Chapter 10: When Francie is only three months old, Katie discovers that she is pregnant again. Francie remains a sickly baby, but Katie compares her daughter to the Tree of Heaven, which survives no matter what happens; Francie will survive as well. The second child is a big, healthy boy. Neeley is as strong as Francie is weak. Katie admits that she loves Neeley more than either Johnny or Francie, although she vows that Francie will never know that there is a difference in her mother's love for her.
Chapter 11: Johnny celebrates his twenty-first birthday with three days of drinking. When Katie locks him in her bedroom, his cries and screams are so terrible that the neighbors complain. Sissy tells Katie that drinking is simply Johnny's weakness, and everyone has something about them that must be tolerated. Therefore, Katie must learn to live with Johnny's drinking.
Chapter 12: Katie decides that the family cannot continue to live in the same area where so many people have seen Johnny drunk. Katie finds a place for the family to live on the outskirts of Williamsburg, and in exchange for janitorial work, the house will be rent free. Katie gives the ice-man a dollar to move their belongings in his wagon. After they move, Mary brings holy water to sprinkle on the new house, blessing it.
