Part 1: Chapters 4-5 Summary

In chapter 4, Connie talks about her father's feelings toward Sibyl's career choice. Connie describes many arguments that took place between her parents, often fueled by alcohol, in which Rand would complain about the long hours Sibyl would spend away from home delivering babies and seeing to the physical and emotional needs of her clients. As a direct result of Sibyl's career, Rand and Connie often spend long afternoons alone together. In fact, it is Rand who first drives Connie to the Bedford home where she spends long afternoons the spring and summer after the Bedfords first came to Vermont babysitting their son, Foogie, with her friend, Rollie. Connie's first impression of Charlotte Bedford is of a frail, pale woman who seemed eager to melt into the background. It is the Fourth of July of that summer as Connie and...