The Colonel lost all memory of what happened before the night of the storm; for both him and Mo, it was like the beginning of a new life. 

The Colonel is an ever-comforting presence in Mo’s life. He despises authority, which, for a time, makes him a suspicious character in Detective Starr’s eyes but also teaches Mo that Being One’s Own Authority is best. He talks to Mo in an assertive but warm tone: “We are safe, but there is a killer among us. We must prepare to defend ourselves if necessary. And the best defense is what, Soldier?” (71). He is practical and logical, which is the opposite of his counterpart, Miss Lana. He and Miss Lana are foils.

Miss Lana is flighty and eccentric, as well as artistic. She creates a scrapbook for Mo of their lives together, which represents how she values their found family. She is supportive and loving, like the Colonel. However, Mo still searches for her Upstream Mother and wonders what her life would have been like if she had been raised by her. 

When the Colonel and Miss Lana are kidnapped, Mo gains perspective quickly and realizes that her true family has always been there. The Colonel writes to Mo about the day he found her: “I will always love your mother for letting you go, Soldier, and I will always love you for holding on” (221). Together with the Colonel’s help, Mo and Dale manage to find Slate, and Miss Lana escapes on her own. The situation is resolved, and Mo feels grateful to have the parents she has.

Detective Starr is an elusive figure in the story. At the beginning of the story, he appears to be highly suspicious and out of place in the small town of Tupelo Landing. The whole café hushes when he enters for the first time, as nobody is expecting to see a detective from out of town. Starr brings the news of a murder with him, which foreshadows the impending murder of Mr. Jesse. 

Starr frequently comes into the café or people’s homes unannounced, which makes him a somewhat unwelcome presence, particularly because he is always exercising his authority over the townspeople. The Colonel especially despises the detective for this reason, which is why Mo suspects him for so long. The townspeople initially resist helping Starr, unsure of his true intentions. Starr later shows his human side when he comforts Mo after Miss Lana’s kidnapping and again when Slate is arrested. Despite Mo’s suspicions, Starr turns out to be a benevolent character who is just there to do his job and solve a crime.

Macon and Miss Rose are Dale’s parents. They are very different people who are at odds with one another. Dale’s parents, like Mo’s, are foils, but to an even greater extreme. Macon is abusive and drinks heavily. Miss Rose is a kind-hearted but stern woman who is protective of Dale and strict about his curfew and behavior. She grounds him when he sneaks out and tasks him with a massive cleaning job in the tobacco barn to teach him discipline and obedience. Miss Rose’s kindness is illustrated when she takes in Mo after Miss Lana and the Colonel disappear. Miss Rose treats Mo just like family and acts as a source of comfort and stability when Mo needs it most.

Macon is an antagonistic character. Because of his drinking, he is abusive toward his family both physically and verbally. Whenever he is seen, he is inebriated and aggressive toward everyone he comes into contact with. Macon’s behavior is at its most intense during the height of the storm, when he comes into the family home and starts yelling. In this scene, he and the storm mirror one another. When he hits his wife, Mo and Dale defend her, demonstrating their courage.

Lavender is Dale’s older brother. He is a flat character whose personality doesn’t change throughout the novel. He is defined almost entirely by the fact that he loves and works on cars. Lavender’s driving philosophy speaks to the importance of instinct: “The car is the body. The drive is awareness zipping in and out of traffic. And the Zen is the Everything of it—track, car, self, other drivers. You focus without thinking to win. You feel it. It’s one reason I love racing” (176).  Lavender moved out of the house at 18 because he couldn’t stand his father’s abuse, and he’s reluctant to ever go back. 

Mo’s outspokenness is illustrated through her crush on Lavender. She has no issue being vocal about her feelings, and Lavender usually just laughs it off. In one of Mo’s most inspiring acts, she helps raise the money for Lavender’s car so that he can then sell it to a racer and make enough money to help support his family.

Anna-Celeste is an antagonist in the story. She plays a small but important role and helps Mo learn a valuable lesson about helping people, even when one does not necessarily have a good relationship with them. 

In spite of the enmity that grew between them after they met in kindergarten, Anna-Celeste is not vindictive. For example, she doesn’t reveal Dale’s name even though she knows it was him she saw. She also helps Mo by bringing her some prettier bottles to send down the stream. Mo, in turn, goes out of her way to defend Anna-Celeste when she overhears her mother berating her. These interactions demonstrate a willingness to overlook differences.