Summary

With failing vision at the age of seventy-four, Dr. Philobosian delivers Calliope. During an unexpected moment of flirtation with the assisting nurse, he only gives Calliope a cursory examination. He does not probe her superficially normal genitalia. Nor do Tessie or Milton as they bathe and diaper the baby. Sex remains shrouded in shame for the family. Baby Callie pees on Father Mike during her baptism (a sacrament performed at Desdemona’s insistence) and no one except Chapter Eleven wonders about the logistics of the urine’s arc. Desdemona considers everything about Callie – from her incorrect gender prediction to the baptismal peeing – as a bad omen. However, Desdemona cannot help but fall in love with the baby that looks so much like herself.

Desdemona is also disappointed when Lefty survives the stroke he had the same day that Callie is born. She thought...