Porter is so moved by her mother’s second chance at love that Porter decides, against all odds, she might be able to fall in love again too. Jeremy Fogelman is now a veterinarian in town, but Porter usually goes to another vet for her goats. Now, Porter stands outside Jeremy’s vet office, confident in her ability to reconnect with him: “No matter how well his wife thought she knew him, no matter what friends he had now, and how many times they went out to dinner and talked about the boring details of their daily lives, Porter would always know him better” (130). Jeremy seems happy to see her, though they’ve politely avoided each other over the last two years since breaking off their affair. Jeremy invites her to get a cup of coffee.

Jeremy brings Porter to his house, which is empty because his children are away for a soccer tournament. Porter and Jeremy have sex. Porter wonders why she never married Jeremy before it was too late, but she isn’t sure what she thinks about marriage. Given that her mother was “fine” when their father died, and seeing how Nicky treats marriage like “art” and Elliot treats marriage like “a prison,” she doesn’t know what to make of marriage for herself.