It’s book club meeting night, so Mark leaves. Polly recalls visiting her father after she met with Talia. She took him her uneaten pie, and her mother was there. She asked her mother if they had any relatives in Vermont, but her mother said no. Polly thinks about her unique relationship with her mother. They aren’t close, something that’s always bothered her, but Garrison thinks that she places too much weight on it.

Polly visits Jeannine, the psychologist at her fertility clinic, as she regularly does. Most visits to the clinic are stressful, but Polly enjoys her time with Jeannine because she can talk about anything. Polly has even shared her deepest secret with Jeannine: that after she discovered that Benedict was having an affair, she found out that she was pregnant and terminated the pregnancy. She worries that this is the reason she can’t get pregnant, but Jeannine assures her that it has no bearing on her current issue.

Polly is at the point where it’s time to consider the “next phase” in her treatment, which includes egg donors, surrogacy, or adoption—all things she’s not ready to discuss because she feels these options remove her from the process of becoming a mother. She tells Jeannine about the DNA test, but, like Mark, Jeannine isn’t a fan of these tests or their unintended consequences. Polly rarely speaks to other women in the clinic waiting room. She recalls meeting one woman and telling her about her book club and its rule: No one reads the book. They simply show up to talk and support one another. She hasn’t seen the woman in a while and asks Jeannine about her and whether she’s gotten pregnant, knowing that Jeannine can’t divulge personal information.

It is fall and the beginning of a new school term. As Polly prepares for her classes and meets her new students, she thinks of Talia, who is also beginning a new school year. Polly finds it increasingly challenging to keep up with her students as she ages, and she must “play intellectual chess day one” to stay ahead (82). She receives a message to call her mother about something urgent. She reaches her mother’s secretary, worried that it’s about her father. She calls Garrison, who is already on his way to the hospital: Jack fell and may have broken his hip. Polly is upset, but Garrison asks her to “trust him” to manage the situation until she can get there after school.

Jack isn’t seriously injured from the fall but now has weekly appointments with a physical therapist. Polly has remained in touch with Talia, who sends the sketches of her clothing designs. Talia’s father, Stephen Burton, reaches out to Polly via email and asks to meet her in person.

Polly meets Stephen at the hotel where he is staying for a conference. He apologizes to her in case Talia’s reaching out made her uncomfortable, but Polly assures him that she likes getting to know her. Talia’s mother, Marguerite, was adopted from Ghana by a family in Nebraska. She had a lifelong goal of finding out about her ancestry. Marguerite experienced a lot of pain in her life, including lost pregnancies, and died by suicide after Christmas. It has been very hard for Talia. As Stephen shares, Polly notices that he has blue eyes like hers. She has always wondered why she was the only one in her family with blue eyes. Stephen also has the same pointed ears she was teased for as a child. When Polly begins to ask about Stephen’s mother, he assures her that the genetic test won’t reveal that she’s his mother’s “love child.” He encourages Polly to check out his mother’s blog called “Warm A Toast” (91), and Polly knows the name.

Talia’s grandmother, Barbara Burton, runs an alpaca farm in the Catskills and produces expensive sweaters. Polly peruses Barbara’s website for photos showing her ears but finds none. During her meeting with Stephen, she asked about his father, but Stephen said he was a “rebounder” who was in and out of his life; he never truly knew him. Polly considers visiting Barbara’s farm, and Mark supports the idea, finding the similarities between Polly’s and Stephen’s ears “interesting.” Sarah offers to go with her to the farm, but like most people, she is still skeptical that the DNA test results are accurate and chalks Polly’s connection to Talia up to her protectiveness of teenage girls as a teacher.

Polly runs into Josephine, who is home from Harvard on break. When Josephine declares that college is “different” from her expectations, Polly offers a platitude, “You’ll do great!” (94), but makes a mental note to check in on Josephine via email.

Garrison, Polly, and Mark attend an event honoring Mary put on by the Women’s Bar Association. As Polly meets her mother’s associates and clerks and hears them sing her praises, she feels the familiar distance from her mother that she’s felt her entire life. While she knows Mary has accomplished much as a female judge, she often wishes that she were more like a mother to her. On the car ride home, she says, “Sometimes I feel like I don’t even know who she is” (106). Polly insists that if she becomes a mother, she will not treat her kid the way she treats her students, avoiding what she sees as her mother being the same hard-nosed judge in court that she is with her. Mark notes that Polly is a lot like her mother in ways she may not fully understand.