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.

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.