Part 3, La Côte Basque, p. 139 - 168 Summary

This section begins with a short, sharp, and crude story of two cowboys joking about how it takes masturbation to get a day started well, and then continues with Jones' narrative of how he was suddenly waylaid by the sophisticated socialite Lady Ina Coolbirth into lunch at the socially prominent restaurant La Côte Basque. After describing the history of the restaurant and narrating Lady Ina's ordering of a rare champagne and a complicated lunch, Jones narrates Lady Coolbirth's gossipy and sexy story about "Cole" and her pointed comments about the racist and homophobic British Royal Family, suggesting she is avoiding what she really wants to talk about. Jones lets his attention drift and he eavesdrops on a conversation between two other socialites, Mrs. Cooper and Mrs. Matthau, who gossip about...