Summary

In the present day, Willa and Iano take off on a hike with the aim of distracting Willa from the constant fretting about the house. They reminisce about the earlier times in their relationship. Willa still turns the conversation back to the house, promising Iano that she is going to “save our shambles” (449). When they finish their excursion, they head over to the hospital to visit with Nick and meet Tig and Jorge. Nick expresses his desire to go to the graveyard to choose a plot, and Willa admires how selflessly Tig cares for her grandfather. She is worried, however, about how the family will afford his eventual funeral. They do take him to the cemetery and allow him to look around.

Flashing back to Thatcher’s story, he sits in Cutler’s office when a janitor rushes in to alert them that...