The Parker Inheritance

In Chapter 40, Siobhan Washington is forced to move on from her life in Lambert as her family settles with her aunt in Maryland. Siobhan is frustrated by the lack of justice after the attack, as well as by her father’s “constant headaches” (257); these negative feelings are heightened when she comes home to the news that “Reggie died in Georgia” (258). As Siobhan reels from the tragedy, her father refuses to even “call him by his name” (259). They argue about her father’s desire to get revenge on the Allens, and Siobhan feels determined “not to let Big Dub’s mistakes define her” (261).

In 1985, Siobhan finally goes back to Lambert to see a plaque installed at a park dedicated to her father. Before leaving, she decides to put back on her bracelet “to bring Reggie with her as well” (262). She wants to leave a “memento” (263) in the dirt where the tennis courts would be built, but she isn’t sure she can leave the bracelet behind.