When Matthew shows up at Grace's and announces he's about to marry Joan, a woman old enough to be his mother who also happens to be pregnant, Grace tries to keep her cool, especially when Matthew tells her his adoptive mother has no objections. But when Grace speaks to Emily, she learns that the only reason she didn't object was that Matthew seemed so adamant about marrying this woman. As the wedding day gets nearer, Joan confesses to Grace that although she definitely wants the baby, she doesn't want to marry Matthew in spite of how determined he seems to go through with the marriage. When Grace confronts Matthew about Joan's feelings, Matthew says he wants to marry Joan because he won't abandon this child. Grace understands that Matthew feels on some level that he himself was abandoned by her, and she tells him that he can still be very much a part of the baby's life without marrying the baby's mother.

Grace is going crazy trying to finish her paper on ""The Grapes of Wrath,"" and she keeps reminding Quentin that he also has a book report that's due. When Martha, one of Grace's classmates, says she's apartment hunting, Grace jumps at the chance to have her as a tenant. Martha moves in with her parrot, Ignatius, and Libby and Quentin are both charmed by her. Even Jean thinks she's great, but Wade says he thinks he's met her before but just can't place her until he sees the parrot and realizes that Martha is a stripper that he knows from patrolling the strip club where she works. Grace has no problem with Martha's profession and admires her efforts to continue her education. Grace encounters Mrs. Sheffield who tells her she's given Quentin a C+ on his ""Grapes of Wrath"" book report, and Grace confronts Quentin about stealing her work. And when Martha drops out of school and moves back to St. Louis without even saying goodbye to the kids, Grace feels Martha has let both them and her down a