Mike hears Eunice masterfully playing Chopin’s“Nocturne no. 20” on the piano, the same song he played. He feels her pain vicariously. He wonders, “Was all this his fault? Had he asked for too much?” (327).

Mike wonders if he has done the right thing and tells Mr. Howard about his words with Eunice. Mr. Howard replies that “Mike had given her the best medicine possible” (329). Eventually, Eunice begins to speak with the boys; she attempts to tell Mike that he can stay with her no matter what, but she is cut short by Frankie, whom she thanks for the flowers and drawings he has been leaving outside her door. Mike prepares to audition for the Harmonica Band.

With Eunice’s help, Mike adapts a version of “America the Beautiful” influenced by the blues. They play the piano together as their bond grows.