Epilogue Summary

Hank is happy and content. On sabbatical from the university, he will be teaching in the fall. Jacob had submitted a grant that Hank and Lily had written years ago, to follow promising young students from high school through college, providing books and tuition if they keep their grades up. Julie and Russell moved to Atlanta and are working through their issues. Hank's other daughter Karen is happily involved with a music professor and will be having a baby around Christmas. Hank's health is fine, it seems the issues he was having trying to urinate were in fact all in his head. Hank's father died quietly and painlessly, and this fact did not devastate Hank's mother as he feared it might. She seemed almost to be more alive, released from the duty she might have felt she had.

Before Tony Coniglia leaves on...