Back on Janus after their visit to Partageuse with Lucy, Isabel and Tom live with the emotional distance that now separates them. Lucy, now a toddler, is beginning to talk. Both Isabel and Tom try to avoid thinking of Hannah, focusing instead on Lucy’s happiness and health.

Life goes on with some semblance of normality, but moments of doubt and fear continue to surface; Isabel has a talk with Lucy about honesty, and her remarks give Tom pause. 

It is now spring 1929. Bluey, considering marriage, presses Tom about his experiences as a husband and father. This conversation forces Tom to confront again the decision to keep Lucy. While attempting to justify the decision to himself, Tom acknowledges that Hannah has lost a child, but Isabel has lost children too. Tom knows that Isabel wants to do the best for Lucy, but Tom also knows that Lucy meets a need within Isabel and that Isabel’s decision was as selfish as it was selfless. Because Isabel had given up everything to be with him on Janus, Tom feels that it is unfair to deprive her of the happiness Lucy brings.