VI: Marriages — Chapter 2

Summary

• In early 2002, Dov invites Sadie to his wedding as he is divorcing his current wife and marrying a former student, a woman younger than Sadie.
• On the trip to the wedding, Sadie, Marx, and Sam take turns driving and are in a celebratory mood as their project Mapleworld is a success.
• During the trip, it becomes evident to Sam that Sadie and Marx are in a secret relationship. It is revealed that they have been in a relationship for a year, but they didn't want to upset Sam.
• Sadie has a one-on-one conversation with Sam about their diminished relationship and his feelings about her relationship with Marx. Sam tells her he's fine with her and Marx being together and makes a few hurtful comments about Marx.
• Sam drastically changes his appearance and adopts a new mindset, focusing on the promotion of Mapleworld, and distances himself from his former look representing Mayor Mazer.
• Sadie proposes a new game idea, Master of the Revels set in Elizabethan London, focused on solving the murder of Christopher Marlowe. Her suggestion is rejected by Sam, who feels the idea is pretentious and unlikely to attract a mass audience. She gets Marx on her side, and they decide to proceed without Sam's involvement.
• In a conversation with Marx, Sadie reveals her ongoing conflicts with Sam and expresses the desire to create something fully hers and independent of Sam. Marx reveals that he doesn't believe Sam betrayed Sadie (regarding her past relationship with Dov) as he claimed.
• Marx and Sadie decide to purchase a house together, further solidifying their relationship and moving forward with their professional collaborative plans, separate from Sam.

• Two months after the processes of tenting their new house, changing locks and signing countless paperwork, Marx and Sadie move in.
• Upon entering, they discover that their property includes a small backyard with three fruit trees, two of which are in season - a Fuyu persimmon tree and a guava tree.
• Marx is delighted to find a persimmon tree, claiming it as his favorite fruit. He enjoys the fresh produce and appreciates his luck at having his favorite fruit in his backyard.
• Sadie reflects on Marx's nature of viewing everything as fortuitous, finding it easy to love him. She questions however, whether persimmon truly is his favorite fruit or if it's just because it is readily available in their new home as Marx had never mentioned it prior to this.
• Despite Sadie's concern about eating the fruit without washing, Marx reassures her, arguing that the fruit has only been touched by him and suggests that she should not worry about birds as well. Marx then picks a fruit for Sadie and washes it for her.
• Sadie tastes the fruit and finds it mildly sweet, pondering if it might be her favorite fruit too.