Summary

It is Saturday morning, early, and the reunion attendees straggle into the college’s student union for a buffet breakfast. David Todd offers an awkward and unrehearsed welcome before sitting down next to his ex-wife, Marla Dempsey. They agree to attend the afternoon memorial service for the two deceased classmates together.

Spook Spinelli, waking up with Billy McMann in one of the dorm rooms, is still frustrated, still alone. “Even dear Billy—bless his heart, bless his willie—even this sweet, wonderful man could not relieve the pressure on her heart” (130). Marv, undeterred by Spook’s decision, wakes up, shaves, and commits himself to today being the day on which at last he sleeps with Spook Spinelli. Dorothy Stier, who lives close enough to the campus to drive in for the day’s activities, decides as she makes her way to campus that...