1 through 7 Summary

The story opens in September, following the primary election, in the Lake of the Woods, where John Wade and his wife Kathy have gone to recover from the rigors and disappointment of a lost campaign. They talk about things they want to do, places they want to go and things they want to buy, refusing to talk about the fact that any of these things are impossible because they are in debt. John is angry and bitter over the loss and admits to being humiliated over the landslide loss. As John and Kathy hold each other one night on the porch of the cabin, he promises that they will visit Verona, that they will do deluxe hotel packages and that they'll have lots of children to take along. At one point, Kathy says that it is a "rotten time" they have to get...