As Mad begins to walk, Elizabeth encourages constant exploration—touching, mixing, and experimenting—while Harriet frets over safety. Six-Thirty vigilantly protects the toddler, blocking hazards and cushioning falls. The unusual mother–child dynamic thrives on mutual learning; Elizabeth reads full texts like Darwin aloud, and even includes Six-Thirty, which unsettles Harriet but clearly engages Mad.

About a year after the birth, Dr. Mason drops by, assesses Elizabeth’s crowded life of baby, research, and home lab, and presses her to return to rowing. Elizabeth, weighed down by grief for Calvin and insecurity about parenting, resists, but Mason reveals a vacancy at Two Seat after a teammate’s leg fracture and a new coach on deck. He argues the predawn rows will help her and fit her schedule.

Harriet volunteers to babysit in the early mornings—partly to escape tensions at home—and urges Elizabeth to try. At the boathouse, the men react with silence and hostility; the coach and coxswain offer no welcome as Elizabeth takes Two Seat for a tryout. The row is tense and blame falls on the newcomer.

Afterward, Mason assures Elizabeth that new rowers are always scapegoated and urges patience. Despite the cold reception, Elizabeth realizes she loved being on the water again. Mason likens rowing to parenting—demanding, backward-looking, and reassuring—underscoring how the sport may steady Elizabeth as she navigates single motherhood.