Kantika

Rebecca helps to open a synagogue in their neighborhood, and she strategically uses her charm and fashion to win clients for her business and Sam’s store. Although Luna earns good grades at Andrew Jackson High School, her time there is painfully lonely. She envies Rebecca’s beauty and the ease with which she makes friends. Rebecca tells Luna that she can be like the other girls in their neighborhood, but Luna feels that this goal is always beyond her grasp. At home, Rebecca continues to train her daughter’s coordination and fine motor skills, and Luna can now chop vegetables and stitch needlepoint patterns. She dreams of being a famous romance novelist, marrying “a handsome, doting, funny (normal) man” (236), and having children.

Luna’s aunt Rachel tells the family about a school in the Bronx where bright children with disabilities can study for free. She offers to let Luna stay with her and Fanny during the week to reduce her commute. Sam dismisses the idea, but David empathizes with how miserable Luna is at her current school and speaks up for her. This surprises Luna because she finds him harder to connect to than the rest of her siblings. She resolves to repay the favor by telling David that Sam doesn’t actually think he’s unintelligent despite his frequent comments and criticisms to that effect.