Summary

In “Mason,” the mason helped Eileen and Nana add the addition to the house.

In “Nativity,” Saoirse had a baby girl. When Saoirse saw Pearl’s father on television, she imagined him singing “to his daughter” (100).

In “Love,” Eileen and Nana understood Saoirse’s intense postpartum emotions (101). She was unprepared for the love and worry she felt. When the baby was a week, Saoirse named her Pearl (102).

In “Sally,” Sally visited. She told Saoirse not to let motherhood “hold [her] back” (103). Eileen and Nana agreed. Noticing Sally’s grief, Saoirse felt guilty for “her own lack of sadness” (104).

In “Prodigal,” Kit told Eileen and Nana her grandson Josh and girlfriend Honey had returned to town.

In “Honey,” Josh was Moll and Alexander’s son. Like Saoirse’s father, Alexander had died “in a car accident” (107). She remembered how sad Nana and Eileen...