Chapter 26 Summary

The story moves forward to the month of December. The scene opens with Reta and Tom walking hand in hand in the Orangetown cemetery on a Sunday morning. She speaks of her fascination with the stone monuments, particularly an "ugly, vast, and arresting" one in which these words are carved: "Mary Leland, 1863-1921." Underneath the name there is a single line: "She Took Good Care of Her Chickens." Reta describes the inscription as baffling and says that most people assume that the stone mason made a mistake and meant to carve the word "children' instead. Her thoughts veer toward the long-dead Mary and she speculates about the kind of life she must have led.

Suddenly, she stops, realizing that "Lately, [she had] been trying to focus [her] thoughts on the immensity rather than the particulars." Exerting her will, thoughts of Mary Leland are...