After Celia’s death and with Harry gone, Evelyn enters a scandal-free period, settling into a friendly, chaste marriage with Robert. They move back to Manhattan in the mid-2000s to be closer to Connor, refinish the apartment, donate some of Celia’s money to LGBTQ+ and lung disease organizations, and host annual Christmas benefits for homeless youth in New York.

Connor becomes Evelyn’s central focus. Connor rises at Merrill Lynch but confides to Robert that she hates finance. Robert, disappointed only that she wasn’t happy in his profession, quietly makes calls that help Connor secure a teaching job at Wharton, a move he celebrates without taking credit.

Robert dies at age eighty-one. Connor delivers the eulogy, and her boyfriend, Greg, serves as a pallbearer. After the funeral, Connor and Greg stay with Evelyn for a time. When they leave, the emptiness of the apartment prompts Evelyn to hire Grace. Buoyed by inheritances from Harry, Celia, and Robert, Evelyn spoils Connor and also supports Grace and her family, continuing a life of philanthropy and art collecting; Connor often spends nights there, especially after breaking up with Greg.

Two and a half years before the present, Connor is diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer at thirty-nine and given months to live. Evelyn becomes her caregiver, managing chemo side effects, comforting her through chills and nausea, and reaffirming daily that motherhood is her true purpose: “Nothing I have ever done has made me as proud as the day I gave birth to you.” Connor affirms she has always known this.

Connor survives eighteen months before dying. She is buried beside her father, Harry. At the graveside, Evelyn breaks more completely than ever and describes being overtaken by a “devastating luxury of panic” that has never left her.