Alida is dismayed to learn that Grace responded to her letter and that Delphin actually met her that evening, Grace is equally shocked to discover that 'Alida wrote the letter she cherished deeply. Still, Alida is determined to win and smugly notes, “After all, I had everything; I had him for twenty-five years, and you had nothing but this letter which he did not write” (521). Grace fights back and moans. to the audience with the subtle but fatal phrase “I had Barbara,” finally revealing the root of the tension (521). Alida's arrogance and pride push social competition so far that she is left with the unsettling knowledge that Barbara is Delphin's firstborn. While Alida has a memory of her two and a half decades with Delphin, Grace has a daughter who remembers him - the same girl Alida envied at the beginning of the story. The telescopes, although upside down, are metaphorically. shattered in front of the women as they discover long-kept secrets that force them to see themselves differently than they ever were