Chapter Seventeen and Eighteen pp. 186-227. Summary

Sam awakens in the midst of a nightmare at the beginning of Chapter Seventeen. He is nervous about meeting Laura's friends and perhaps saying the wrong thing again. Sam calls his sister and asks her how to handle himself. His sister advises him to swim with the tide. Smile and agree. These people aren't important to him anyway. When Sam reaches Laura's home, he enjoys himself for the first hour. Someone yells out the time and everyone moves to the television to watch a night soap that they have been following. As it happens the soap is the story that Roberts has been using to prove the need for regulations for the corporate world. Sam gets more and more uncomfortable but keeps his temper. No one knows him but Laura so he keeps...