Summary

This section begins with Chapter Seven in which Liza lamenting her pregnancy and instigating an affair with a fellow professor, Marcus Spear. Distraught with Ryan's inability to function given his deep-seated depression, Liza ensconces herself in avoidance. Wendy takes Jonah to Marilyn and David's house to meet the rest of the family. Jonah marvels at the expansive home, and is taken aback by the family dynamics which he describes as akin to "watching a dodgeball game" (105). Liza arrives late, driven by Marcus, who Jonah assumes to be Ryan. Violet makes excuses for why her sons and husband do not attend dinner. Marilyn appears nervous but they all attribute it to her excitement over Jonah's arrival.

In Chapter Eight, Grace feels uneasy about her lie about law school and hopes to confide in her dad, but she senses worry in her normally unshakable father's...