Part 5, Chapters 8 and 9 Summary

In Chapter 8, Rebecca and Will spend more and more time together, remembering who they were when they were younger (as individuals and as a couple) and getting to know each other as the people they are now. They tentatively begin some slight physical intimacy, and Rebecca endures the occasional resentment of the Davitch family, who are to varying degrees bothered by her not being around as much. She also continues her research into Robert E. Lee, fends off her mother's gossipy stories about Will's wedding (to a much younger former student), and responds uncomfortably to Zeb's teasing comments (while Will is over for dinner) about how indispensable she is to the family. Meanwhile, she also attends Peter's Grandparents' Day, is genuinely excited by his complicated, musical science project, and is just as genuinely upset by NoNo's self-centered attitude towards...