Chapter Thirteen Summary

Ma Richards arrives from Painter Mountain to help care for the sick baby since Julie cannot get out of bed. As soon as Julie is well enough to rise, she reaches out for her baby. Ma Richards is in the kitchen folding diapers when Julie steps out of bed the first time. Almost immediately, the two women get into a fight about the Lord's will for baby Delia's life. When Julie says that she hopes the Lord spares her baby, Ma Richards says, "We can ask, but that don't mean the Lord has to answer" (Page 302). Julie is angered by the woman's callous words when her baby is sick and near death. All she wants is support. All she wants is a mother's love, but Ma Richards seems incapable of giving that to her. For the first time in her life...