Lotto’s a sensation at writing plays. Snippets of his different reviews and eccentric play ideas reflect the progression of years growing happier with Mathilde while he grows more successful professionally. All the reviews are positive, save for those of critic Phoebe Delmar. Lotto makes it a challenge to one day get her to kowtow to his genius and approve of one of his works.

One particular holiday meal, where Lotto’s family came down to celebrate one of Lotto’s opening nights, Lotto’s sister, Rachel, surprises Lotto by bringing along her dim-witted rebound husband. The guy proves to be just an interlude as soon Rachel gets back with her long-termex-girlfriend, Elizabeth. Antoinette still refuses to leave her estate and also to acknowledge her son’s choice in marriage. She asks him when he’s “going to settle down with a nice girl” (90).

The couple purchases a new house the country with Lotto’s earnings. Mathilde and Lotto’s partnership becomes more intertwined after she quits her job in order to run the business side of Lotto’s writing. She remains Lotto’s unofficial and underappreciated caretaker. Mathilde is excited about the opportunities and change that arrive with her new home.