Over breakfast at a coffee shop, John opens The New York Times and turns to the “Health” section, “as he’d done with every newspaper he’d read for over a year now” (286). He cries as he reads an article stating that Amylix has failed its trial. 

Alice and a woman sit on a bench and watch “medium children” busily walk by while they listen to a musician play. The woman tells Alice that Lydia will be home soon; the woman, Carole, and Alice give the musician, Sonya, some money, and leave. Alice doesn’t want to leave, but concedes that the woman is “cheerful and kind and always [knows] what to do,” so she should go with her (289).

When they arrive home, “the mother” is there; she and Carole briefly discuss Alice, and Alice nods along without fully understanding. Carole leaves, and Anna hands Alice her baby to hold. She wanders into another room where “the actress” is. The actress asks Alice if she’ll listen to a monologue she’s working on; Alice can’t follow the words, but she follows the emotions, and at the end she tells Lydia that it’s about love. Lydia tells her she got it “exactly right” (292).