Chapter 14

Birdie is secretly painting the big girls’ dorm ceiling at the orphanage when a desperate woman in a worn yellow dress arrives, asking for “Margot Louise”—Meg. The woman, Charlie Lefleur, reveals she is Meg’s mother and has just been released early from a two-year sentence for “consorting with a Negro” and striking a policeman. She insists she never abandoned Meg and says Garnett previously intimidated her away. Birdie, unsure if Charlie can provide for Meg, nonetheless agrees to consider helping and sets a meeting at Idlewilde for Tuesday, promising not to tell Garnett.

Back at Idlewilde, Birdie bakes Frances a coconut birthday cake with Picador’s reluctant guidance and fresh coconut. That evening, Birdie plays bridge with Mrs. Tartt, who shares stories of her late husband Henry and quietly criticizes Garnett’s rise to chairlady and her Baptist zeal. They drink bourbon; Birdie gets very drunk, reflecting on class differences and the plan to ask Rory for money. Later, Birdie wakes to find Frances’s gifts: Mrs. Tartt’s costume brooch and, from Rory, a Good Housekeeping subscription.

In the morning, Frances confides the night was humiliating: Rory’s sexual dysfunction and his retreat to a separate room leave her fearing infidelity. Birdie comforts her, and Frances promises to ask Rory for money Sunday after church. Birdie returns to the orphanage, tries to access Meg’s file but finds the cabinet locked during Garnett’s award celebration. Mildred, tearful, reveals Garnett has fired her to cut costs—likely retaliation for helping Meg’s adoption—and that volunteers will now cover nights.

On Sunday, the Tartts attend First Christ Methodist. Birdie notes Rory’s sharpness with his mother and spots Garnett with her husband, Dr. Welty Pittman; Garnett seems needy for his attention. After the service, Frances flatters Garnett, blocking the exit. Birdie tells Dr. Pittman she knew Meg; he looks alarmed before Garnett pulls him away, suggesting undisclosed complications surrounding Meg.