Summary

Chapter 2 begins in the 1960s and tells the story of how Mary Jo Coughlin met and married George Khoury. Mary Jo and George are Rita’s parents. Mary Jo proved to be the smartest member of the Coughlin family, attending Mary Queen of Peace school and getting high marks. Her best friend, a Lebanese girl named Christian Kattar, announces that she wants to attend Tufts University and become a doctor, but when Mary Jo inquires about college with her own parents, they shoot her down. Mary Jo’s mother tells her she does not need college to become a teacher, nurse or secretary, professions that were acceptable for women at the time. Mary Jo bitterly acquiesces and goes to nursing school, where she meets Dr. George Khoury. While most of the physicians teach the nurses as if they are incapable of taking in...