19

Summary

• A woman reflects on her life while picking cherries with her daughters, Nell, Emily, and Maisie, in an orchard after a summer storm.
• The daughters ask about their mother's past, specifically about a man named Duke and her choice to not be an actress.
• They recount the rise to fame of a TV show called "Rampart," which had awarded several Emmys but none to Duke despite his nominations.
• Through conversation, it is revealed that before marrying their father, the mother had a significant relationship with Duke and an adventurous life that included acting, but eventually left that life behind.
• There is a discussion about the mother's past, her time in New Hampshire and New York, including living with her grandmother, after leaving Michigan without contacting Joe, the girls' father.
• The mother recounts her close relationship with her grandmother, their life together, and the impact of her grandmother's life and death had on her own decisions.
• The grandmother's macular degeneration, battle with breast cancer, and the mother's care for her in her final days are recounted, as well as how the mother inherited her grandmother's tenacity and resourcefulness.
• The mother ended up in New York as a seamstress in the theater world, where she unexpectedly reconnected with Joe Nelson.
• Joe and the mother rekindled their relationship after a chance encounter and eventually married, moving to Michigan and taking over the family cherry farm.
• The chapter explores the financial difficulties of running the farm, the contributions and sacrifices that Joe made to keep it going, and the eventual success they found.
• The story of how Duke once unexpectedly showed up at the cherry farm years later is shared. It's revealed that this encounter did not rekindle any old flames, as by that time, the mother's life with Joe and her family was fully established.
• Finally, Duke's surprise at the mother's life choices is detailed, including his brief interaction with her daughters and re-encounter with Joe, signifying the vastly different paths their lives had taken.