Chapter 8 Summary

It is cold in New Jersey in the fall, as Neil drives back to see the deer. Everything reminds him of Brenda. Neil becomes reference librarian. He never sees the African-American kid again. Some man checks out the Gauguin book. Neil admits to himself that the kid is better off not carrying dreams of Tahiti in his head if he could not afford to fly there. The same is true of Neil's relationship with Brenda. Brenda writes that she will be coming in for the Jewish holidays a week away. Neil's Aunt Gladys is having ten people as guests for Rosh Hashanah. Brenda calls Neil to tell him she is not coming for Rosh Hashanah. She has a test Saturday and a paper due. He cannot take off any time from work, because he just got a raise. Brenda invites him to stay...