Serena Chapter 17 Summary

How It All Goes Down

  • After seeing the park debate in the local paper, Harris and Pemberton talk about what to do next.
  • Harris is worried since the government has ties at the paper; they make it sound like a park is a no-brainer and force them to be the bad guys.
  • Pemberton says not to worry, though. People don't get it right now but they will soon—when they understand that it's between jobs or a pretty view, which do you think they'll choose?
  • While out driving, Harris and Pemberton see Webb. Pemberton wants to run him into the river.... We're not sure if he's being serious or not.
  • Luckily, Harris tells him not to and instead they chat with Webb.
  • Webb reports that they've just taken a bunch of beautiful photos of the waterfall that they'll include in tomorrow's paper. That ought to make people interested in a pretty park.
  • After they part ways, Harris and Pemberton take a look at the land that Webb just came from. It belongs to some guy named Luckadoo, who Harris knows.
  • They think they see copper in some of the stones on the ground and take a bit home to investigate.
  • They agree to meet back up at 5:00PM to discuss what's next on the agenda. Okay, synchronizing watches now.
  • Back at the house, Serena and Pemberton talk about the future. He asks her to rest for the baby and she agrees—but only if he will, too.
  • She thinks it's a good idea for them to go to Brazil and harvest the mahogany trees, and no, she's not joking. Pemberton's in but they have to finish what they've started here first.
  • Later on, Harris, Serena, and Pemberton agree to try to buy more land in the area instead of letting their neighbors sell to the park; Harris thinks he can get the price down so they might as well try.
  • Out on the streets, the Reverend decides it would be a great time to deliver a sermon on pride coming before the fall, but Pemberton brushes it off.
  • He wants to get home. Once there, he looks through an old photo album from when he was a child and compares it to Jacob's photo.