Chapter 1, Part 2 Summary

The story flashes back five months to Yakov drinking tea with his father-in-law, Shmuel. Shmuel offered himself as dowry, when Yakov married Raisl and the men share an uncomfortable afternoon discussing Raisl's unfaithfulness. She had run away and left Yakov. Over the course of the argument, Yakov reveals bits of his past. He grew up starving in an orphanage after his father was killed. His wife was unable to bear children. He educated himself and knows several languages. After Raisl ran off with another man, Yakov sold everything and planned to move to Kiev to start a new life. He refers to himself as a fixer, a man who always needs to keep busy.

As Yakov prepares to leave his shtetl, Shmuel asks him not to go. Shmuel insists that Raisl might come back to him if he were more patient...