In this chap­ter titled “Cas­sidy,” the nar­ra­tive unfolds as Cas­sidy recounts her jour­ney with her moth­er down Hid­den High­way, towards Par­adise Springs, a place asso­ci­at­ed with sig­nif­i­cant per­son­al his­to­ry and emo­tion­al stakes. Cas­sidy express­es feel­ings rem­i­nis­cent of the sto­ry­teller Scheherazade while on this trek, excit­ed and anx­ious about the pos­si­bil­i­ty of reunit­ing with Dave Caputo, who pre­vi­ous­ly pro­posed to her moth­er. Their quest to find him takes them through a val­ley they nev­er noticed before, enhanc­ing the ten­sion of their expe­di­tion.

Cas­sidy reflects on their phys­i­cal state, describ­ing how they are run­ning low on sup­plies and deal­ing with the emo­tion­al fall­out of their cir­cum­stances. The road trip serves as a back­drop for her grow­ing fear and desire; she longs to see Dave again, hop­ing for a famil­ial bond, which leads her to har­bor unset­tling thoughts of him step­ping into a father­ly role, even if he no longer wants to mar­ry her moth­er.

Amidst this jour­ney, her moth­er pulls over at a scenic over­look, reveal­ing a stun­ning vista of vine­yards and a pic­turesque town sur­round­ed by nature’s beau­ty. This moment prompts a shift in Cas­sidy’s per­spec­tive. The sight of the town, float­ing like a dream, sig­ni­fies hope and pos­si­bil­i­ty. As they embark down the moun­tain into the val­ley, their sur­round­ings become increas­ing­ly vibrant with life: the aro­ma of grapes fills the air, and they remark on the fes­tive atmos­phere of har­vest time.

Cassidy’s inner mono­logue cap­tures her dis­be­lief and grow­ing opti­mism, akin to some­thing out of her mother’s fan­tasies in her sto­ries. She and her moth­er share a moment of con­nec­tion, their bond strength­en­ing as they approach Par­adise Springs, feel­ing an exhil­a­rat­ing sense of belong­ing and friend­ship. They hold hands as they take the turn-off for their des­ti­na­tion, filled with hope for what lies ahead and reflect­ing a new­found depth in their rela­tion­ship. The chap­ter con­cludes on a hope­ful note as they ven­ture into The Town, empha­siz­ing their sol­i­dar­i­ty in this jour­ney.