Julian selects beads for Eileen, their neighbor in Ireland, making decorative spangles for her lace bobbins. He cherishes the calm, precise work and Eileen’s gentle mentorship, including learning the proper terms and handling tools as her arthritis worsened. The ritual ends when Maia and his grandmother, Sílbhe, arrive from counseling, a return that both breaks the quiet and reassures him of their presence.

On drives, Julian asks about driving gloves and why Cora never learned to drive; Sílbhe admits Cora was not allowed by Julian’s father. The family refers to him only as “he” or “him,” a usage Julian associates with how school speaks of God, deepening his confusion. At his Catholic school he hears about confession and hell, which triggers terror and memories of his father’s interrogations about Cora’s behavior. Sílbhe resolves that Julian will not be pushed into confession and urges him to keep his head down.

Julian’s protectiveness toward Maia shows in games and study time: he reveals himself quickly during hide-and-seek to avoid startling her and seeks verbal reassurance when she seems absorbed. He overhears that adults think he will be all right because he barely remembers the night of Cora’s death, while Maia is the greater concern, and he realizes his inner shakiness is invisible to others.

At night, Maia sometimes joins Sílbhe for a small glass of wine and asks to resume ballet, despite Cora’s past reluctance due to health worries and Maia’s earlier lack of passion. Sílbhe agrees, cautioning against leaving before eighteen, then regrets the remark, lamenting how young Cora had been when she left home. Maia assures her she wants to stay in Ireland.

In the new class, peers warm to Maia after assessing her technique. Dancing becomes a way to feel close to Cora, in contrast to when, in England, she danced mainly because her father insisted and manipulated her with comments about Cora’s jealousy and failed body. Now Maia experiences dance as a chosen, embodied connection to her mother.

Maia also copes with nighttime incontinence, quietly maintained with waterproof sheets that she and Sílbhe manage without judgment. Julian, nine years younger, sometimes sleeps beside Maia for comfort; she returns him to his bed before morning, privately comparing their dryness and feeling ashamed.

Finally, Sílbhe reflects on the retirement she did not have, recalling how a chance car breakdown reunited her with school friend Cian Brennan, now a jeweler. Their brief rekindled romance ended abruptly when the crisis call about Cora sent her to England, after which she returned with Maia and Julian. Cian offered support, but she put the relationship aside, focusing entirely on the traumatized children. She feels both exhausted and reinvigorated by the responsibility, arranging schools, counseling, ballet, and art club, and committing wholly to being the stable adult in their lives.