The Testaments

Aunt Lydia narrates that they find Aunt Vidala, comatose, behind her statue. At first, doctors believe she has had a stroke, and Aunt Lydia visits her in the Intensive Care Unit. After the nurse leaves, Aunt Lydia contemplates tampering with the oxygen supply, feeding tube or anesthetic. She does none of these things, thinking that Aunt Vidala will soon be exiting this life on her own. Before she leaves, Aunt Lydia puts a vial of morphine in her pocket.

At lunch, Aunt Helena comments on the absence of Aunt Immortelle, Aunt Victoria, and Jade. Aunt Lydia says they must be fasting now in preparation for their Pearl Girl mission, and Jade might be ill with a female complaint. Aunt Helena says that she will take her a hot water bottle, and Aunt Lydia hopes Nicole left her note in a prominent location.

Aunt Helena soon returns bearing the news that Jade has eloped “[w]ith a plumber named Garth” (372). Aunt Lydia replies that they must find the couple to ensure a proper marriage is conducted. She comments that Jade would not have made a proper Aunt anyway. Aunt Lydia posits that there was a complaint about too little bathwater, someone must have called the plumber who met Jade.