Less has been dreading this part of the trip. It is when he will turn 50. He is meant to be traveling to Morocco with a short layover in France. But when he reaches Paris, there is a problem. He is determined to reclaim the value-added tax on several purchases he has made in Europe. The woman at the kiosk points out a clerical error and insists that his claim must be posted from Europe. Distraught, he places this latest injustice in a long line of injustices imposed upon him. On hearing that his flight is overbooked, he volunteers to take a later flight, complete with money voucher. With hours to spare, he exits the airport and calls Alexander Leighton, an old friend and member of the Russian River School. Leighton invites Less to a dinner party; before Less has time to decline, Leighton hangs up. Less knows that he will attend despite the difficult scheduling. In the meantime, he wanders around Paris. He visits numerous tourist spots and historical sites, remembering a trip he and Freddy made to Paris many years before. Remembering a specific store, he enters and has his measurements taken for a suit.