The chapter opens with a conversation between the father and son. The father tells his son that his house has been attacked again, and that the culprit is still on the loose. He asks his son to take care of his first grandchild, and the father says he will be frank with him when he is ready to marry. He says that he has been "superficial" in his dealings with his wife, and he is sorry that he did not set a proper boundary with her. He promises to stop urging her to marry him because he does not like her.