Chapter 8 Summary

From Paul's vantage point as an adult outside the closet, it is easy to ridicule the time he spent attempting to be straight and gain societal approval. He does not consider this time to have been wasted, though. Paul would not have been able to open himself up to any man without the women of '72 and '73. He wonders if his relationship with Julia would have failed if such a distance had not separated them. He adds that they looked like a great couple when they were together.

Justin, an architect and a friend of Paul's from Yale, had a girlfriend named Sally. Paul is smitten from the first time he meets her by her beautiful looks and her personality. When Justin breaks the news to Sally that he wants to see other people, Paul jumps at the chance to be with...