On the way to Sam’s house, Tom recalls the history of his and Sam’s relationship. In college, Sam roomed with Ethan Konchar, whom Amy was dating at the time. Ethan was studying computer science, while Sam and Tom were English majors. Tom and Amy didn’t start dating until Ethan and Amy broke up when Ethan moved overseas for a fellowship.

Tom arrives at Sam’s Highland Park home. They spend the evening drinking wine and eating takeout. Tom tries to talk to Sam about Miri leaving home and his marriage to Amy, but Sam can’t relate because he isn’t married and doesn’t have kids. When Sam’s friend Deborah arrives, Tom realizes that they want to be alone together and dismisses himself to bed. In the room, he talks to Amy on the phone for a while. He tries telling her about Sam, but Amy wants to talk about Miri. She still regrets not coming along on the trip. In addition, she wonders if her affair with Zach impacted Michael in ways that she wasn’t aware at the time. He was about the same age she was when her father died. Skeptical of this theory, Tom asks if she has discussed this with her therapist and implies that she’s just creating a story about her life to try to make sense of it. Annoyed, Amy ends the conversation.

Tom remembers how, when he and Sam roomed together, he confided in Sam about his relationship with Amy. Sam never liked Amy and was skeptical of Tom’s desire to go to law school so that he could give Amy a nicer life. He thought Tom should write a book instead. Around that time, Tom got back in touch with his ex-girlfriend Jill McGurk. Jill, too, thought Tom should be a writer. They had dated in high school and broke up when they left for college. Despite their different lives and circumstances, Tom enjoyed talking to Jill after they split up.

In the morning, Tom runs into Deborah downstairs, and they have an awkward conversation before Tom leaves on a run. When he gets back, he and Sam talk about his and Amy’s relationship, admitting that they’re in a fight. Sam doesn’t seem to understand, but he says they should pick up the talk over lunch.

After Tom showers, he notices a missed call and voicemail from Brian. He wants Tom to consider representing another basketball player, Todd Gimmell. Todd wants to sue the league for discriminating “against white players” (85). Instead of returning Brian’s call, Tom takes a drive. He ignores several calls from Amy and turns off his phone, deciding to go without it for a while. He then decides he’ll visit his brother, Eric, in South Bend, Indiana.

Tom drives until he reaches Akron, Ohio, where he stops at a local bar for a beer. He chats with an older man and his daughter, who invites Tom to join them for a party at their house later. After leaving the bar, Tom heads to Walmart to buy some more clothes for the rest of his trip. He then stops at a local basketball court and plays a game of one-on-one with a young man. When Tom gets winded and dizzy, the man wants to take him to the hospital, but he says he’s fine.

Afterward, Tom sits in his car and calls Amy, admitting that he’s in Akron and on his way to South Bend. He says he might head to Denver from Indiana to see Brian about a new suit. He then admits that he’s on leave from the college. Irritated, Amy insists that she won’t be waiting around for Tom’s calls. On the way to a Comfort Inn, Tom recalls how much his kids loved the Comfort Inn when they were young and reflects on his relationship with Michael.

In his hotel room, Tom tries to write about basketball. He told the guy on the basketball court that he was writing a book on the sport, and he figures he may as well try his hand at the project. However, nothing he writes comes out the way he wants. He abandons the project and lies in bed thinking. Unable to sleep, he recalls an incident Amy had with one of the students in the French club she ran years ago. The student, Bianca Gertz, was in love with Amy, convinced that Amy was stuck in a loveless relationship and would be with her if she could only escape Tom. Amy kept trying to politely turn her down or ignore the crush, but Bianca’s behavior intensified over time. After she poured her heart out in a letter to Amy but received no response, Bianca took a handful of pills and collapsed during class. She was taken to the hospital, and her father threatened to sue the college. Amy was involved in the ensuing legal snafu, but Bianca’s family eventually dropped the issue. Soon after, Amy got pregnant with Michael. She quit teaching, and she and Tom married. To this day, Tom privately questions whether Amy’s side of the story was really true. He reflects on her behavior throughout their marriage, wondering about her relationship with Bianca.