Section 2 Summary

This section begins on a cold and windy Paris night when the protagonist is with his friend, Shimon Yanai. Shimon is on his way to meet a woman named Halina. Shimon convinces the protagonist to accompany him, and the two of them find Halina outside a movie theater. Anxious to escape conversation, the protagonist makes an excuse to leave. Halina stops him just as she notices another woman, Kathleen, with whom Shimon is already acquainted. Kathleen is on a date, it seems, but Halina calls Kathleen over and introduces her to the protagonist. There is an instant recognition between them. Though they have never met before, the protagonist tells Halina that he and Kathleen already know each other. Moments later, the protagonist and Kathleen are walking along the Seine together while Kathleen's original date is left standing at the box office, having been...