The chapter opens with Margaret's quiet life in Leitrim during the transition from autumn to winter, weaving together her weekday routines at the community arts center—working with Linda, checking in on children's art projects, chatting with Doreen at the coffee shop—with her deepening weekend relationship with Ivan. Ivan visits every Friday evening, and they share walks, meals, conversation, and growing intimacy. He asks her curious, sometimes endearingly naive questions about sexuality, and she enjoys his intelligence, sensitivity, and earnest philosophical nature. Margaret reflects on how Ivan's way of seeing the world has renewed her sense of beauty in her surroundings and in herself.

Their relationship also brings difficult conversations. Ivan insists there's nothing wrong with their age gap, while Margaret fears someone will get hurt. Ivan frankly tells her that if heartbreak comes, it will be his. Margaret privately anticipates that Ivan will eventually drift away toward someone his own age, and she resolves to accept it gracefully. One morning, Ivan tells Margaret he loves her, and she says it back—a moment of deep emotional release for Ivan, mixed with grief for his father and guilt about his estrangement from Peter.

A newspaper article featuring Peter's name as a barrister triggers an uncomfortable exchange. Ivan reluctantly reveals that he and Peter don't get along, describing Peter's mockery of his accent, Peter's desire to give the eulogy at their father's funeral despite Ivan feeling closer to their dad, and a general pattern of disrespect. He mentions Peter's ex-girlfriend Sylvia, who was seriously injured in an accident, and how her absence removed a buffer between the brothers. Margaret senses Ivan is withholding something, and feels confused—she finds herself oddly defensive of the brother she's never met, perhaps identifying with him as a fellow "disappointed, compromised person."

Ivan's narration then shifts to Dublin. He reflects on telling Margaret he loved her, on a coffee meeting with Sylvia where they discussed a logic puzzle about liars and vacuous truth, and on his surging chess form—his online rating nearing his all-time high. He receives a text from his mother Christine saying she can no longer keep his dog Alexei. Ivan travels to Christine's boyfriend's house in Skerries, where he finds Alexei shut in a utility room with an empty water bowl. Stepbrother Darren is unhelpful; Christine is dismissive. Ivan, filled with a sudden clarity of purpose inspired by Margaret's loving example, decides impulsively to take Alexei with him, despite having no practical plan for where the dog will live.

On the train platform, Ivan's confidence wavers as he realizes he may have made things worse—he has no pet-friendly housing and remembers he's supposed to visit Margaret the next day. But he steadies himself with the thought that Margaret will understand, feeling her presence almost spiritually close. He and Alexei board the commuter train together, heading back toward Dublin.