French Braid

Lily is the protagonist of Chapter 4, which records events over a few weeks in the spring of 1982. Lily now manages the supply store. David calls her and asks if he and his friend Greta can come from Philadelphia for Easter lunch with the whole family. Because he scarcely contacts any of the Garretts, this startles Lily. Lily is certain everyone in the family will attend this meal.

Though he is 30 and a well-established high-school teacher, David has never brought a girlfriend to any family event, choosing to keep his personal life private. Lily calls Alice. The sisters engage in a lengthy, speculative conversation about Greta. Alice insists the meal must be at her house; Mercy has not prepared a meal in years. Alice and Kevin can easily serve the dozen who will attend. Lily offers to help, but Mercy says Alice should host. Her mother’s behavior causes Lily to feel she is not really Mercy’s daughter: “Or more accurately, she didn’t feel that Mercy was any kind of mother. She felt Mercy was like those cats who fail to recognize their own kittens after they’ve grown up” (113).

On Easter morning, Lily, Morris, and their 11-year-old son, Robby, dress nicely for the drive to Alice’s home. Lily relates to Robby that Uncle David is bringing a friend named Greta. Robby asks if she is pretty. It surprises Lily to think that Robby notices such things. Robby says the thing that bothers him is being called “Robby the Boy.” Lily reminds him this is because his cousin, Alice’s daughter, is “Robby the Girl,” who is older than he is. Lily remembers how Alice in her hospital room accused her of being a copycat. Mercy, also present, asked why both her grandchildren are named for their grandfather and neither for their grandmother.

Lily takes her salad to the kitchen, walking through the dining room where Alice has created elaborate place settings. The sisters gossip about David’s guest. Alice has asked Mercy to bring dessert, expecting one of her French specialties, but when Robin and Mercy arrive, her mother presents Alice with a half-gallon of chocolate ice cream.

Looking through the curtained window, Robin announces, “They’re here, I think” (120). The Garretts are surprised to see three approaching figures. David enters and introduces Greta and her daughter, Emily. Greta is about 10 years older than David, and Emily is a tween. Mercy and Lily converse with Greta while Alice sneaks out to set another plate. They learn that Greta, a child of immigrants, previously lived in Minnesota. She is the nurse at the high school where David teaches. David says that, after lunch, he will take Greta and Emily to see Harborplace, a new community gathering site in Baltimore. Alice calls everyone to the table and assigns seating. Told to sit next to Eddie, Alice and Kevin’s son, Emily asks if she has a choice, and her mother responds firmly, “You have no choice” (123). Lily realizes David’s relationship with Greta is more than friendship.

After David leaves, the family speculates on the seriousness of his relationship. As they debate why David is so standoffish, Robin comments, “He’s mad about the summer of the plumber” (128). Robin explains that, after David’s senior year in high school, he wanted to travel with an acting group. Instead, Robin forced him to work as a plumber, intending to make him realize that men must sometimes engage in work they dislike. Robin asks the room if he was wrong in trying to teach his son that lesson. Only Morris responds, saying he understands.

At the supper table that evening, Robby the Boy asks if David and Greta will marry. Next, he asks if the Garretts approved of Morris before he married Lily. Morris explains he had a heart-to-heart conversation with Robin about how much he loved Lily. His words remind Lily of the way their relationship started slowly. Morris was nothing like others she dated. She remembers how he adored her and came to her after she told him she was pregnant, begging her not to send him away.

Secretly, David and Greta marry. The family finds out via a thank-you note Greta sends Alice expressing gratitude for the Easter lunch and saying, “David and I would like you to know that after school yesterday, we were married. Emily was our only guest, because we did not want a fuss” (137). The sisters argue about how the surprise marriage is a slight to the family and whether it is a good thing or not. Alice accuses Lily of having been jealous of David when they were children. Lily hangs up on her sister.

Lily calls David to congratulate him. When she compliments Greta, David launches into a description of all he admires about his new wife and stepdaughter. This is the first time Lily has heard her brother speak at length about anything as an adult; she reflects that she “almost [can’t] believe that this [is] really David” (140). She sits alone afterward, remembering David as a child.