Chapter 7 Summary

David wakes early and goes to breakfast at a cafy, setting the alarm for Catherine. He goes to the bank to cash a draft and then to breakfast, realizing he has not made any plans to meet Catherine later in the day. When David asks for a beer at the cafy, he is needlessly rude to the waiter. He reads two reviews sent by his publisher without emotion. The book is doing well, and it is fortunate that it is his second novel. So often, American novelists only have one good work in them. At lunch, David meets Colonel Boyle, an old friend. Colonel Boyle mentions Catherine's family history for the first time in the narrative. Her father killed himself in his car, along with his wife. Catherine joins them and asks for an absinthe. The Colonel mentions he saw Catherine at the...