Part 2, Chapters 3 and 4 Summary

In Chapter 3, at home in Church Valley, Rebecca visits with her mother (quiet, faded, bad cook) and her Aunt Ida (talkative, overly colorful, a very sweet tooth), reminded the whole while not only of the differences between the two women, but of the differences between them and her. The visit awakens recollections of her sudden wedding to Joe (for which her mother and Ada sewed her dress), her mother and Ada's surprise and resentment at its speed (having known Joe for only a few weeks), and of the man she had been expected to marry, the quiet and studious Will Allenby. Rebecca's recollections of her time with Will are alternated with recollections of her time with Joe. She remembers how he made special trips to Church Valley to be with her, how he invited her into his large, boisterous...