At dinner, Jimmy picks at the chicken Saint has roasted and admits that he already loses sleep worrying about her while she works in Monta Clare. The strain shows on him physically: he is tired, unshaven, and worn down by studying late, though Saint still notices and admires his steady faith in himself and in their future.

When Jimmy says Saint does not need to keep doing this work, Saint answers that policing is her career and that it matters to her. Jimmy replies that he understands why Saint is driven to it, suggesting he knows her work is tied to deeper wounds and unfinished history rather than simple ambition. Saint says she wants to make a difference, but her difficulty swallowing her food shows the emotional weight beneath her answer.

The tension softens into intimacy when Saint starts clearing the dishes and Jimmy pulls her onto his lap. Jimmy reassures Saint that they have each other and their faith, says he would do anything for her, and then turns the conversation to what he wants most: stability, closeness, and a life together. When Jimmy asks Saint not to go to Kansas because he is only just managing to accept being married to a police officer, the conflict between Saint’s calling and her marriage becomes explicit.

Jimmy then redirects the moment toward physical intimacy, urging Saint to come upstairs and "try again," implying their ongoing effort to conceive or build the family he imagines for them. Saint does not finish voicing her objection about Kansas before Jimmy leads her away from the table. The chapter ends with Saint pulled further into the domestic life Jimmy wants, even as her work continues to call her elsewhere.