Summary

Maître Susane went to stay with Sharon’s brother, Ralph, and sister-in-law, Christine. Sharon swore they had the marriage certificate and were withholding it from her. Ralph resented Sharon for moving to France and taking her children, whom he loved, with her.

Maître spent most of her days in bed. Each morning she tried to summon the courage “to talk to Christine and Ralph . . . about what had brought her to their house” (186). Although Sharon insisted they were terrible people, Maître found the couple kind and accommodating. They had devoted themselves to Maître’s character, especially in her ailing, anxious state. Like Sharon, Rudy, and Lila, they seemed to have “a knowledge of her body that she herself lacked” (188). She particularly missed Rudy and Lila while with Ralph and Christine, and sometimes thought she heard herself talking to Rudy. She...