Book 9: The Family Tree, Chapters 4-5 Summary

In Chapter 4, "a garden inclosed is my sister...a spring shut up, a fountain sealed," the day before Frances dies, she asks Mercedes if she ever wonders where Lily is. She tells Mercedes that James confessed to her and she forgave him. Later that day, Mercedes holds Frances as she wheezes and coughs, and is next to her when she dies. There are few people at Frances' funeral. Mrs. Luvovitz, who is now a widow, attends along with her son Ralph, who is an obstetrician and a veteran of World War II. Teresa Taylor also attends the funeral and prays for Mercedes, even though Mercedes refuses to acknowledge her presence.

In Chapter 5, Sudden Light, Rose is sixty-five years old and known to jazz fans as Doc Rose. She lives with Lily in New...