Saint practices Liszt's Liebestraum No. 3 with total concentration as spring rain reflects across the street outside. In the middle of the piece, Norma enters the room in a way she normally never would during practice, holding a large envelope marked from Hanover.

Saint tells Norma to open the envelope. Although Norma's hands shake, not from excitement but from the effects of aging after retirement, Norma reads the news and tells Saint that she has been accepted to Dartmouth. Saint keeps playing until the end of the piece, while Norma stays to listen and then applauds.

Even at that moment, Saint focuses on her mistake and says she lost her counterweight. When Norma repeats that Saint got into Dartmouth, Saint admits she does not want to leave Norma because Norma is all Saint has ever had. Norma comforts Saint, calls her silly, and suggests celebrating with ice cream at Lacey's Diner.

Instead of leaving with the news still fresh, Saint turns back to the piano. Saint decides to try the piece again, and the chapter ends by emphasizing that Saint does not know how to give up.