Summary

Chapter 9, "Dinner Date," moves ahead to Saturday evening, as Iris has just finished dressing for her dinner with John. Maddy and Nola are working on the evening's dinner, and they both complement how pretty Iris looks before she heads out to pick John up. Maddy walks outside with Iris and tells her that she is thinking of enrolling Nola in a local school for the summer, which prompts Iris' concern abut Maddy's decision to stay in Mason with Nola with Matthew still in New York. When iris arrives on time to pick John up, he is nowhere to be found and does not answer her phone calls. After checking the house and calling his name, Iris gives up and returns to the car, dejectedly breaking off some lilac branches with her hands. When she gets back to her house, Maddy and Nola are...