A Town Called Solace

The doctors tell Martha that they need to operate to see what is wrong inside her stomach. Martha asks Mrs. Orchard to advocate on her behalf, as Martha doesn’t want an operation, but is too intimidated to say so. Mrs. Orchard promises to help.

Mrs. Orchard thinks about when she started writing to Liam after Mr. Orchard died, breaking her promise to Mr. Orchard that she wouldn’t try and contact Liam. She was thrilled when Liam responded, and they kept up an occasional correspondence. Although she was invited, Mrs. Orchard didn’t go to Liam’s wedding, knowing his parents would be there. Mrs. Orchard reflects on how the tone of Liam’s letters changed, and she wonders if he is truly happy.

The only way Mrs. Orchard can think of helping him is to give him some financial security. She calls her lawyer to amend her will and leave everything to Liam, only to realize she had already done so a few years previously. However, she makes a final change—instead of leaving the house to Liam in her will, she signs it over to him right away.

Mrs. Orchard remembers an incident when she went over to the Kanes’ with a casserole.