Chapter 15 Summary

Kay lands at Miami International Airport, reads about Pete's car in the Miami Herald, puts off calling her mother, rents a car, and begins to relax on the way to Key West. She thinks about trips here with Mark and resents his deteriorating from the man she once respected and adored. Kay checks into La Concha, a tall, pink Holiday Inn filled with same-sex couples, and sleeps for 14 hours before starting to look for PJ and Walt, who are mentioned in Beryl's letters.

Kay starts at Louie's, a white-frame restaurant, immaculate, fragrant, and crowded. When she approaches the bartender for cigarettes, she finds PJ's green eyes unfriendly and suspicious. He responds to the nickname Straw only after Kay says she is Beryl's doctor and lightens up only when Kay requests Beryl's favorite Barbancourt Rhum and tonic. PJ is impressed that they would send...