Summary

The narrator decides to walk past the apartment building where Felix had lived in Berlin. The narrator almost cries, especially when she notices ways in which the street has changed. She is surprised by her own emotional reactions, and she internally chides herself. She returns her attention to filling out visa application forms. Her roommate, Frieda, offers to help. Frieda reads the application instructions in the original German and makes helpful notes for the narrator. Genevieve—the woman for whom the narrator babysits—invites the narrator to join her for drinks at a bar. The narrator finds the experience tolerable, and Genevieve seems to be a generally kind person.

Later, the narrator talks about the visa application process with Genevieve. The narrator has an appointment to have her application materials to be reviewed, and Genevieve offers to come with her to help translate. The...