1977 (#19) - Morbid friendship with Katherine and reconciliation of Joanna and Jack

Meanwhile, after her divorce from Jack, Joanna received help from Brock, who convinced her mother Katherine to let her stay in their cozy and spacious home. Joanna thanks Brock, who was also happy to have found someone to keep her mother company, who suffered from loneliness. Katherine and Joanna soon formed a deep friendship, as they shared every moment of the day and found their vitality together. This friendship, however, worries Brock because Katherine is excessively morbid and is developing an unusual attachment to Joanna. In fact, Katherine, increasingly convinced that it is better to stay away from men and that it is better to live as a single woman than with a man next, finds the friendship with Joanna more and more pleasant and soon finds herself having mixed feelings for her. Her obsession with her friend goes so far that she tries to push Jack away, telling her that she already has another man when her ex-husband asks about Joanna. It's only Brock's intervention, very critical of her mother, that made her give up her plan to push Jack away from the woman. The two, in fact, miss each other; Jack apologizes for literally losing his mind and congratulates Joanna for returning a beautiful and charming woman just like when they met; Joanna, who has never stopped loving Jack in her heart, does not take long to fall into his arms. The two of them decide to move back in together, planning their next marriage, under the puzzled and somewhat happy Katherine's eyes.

1977 (#14) - Jack's selfishness and the divorce with Peggy

Things between Jack and Peggy went pretty well until the night a suspicious Stuart decides to follow his daughter, discovering with disgust that he is in front of Jack's apartment. Thinking that the man has subdued his daughter and is abusing her by exploiting her weaknesses, Stuart decides to teach Jack a lesson that night. And so when Stuart breaks into the house and attacks Jack, soon a fight breaks out between the two men. A desperate Peggy who listens scared to her father in the bathroom, unable to stand Stuart's accusations against her husband any longer, finally comes out and lashes out at her father for treating Jack unfairly. Peggy thus confesses to a shocked Stuart that she is now married and that thanks to Jack she is trying to overcome her sexual inhibitions in bed with her husband. She then accuses her father of having ruined their intimacy and, soon after, she comes back with a horrified Stuart but only to take her things and move permanently to Jack, determined to be in any way a perfect wife for the man she loves. Stuart first firmly criticizes his daughter's behavior, but then decides not to fight it anymore, realizing that his daughter has become a woman. Some time later, Peggy confesses to her father that she has consummated her marriage and has now overcome all limitations. However, the reality is different, since Peggy still has a mental block and Jack's insistence on trying to make love does not help the girl to relax. One night Jack, tired of waiting and wanting to make love to his wife, takes her by force and forces her to have a relationship against her will. Peggy, once again feeling abused, hurls herself against the man, calling him the same as Ron and, just like her brother George, as her family has repeatedly suspected. After that, Peggy takes her things and runs away. Despite Jack's objections, Peggy is unshakable and immediately starts divorce proceedings. Back at Stuart's again, Peggy is so comforted by the whole family that she admits she was wrong to trust a man like Jack.

1977 (#10) - Stuart's opposition and the secret marriage between Peggy and Jack

During the time immediately following the rape, the Brooks family has every reason to be concerned about Peggy's emotional state, and everyone, Chris at first, advises the girl to seek professional counseling and then see a psychologist. Peggy, however, reacts with anger to the proposal and refuses to do therapy, stating with absolute determination that she doesn't need it and insisting rather that if everyone would stop pressuring her, everything would be better. During this time, Stuart also refuses to allow Jack to see his daughter, despite the opposition of the man. The opposition to this relationship becomes even firmer when Stuart and Chris realize that Professor Jack Curtis is George Curtis' older brother, Chris' rapist, years earlier. Despite attempts to hinder their love, however, Peggy and Jack, who makes very clear that he hasn't nothing to do with his brother and hasn't had any contact with him for years, continue to see each other in secret. And the prayers of Stuart and Chris, who try to warn the girl not to trust the man, are useless: Peggy is convinced that a secret marriage would be able to solve her emotional problems, so Jack, madly in love with Peggy, decides to follow her immediately to make real the idea. The two plan their love getaway and, without telling anyone, exchange their wedding vows. Peggy and Jack also plan how their wedding will take place; since they can't live together under the same roof yet, their newly weds life soon turns out to be a part-time marriage, with the girl trying to go to Jack's house as often as possible. Peggy is convinced that without the pressure of her family she will be able to achieve a normal relationship with her husband and hopes that this will help her overcome her trauma, making sure that she can finally give herself to him.

1976 (#16) - Peggy’s rape, acquittal of Ron and psychiatric hospitalization of Nancy

Just when Jack is running to Peggy to inform her that he has finally got a divorce and that they can finally be together, she goes to Chris to tell her about her secret relationship with his professor and ask her for advice. Not finding her at home, Peggy enters and decides to wait for her return; however, Chris' door was opened by a mysterious man who abuses the young girl, still a virgin. When Chris is informed by his sister about the rape, she tries to console Peggy and make her overcome this terrible trauma, experienced by Chris herself years before. Peggy soon finds the confidence and strength to report the incident. When she is shown some suspects to the police, Peggy recognizes her rapist in Ron, which leaves Chris shocked. Despite all the violence she has suffered, Nancy cannot believe that Ron could have done such a thing and takes her husband's side. Chris herself, moreover, shows doubts, not knowing how Ron could have broken into her home. In the trial, meanwhile, Ron is exonerated for lack of evidence; however, shortly afterwards, it is Nancy herself who realizes her husband's guilt, having found a note with Chris' address in his jacket. As soon as she confronted her husband, Nancy was beaten up and Ron ran away. Nancy goes to Chris to tell her the whole truth, but once they get to the police, the two women are disappointed to discover that it is not possible to start the procedures for an arrest warrant, since the case has already been judged and the evidence is insufficient to reopen the case. Ron, meanwhile, has now gone off the grid. Nancy, meanwhile, is showing more and more signs of emotional and mental instability and is being admitted to a mental institution. Little Karen is thus temporarily placed in the care of Chris and Snapper, who are happy to be able to give her some peace of mind and love.

1976 (#9) - Peggy’s suspicions, the promises of Jack and the divorce with Joanna

Joanna's suspicions about a possible extramarital relationship with Jack soon arose in Peggy's thoughts, increasingly alarmed by Jack's reluctance to talk about his family. Despite Jack's assurances of being single, Peggy soon ends up not believing in the man anymore and he is eventually forced to admit he has a wife. Peggy, desperate and incredulous for having been so naive as to have been made fun of by Jack, is soon reassured by the man, who informs her that he has decided to end his long-dormant marriage. Peggy, thus, incites her man to show her his love and to divorce her before she gets fed up and leaves him. In reality, however, Jack realizes that he is incapable of leaving his wife, convinced that Joanna would suffer too much emotionally from a possible separation; in fact, Jack is convinced that a divorce would only increase Joanna's depression. In the meantime, however, it is Joanna herself who seems convinced to finally change her life. Thanks also to Brock's psychological help, Joanna understands that more than on her marriage and her husband, she must focus on herself and commit to losing weight not to make him happy but to become a better and more confident person herself. The weeks go by and with the first results of her efforts comes a greater awareness that she doesn't deserve a husband like Jack, now convinced that he has a mistress. When Joanna asks him for information, Jack initially denies it; however, as time goes by, Jack grows stronger and confesses to Joanna the whole truth about his involvement with Peggy. Joanna, astonished by her husband's reaction of pride, informs him that she now considers herself a free woman and intends to let him go without too many regrets. It is Jack, at this point, who feels somehow betrayed by his wife, he did not believe she had become so aware of the end of their relationship. Undecided whether to continue fighting to win back Joanna, who had meanwhile returned as beautiful as she used to be, or to jump into the relationship with Peggy, in the end it was the events and decisions of others that decided for him. Joanna, in fact, without second thoughts and determined to start a new life, signs the divorce papers and leaves Jack free to go to his Peggy.

1976 (#6) - Jack’s double life, the eating disorders of Joanna and Brock’s help

As the clandestine relationship with Jack continues, what the young woman cannot know is that Jack is married. His wife, Joanna Curtis, is a waitress at The Allegro. Suffering from severe eating disorders and overweight, Joanna has been depressed for some time now and is desperately trying to lose weight with new and ineffective diets, convinced that her husband is no longer in love with her. The relationship between Jack and Joanna, in fact, has lost the romanticism that distinguished the early years of their marriage; Joanna had gained weight and had gradually lost control both of her marriage and her weight. Brock, who frequently attends The Allegro, has known the woman for a long time and is constantly encouraging her not to get depressed. Brock, therefore, invites her to realize how beautiful she is and encourages her to buy a new dress and prepare a candlelight dinner for Jack in order to attract her husband's attention again. However, any attempt by Joanna to rekindle her relationship is interrupted by Jack, who is increasingly absent from the house, also because of his secret relationship with Peggy. When Jack comes home after his meeting in the library, excused invented to hide a date with Peggy, Joanna is so disappointed again by the man, who is too tired to do anything other than go to sleep. Less and less interested in making love with his wife, Jack then increasingly neglects Joanna, who despite Brock's efforts to cheer her up, lets herself go more and more, venting the only way she knows how, with food. The day of Joanna's birthday, to console the woman for yet another night when she is neglected by Jack is once again Brock; Jack, who has gone out with Peggy, remembers too late to give a gift to his wife, who is increasingly angry with the man and convinced that he has another more attractive woman.

1976 (#2) - Peggy’s restlessness and the infatuation for professor Jack

The breakup between Stuart and Jennifer hurt the youngest of the couple's daughters, Peggy. The girl, who is living through the delicate period between adolescence and adulthood, is probably the most fragile of all the Brooks sisters and suffers more than the others from Jennifer's decision to move in with Bruce. Peggy can't forgive her mother and is looking for someone to vent to. Feeling distant both from her father Stuart, with whom she never had a great relationship in terms of communication, and from her sisters, who have now become women and taken by their marriages and personal affairs, it is natural then that Peggy has sought comfort in the most reassuring figure for her, her high school teacher Jack Curtis. she has always admired the culture and the calm and reassuring character of the man, so Peggy relies on the advice of Jack, who listens to her and supports her in this difficult moment. With Jack, Peggy is able to talk to him and explain all her problems and fears, convinced that the man has her interests at heart. The relationship between the two soon grows without the two being able to realize it and without Peggy or Jack realizing how their feelings for each other are changing and inevitably affect their lives. On Peggy's campus, meanwhile, rumors of their scandalous secret relationship are circulating more and more insistently and it doesn't take long before they realize the dangerous implications of their relationship. Jack, a respected mature man, much older than the girl, finds himself at the center of problems related to the alleged crime of exchange of sexual nature favours with one of his students. Peggy, worried and frightened by the accusations, runs away. In the end, however, it is Jack who chases after the girl, informing her that he has resolved the matter and that he has quit the institute; the man, moreover, admits to having feelings for the girl; and when Peggy confesses that she has fallen in love with him, the two realize that it is already too late, before they let themselves go into passion.