Paul's Marshall's story is concerned with the relationship between a woman and her grandmother, both in life, when the woman was a child, and after the elderly woman's death. As an adult, the first-person narrator has insight into her behavior as a child and appreciates the effects it probably had on Da-duh (the grandmother's nickname). The grown woman has become more like Da-duh in certain ways, such as her appreciation of the tropical island environment and in feeling kind and generous. However, her positive emotions are tempered with guilt that pervades her nostalgia, because she feels that her childish self had been unkind.

The memory section tells of the first and last time the narrator visited with her grandmother at age nine. There is a strong contrast between the girl's youthful energy and Da-duh's measured pace. The girl is a bit of a braggart, relishing the descriptions she gives of all the "bests" in New York, where she lives. Da-duh shares her life on the island with the girl and makes her feel welcome. She has never left the island, while the girl has always lived in New York. Da-duh has never seen skyscrapers or experienced snow, which have become normal parts of the girl's life.

In the end, as an adult, the narrator appreciates palm trees more than the Empire State Building.