Chapter 49: Francie loves college. A boy that she met in the bookstore, Ben Blake, helps her acclimate to her classes. He is only a senior in high school, but this is his third summer taking college courses. Ben helps Francie study for her final exam in French, which she passes. When the summer classes end, Ben tells Francie to write if she needs him. The end of her summer college courses once again leaves Francie with lonely evenings to fill.
Chapter 50: Sissy has decided that a Jewish doctor will deliver her baby in a hospital. This news creates much consternation. No Rommely woman has ever had a man deliver her baby. No Rommely woman has ever had a baby in a hospital, but Sissy is confident that a Jewish doctor is a better doctor than a Christian doctor, and she will not be dissuaded. When the baby is born, Sissy has a moment of doubt when she sees the baby lying quietly on the table. His skin is blue, but then the doctor calls for oxygen and suddenly the baby is fine.
Now that the country is at war, Uncle Willie tries to enlist but is turned down. Willie buys a drum and cymbals and tries to teach himself to play music. He attaches a guitar and a harmonica and begins practicing to be a one-man band, but in his heart, Willie still thinks of himself as a failure.
Chapter 51: Francie begins to study for the college entrance exam, since the only way she can enroll in college for regular classes is to pass the exam. Mary Rommely is dying, and Neeley is dating a girl described as wild. Katie asks the children to forgo Christmas gifts and use the money to buy food for the Tynmore sisters, who are now too old to work.
