4

Four months after prior events, Daphne’s mother finds her third husband, Lucas, dead in the backyard after his morning walk. Daphne calls Eddie, who remarks it was a “nice death,” echoing Daphne’s own hospital-honed view. Daphne and Leda cancel work to travel by train to Winchester, framing themselves as supportive stepdaughters while their half-brothers manage logistics.

On the train, Daphne and Leda reflect on their upbringing. Leda argues their parents’ relative neglect fostered resilience, contrasting it with modern parental overinvolvement. Daphne reconsiders their childhood and Buddy’s intermittent presence, acknowledging that independence was expected and learned.

Arriving unannounced at their mother’s house, Daphne and Leda are warmly greeted by their half-brothers, Christopher and Matthew. In a brief, close-knit moment, they trade kind memories of Lucas—his peppermint ice cream and love of M*A*S*H—before other family members join. They note their mother can now leave the big house, and mention Lucas’s devotion to an eco-friendly “mushroom casket,” which is ironically back-ordered despite his investment in the company.

Inside the busy house, the family dynamics surface: Paula arrives with their sons; talk turns to logistics, including the casket delay. Daphne steps into the backyard where Lucas died and contrasts his long life with Buddy’s widely mourned death, then sends a private prayer to Buddy and Lucas to help her keep Eddie a little longer.

When a cold wind rises, Daphne’s mother brings her a jacket and confides that few seem sad Lucas is gone. Daphne gently reframes the loss, promising that when their mother dies the children will “cry out a river.” The chapter closes with mother and daughters standing together in the cold, then going back inside to face what comes next.