Everyone celebrates the arrival of April’s comparatively warmer weather by going to Daisy’s house for a barbeque. Ruth drinks too much, which leaves her vomiting later in the night. Ruth overhears a disconcerting conversation between May and Dee Dee in which May claims to hate her life, even revealing that she has contemplated death by suicide on occasion. She admits her feeling that Justy is her last chance at raising a decent child—a comment which infuriates Ruth.

In July, Ruth and Ruby go to the beach in Stillwater, where they enjoy a week-long vacation. Though they enjoy the idleness, Ruth notes how different she and Ruby have become from one another since their first encounter. When they return, May chides them for allowing Justy to get a sunburn. Ruth helps May shelling and canning pees by way of atonement.

After winter passes and the following spring returns, Ruth, Ruby, and May resume more consistent attendance at church, at May’s insistence. Ruth suspects that May’s increasing interest in church has to do with her advancing age. Ruth herself admits that the church allows her to feel as though she is a member of a community. May and Ruth sign up for the refreshments and Human Concerns committee, respectively.