French Braid

Candle Lainey, the daughter of Alice and Kevin, is the protagonist of Chapter 6, set in 1997. Candle turns 12 on January 8 and announces a series of changes: She will no longer wear a ponytail, she will pierce her ears, and she will stop answering to “Candle.” As a toddler she could not pronounce “Kendall,” her given name, instead calling herself Candle, which her friends and family quickly adopted. Because no one in her family can remember to call her Kendall, she regretfully drops that request.

That summer, Candle attends a camp in Maine. Her art teacher is a young tattooed woman who changed her name from Tamar to Tomorrow. She tells Candle she has real talent as a painter. When Alice arrives, Tomorrow says Candle should try her hand at oil painting. Alice says her mother works in acrylic paints. When Tomorrow asks if Alice’s mother is an artist, she responds, “In a way” (177).

Alice arranges for Candle to visit Mercy. On Alice’s suggestion, Candle takes some of her paintings for Mercy’s assessment of her talent. Mercy opens the door as soon as she reaches the top of the stairs, calling her Kendall, and the girl feels a rush of gratitude. Candle feels apologetic, fearing her paintings are childlike. Candle says she knows the paintings are not like her grandmother’s, to which Mercy replies, “Well, I should hope not. They shouldn’t be like anyone’s” (180). She sets Candle up to experiment with different mediums and brush sizes. When Alice returns, the three look over Candle’s paintings, which Mercy says are very interesting and quite good.

Supplied with her own acrylics, Candle begins to paint at Mercy’s studio, without a schedule; it becomes clear to Candle that her grandmother doesn’t have a set routine. Candle vows to follow the same lack of schedule when she grows up. Mercy remarks, “Sometimes people live first one life and then another life […] First a family life and then later a whole other kind of life. That’s what I’m doing” (184).

Candle is a bridesmaid for her sister, Robby, as is Serena, her cousin. When Candle and Alice discuss the extended family, it comes out that Lily and Alice refer to some members as good versus bad or difficult versus easy. Alice clarifies that some have a sense of intentionality about their actions while others do not. According to her system, Mercy is one of the bad ones; Alice says her mother should not have had children. Candle has a hard time believing that Alice perceives herself to be one of the good, sensible ones.

At the wedding reception, Mercy tells Candle she wants Candle to accompany her to an art show in New York. Candle is thrilled. Mercy says she will call Alice to get permission. Candle listens attentively to her mother’s end of the call. Alice tells Mercy she will talk to Kevin and get back to her. Candle begs her mother to allow her to go. She reminds her mother how well she gets along with Mercy, who is showing her a new way to look at life. Alice responds, “Oh, my. I guess it’s true what they say about how you have to skip a generation to appreciate some of your relatives” (188).

Kevin delivers Mercy and Candle to Baltimore’s Penn Station. Candle falls asleep and wakes just before the train crosses through New Jersey into New York’s Penn Station. They take a taxi to a restaurant and meet Magda, Mercy’s longtime friend. Mercy introduces her granddaughter as Kendall. Magna says Mercy told her Candle is also an artist. Magda and Mercy talk about the art show and gossip about the people who will be attending, dissolving into giggles like schoolgirls. Magda asks if Mercy still paints house portraits.

After lunch, they go to the gallery to see Magda’s work. Though Candle thinks the gallery seems insignificant, Mercy remarks that it is exceptionally classy. Most of Magda’s works are abstract; Candle struggles to understand what others might find appealing in them. Candle is amazed at the prices—many in the thousands and many with red dots indicating the works have sold. Candle protests that the prices of the paintings are not fair. She knows that her grandmother puts a great deal more work into any of her paintings than Magda does. Mercy tells her not to let that burden her, that she should do her own thing and resist the urge to compare herself to other artists.

They realize they must hurry to catch the train and have to forgo the Nathan’s hot dog Candle was looking forward to, for which Mercy apologizes. They make it just in time and finally find two empty seats together. Soon, her grandmother falls asleep with her head tilted against the window.

Approaching Baltimore, Candle tells Mercy it is time to wake up. When Mercy does not respond, Candle taps her wrist, and then sees something that alarms her: “Mercy’s eyes were just the slightest bit open. There was the narrowest slit of glassy shine beneath each lid” (199). Candle leaps into the aisle and finds the conductor, a large, slow-moving, genial man who strikes her as being very reliable. The conductor comforts Candle and expresses no alarm even as he checks Mercy’s pulse and finds her unresponsive, which he doesn’t signal to Candle. He tells Candle Mercy seems to be extremely tired and needs a rest, escorting Candle to a different seat and ensuring that she will be picked up by family. Kevin is waiting for her at the station and assures her that things are going to be all right. Candle does not ask what they will tell Alice; somehow, she already understands that Mercy is gone. She buries her face in his chest, weeping inconsolably.