In 1997, Ryan began visiting Jet more frequently after their time in Tennessee. He took Jet out for meals, to the Ridglea, and to see a new performance hall being built, and Jet returned home joyful, singing Beatles songs. Ryan reported sobriety milestones of two weeks, a month, and three months, suggesting progress.

When Jet stayed with Elise, Lillian decided to visit Ryan at his new address in Como to continue the tender conversation from Memphis, encouraged by his supposed sobriety. Ryan opened the door to an apartment reeking of vodka, with trash and spilled food underfoot, revealing he had been drinking. Lillian, furious at the deceit more than the relapse, confronted him with, “You lied?” and then, more firmly, “You. Lied.”

Ryan, slurring Lillian’s name and trying to shift blame, met her anger with an eye roll. Lillian refused to enter, mindful of nearby stairs and a recurring fear of falls, and chose not to engage further. She left, concluding that while she could love someone with a disease, she would not love a liar, and that alcohol itself perpetuated lies Ryan believed.

Lillian withheld the incident from Elise and Jet to avoid adding pain. Ryan’s visits stopped, and Jet’s shower singing faded. The monthly checks from Ryan increased; though Lillian wanted to destroy them out of anger, she kept them because they were for Jet.

Months later, Ryan called after receiving a school flyer and said he would attend Jet’s spelling bee, acting as if nothing had happened. At the event, Lillian and Ryan maintained a facade of normalcy. Jet was disqualified on the word “descendant” after spelling it incorrectly, and Ryan gave her roses. The three walked out together, discussing spelling quirks to present a united, unaffected front to Jet and observers.

As they left, Lillian looked over Jet’s head at Ryan, regretting ever meeting him and realizing that the hopeful moments in Memphis had not been a new beginning but a final, deceptive upswing—“a death rattle.”