Part 2: Chapter 2 Summary

Jack and Emily find a pleasant house in Iowa City where Jack can work peacefully when he is not teaching. Emily begins writing an article about her experiences in Iowa, but has trouble completing it. Jack begins to drink and struggle with insecurity over his poetry. In fact, insecurity makes Jack moody and he refuses to allow Emily to read what he has written. Emily gets a letter from Sarah that tells her Pookie has lost her job. Tony's father allows Pookie to move into an apartment over their garage. Emily also learns that Tony's parents plan to move into the city, leaving the larger house for Tony and Sarah to move their family into. Finally, Sarah tells Emily that she has had to give up the book she was working on because she needs to do research in Montana and...