Summary

The protagonist goes home to New York City for Christmas, and when he returns to Chicago, he feels lonely. Edward helps him overcome his loneliness by taking him to a blues club on the South Side. The protagonist finds the music there completely engrossing. The protagonist remains curious about Ms. Elminides, about whom no one seems to know much. Pawlowsky is not even sure if she is in her late twenties or late thirties. The protagonist begins to suspect, by the way in which Pawlowsky speaks of Elminides, that Pawlowsky may be in love with her. Winter arrives in Chicago, bringing with it heavy snowfalls. In Chapter 7, the heavy snowfall continues. Soon, almost every resident of the apartment seems to become ill with the flu due to the season, but they all recover. One day, gang members arrive at the building to extort Elminides...