Armando

Armando is Teresa's boyfriend. He is forty-four years old and a junior partner in a law firm. He is ten years older than Teresa. In the first lines of the story, Armando is covertly described as a fake. He is pretending to be asleep. Shortly afterward, he also pretends to have to make a business telephone call when, it is suggested, he is probably calling another woman.

Although Armando and Teresa have been living together for fourteen years, Armando has never proposed marriage. Teresa believed that they would eventually get married, but Armando has always made excuses to avoid taking vows to make Teresa his wife. Armando is referred to as a "'country club' Cuban," a reference to his family having money.

In the beginning of their affair, Armando did not mind that his parents did not approve of Teresa. They thought of her as a "lower-class Jersey...