A Butterfly on F Street and Gospel Summary

In A Butterfly on F Street, Mildred Harper, the protagonist, had been married for twenty-seven years until her husband Mansfield died five months prior to the opening of the story. About two and a half years ago, Mildred's husband abandoned her for another woman named Elizabeth Ann Coleman. While Mildred is downtown shoppin,g she encounters Elizabeth by happenstance. Elizabeth expresses condolences for Mildred's recent loss and Mildred reflects on her life.

In Gospel, the protagonist Vivian L. Slater is fifty-seven years old and leads a quartet of female gospel singers. Vivian lives with Ralph, a handsome man that is dying of an unspecified disease. None of Vivian's friends know that Ralph is ill. Vivian's closest friend within the singing group is Diane McCullough, also fifty-seven years old. Diane lives with...